Collaboration between clergy and the laity who work together, gender roles, young women in the church today, the status of marriage in our country, and the National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage were among the topics that the members of the Bishops Committee on Women in Society and the Church and advisors grappled with as they met on Feb 23 and 24 in Las Vegas. This group, consisting of seven bishops and five women is a sub-committee of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). This is the second meeting for this particular group. The first took place in September at the USCCB headquarters in Washington DC.
The meeting began with a presentation by Kathy Heskin, professor from the Dominican University, Chicago. She reported that many young people have become disillusioned with institutions including, church, government, marriage and our "throw away society". Yet, they are extremely devoted to social justice issues. That in fact is how the experience the church in action in the world. Many students now come from non-traditional marriages. They are more exposed to other cultures and religions than the previous generations and are more accepting of these differences than in the past. In previous generations the life expectancy was shorter and therefore the length of marriage was shorter. This fact must be taken into consideration when looking at the issues that now face couples, particularly mid-life divorce even though the highest divorce rate occurs in the first three years of marriage.
The next presentation was given by Camille Buckley, Chair of the Commission on Women in Church and Society. Her presentation addressed collaboration between clergy and women. She noted that "In a survey of women in church leadership positions, participants often described collaboration as the opportunity for genuine input into decision-making processes". She went on to say that "working together" involves "gathering input from all involved, putting personal agendas and/or egos aside and working toward optimal solutions to particular problems". Further it means "to be able to be open enough to see something perhaps from a different perspective than one's own and a letting go of preconceived ideas all for the building up of the Body of Christ", the Church. Collaboration gives access to a wide range of gifts and skills and promotes creativity. It can improve the quality of decision-making and it helps us break out of the individualism and self-centeredness that is so much a part of our culture.
She than shared her stories of a couple of experiences of collaboration. Afterward questions posed to the group included: What happens when collaboration goes wrong or there isn't true collaboration? What impact does that have for further participation in the Church by qualified individuals? How might we avoid these problems in the future? Kathy Cassidy followed with a power-point presentation on the work of the Commission on Women in the Archdiocese of St Paul - Minneapolis. Anne Koester, professor at Georgetown University shared her experiences and observations about Generation Y (those born after 1981). Elena Hahrahan presented her experiences working on women's issues at the United Nations.
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(L-R) Most Reverend Vincent Rizzoto, Kathy Cassidy, H.Richard McCord, Sheila Garcia, Most Reverend Matthew Clark, Jane Villanueva, Most Reverend Joseph Pepe (chair), Camille Buckley, Most Reverend Thomas Donato, Elena Hahrahan, Most Reverend Gerald Wilkerson, Most Reverend Richard Pates. Not pictured: Anne Koester |
The Committee consisted of representation from across the country. Included were Camille Buckley (Chair, Commission on Women in Church and Society, Diocese of Buffalo), Kathy Cassidy (Commission on Women, Archdiocese of St Paul-Minneapolis), Most Reverend Thomas Donato (auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Newark), Elena Hanrahan (National Council on Catholic Women, New York City), Most Reverend Matthew Clark (Bishop, Diocese of Rochester), Anne Koester (professor, Georgetown University, Washington DC), Most Reverend Richard Pates (auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of St Paul- Minnesota), Most Reverend Joseph Pepe, Chair (Bishop, Diocese of Las Vegas), Most Reverend Vincent Rizzotto,(auxiliary Bishop Galviston-Houston), Jane Villanueva (Chancellor, Diocese of Yakima), and Most Reverend Gerald Wilkerson (auxiliary Bishop, Los Angeles). Representing the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth were Sheila Garcia and H. Richard McCord.
For more information contact: Commission on Women in Church and Society, 795 Main Strreet Buffalo, NY 14203-1205