This week, the e-Record publishes the third and final part of editor Jamie O’Brien’s analysis of the work of women in the Church.
Throughout the month of May, the e-Record is publishing articles highlighting the active role and witness that women and organisations from across the Archdiocese of Perth provide in spreading the Gospel.
So what can we do – as followers of the Gospel – to help encourage, grow and strengthen the role of women in the Church?
The first and most important thing we can do, says Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, is make sure our priorities are right.
“I have said often, and am more convinced than ever, that all the challenges we face in the Church will remain intractable unless we return Christ to the heart of everything we are trying to do and be in the Church and in the world,” the Archbishop said.
“We have to take seriously the words of Christ that He is our way, our truth and our life.
“If we are following any other path, or entrusting ourselves to any other philosophy, or embracing any other life than the one He holds out to us, then we are ‘walking in darkness’.
“This is as true of our desire to ensure that all women can find their rightful place in the Church as it is for any other issue.
“Christ must be at the centre of our efforts.”
The words of Pope Francis in his fourth theme of a Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, held in February this year, entitled Women’s cultures: between equality and difference – reiterate this point.
The Pope spoke about the importance of the role of women in society, focusing on the theme of Women and religion: flight or new forms of participation in the life of the Church.
The Pope reiterated his conviction that it is urgent to offer space to women in the life of the Church and to welcome them, bearing in mind the specific features and changes in cultural and social sensibilities.
“A more capillary and incisive female presence within the Church is desirable, so that we can see many women involved in pastoral responsibilities and in accompanying individuals, families and groups, as well as in theological reflection,” the Pope said.
The Holy Father also spoke about the indispensable role of women in the family, and highlighted the importance of “encouraging and promoting the effective presence of women in many areas of the public sphere, in the world of work and in places where the most important decisions are taken”, without prejudice to their role in the private domain.
“We must not leave women to bear these burdens and take all these decisions alone; all institutions, including the ecclesial community, must guarantee freedom of choice for women, so that they have the opportunity to assume social and ecclesial responsibilities, in harmony with family life”.
Archbishop Costelloe continued his response relating to what can we do – as followers of the Gospel – to help encourage, grow and strengthen the role of women in the Church.
He emphasised that only once we are sure that we are standing on the solid foundation – which is Christ – can we begin to tackle such things as the question of our structures in order to ensure that everyone’s wisdom, including the wisdom of committed Catholic women, can be shared with the whole community.
“For us in the Church, structured as we are hierarchically, and with an ordained ministry restricted to men, all of which we believe is in accordance with God’s will for the Church, this presents special challenges.
“But challenges are also opportunities,” the Archbishop proclaimed.
“We have found a way forward in Catholic education, for example, where so many of our educational leaders are women.
“A significant number of our evangelisation agency directors are women and this is also becoming the case in many of our social service and health care agencies. In many of our parishes, women have leadership roles in parish councils and finance committees.”
The Archbishop went on to say that, similarly, many groups dedicated to prayer and spirituality in the Archdiocese are also led by women.
Ultimately, the great challenge, he said, is for all of us, women and men, young people and old, married people and single, clergy, religious and laity, to embrace the call of our Baptism.
“God is working to shape us into a community of faith and service, ready to be the signs and bearers of His love for a broken world. We all have our God-given part to play in this great enterprise.
“We also all have a part to play in helping each other to be all that God is asking us to be.”