Viewpoint Message from a little girls collage
By BRAD RIEGER
A practicing Catholic all my life, I
never consciously thought about the absence of women in leadership positions
within the church hierarchy. Priests and deacons are men. Cardinals and bishops
are men. The acceleration of opportunities for women in all segments of society
and the scattered voices of protest concerning the church and gender issues
have failed to budge the ordination blockade against females. The single gender
leadership structure has been and remains a constant. The male-dominated
hierarchy has existed for so long that Catholics barely notice, avoid the topic
or have given up on challenging this historical mandate.
It took a simple exchange with my daughter who is in second grade
to stir up in me a haunting restlessness. Shelby, our oldest, bounded happily
out of her summer catechism class with a project in hand. She showed me a
three-tiered collage consisting of photocopied pictures of Pope John Paul II,
two diocesan bishops and our three parish priests. The pictures were arranged
in hierarchical order with the pope on top, the bishops in the middle and the
parish priests on the bottom. The cutout words at the bottom of the collage
read: All of these people proclaim and teach the good news of
God.
When I asked her what was talked about in class that day, Shelby
explained that she learned about the church.
The pope, bishops and priests depicted in the collage are all
deeply spiritual individuals who serve others and strive to make a corner of
the world a more humane and loving place.
So what is the problem? As Shelby and I walked to the car, I
wondered what a 7-year-old girl thought about the church after the catechism
session and collage activity. A young girl might assume that there is no one
like her who has an important job in the Catholic church. Most likely nothing
so profound is bothering her. My anxiety centered on the fact that as Shelby
and our youngest daughter, Allison, grow up, attend Mass and go through the
sacraments, they will slowly realize that women do not have a visible
leadership presence. I would be more confident about my daughters future
allegiance to the church if at least one of those six individuals had been a
woman.
Scripture and tradition are the usual rationales provided by
church officials. It is stated that since Jesus was a man, only a man can
represent him during the Eucharist. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes
that Jesus chose 12 men to be his disciples. Eventually, those disciples chose
men to replace them, and the pattern has perpetuated itself through church
history. In 1994, Pope John Paul II firmly stated that God has determined that
only men can be priests, and nothing can overturn this divine dictate. In other
words, the issue of women being ordained as priests or deacons is not open for
discussion.
In stark contrast to the church, women have rapidly assumed
leadership roles in corporate and nonprofit organizations. Opportunities for
professional women to move from middle management to the CEO level are
increasing. Current leadership literature extols the virtues of female
executives. A recent essay in U.S. News and World Report titled
Are women better leaders? discussed how changing cultural and
societal factors have made the feminine leadership approach more effective and
increasingly sought after. The ability to build relationships, a strong suit
for many female executives, is a highly valued leadership characteristic given
todays information-based economy and the complex nature of flatter, more
streamlined organizations.
Though capable of insensitivity and male shortsightedness, my
evolving enlightenment about gender issues has been shaped by the women around
me. My mother earned a degree from Marquette University back in the 1950s when
it was rare for women to even attend college. Though she chose to work in the
home and raise her four children, she had an arsenal of skills that would have
allowed her to pursue other options.
My two sisters are professionals in the health care and counseling
fields. In her role as a university administrator, my wife has significant
responsibilities. As an educator, I work in a predominantly female work force.
My administrative colleagues are primarily female, including a boss who is the
most talented professional I know.
It is concern for my daughters though that provides me with the
greatest motivation to push the envelope on gender equality in the church. My
desire for Shelby and Allison is that they have the same opportunities afforded
men to use their talents, pursue their interests and make their contributions
to society. My advice to them, assuming they will ask at some point, will be to
seek employment with organizations that emphasize meaningful work, equal pay
for equal work, performance and merit, a positive work environment, family
friendly policies, opportunities for advancement and a diversified workforce.
Women today can rise to the top of any profession.
During my daughters lifetimes, the opportunities to ascend
to great heights will expand significantly. The one exception will be the
Catholic church.
Being Catholic has been a tremendously life-giving experience for
me. Of course, I am a male. My hope is for my daughters to view the church in
the same positive light. My fear is that they will not fully invest themselves
in the church because they do not feel like equal partners.
If Jesus ministry began today instead of 2,000 years ago,
what would the gender composition of his 12 apostles be? Would all of them be
men? It is readily conceivable that a loving, just and inclusive Jesus would
establish an inner core of disciples comprised equally of men and women.
If Jesus were with us today and we posed the question to him about
whether women should be able to become priests, what do you think he would
say?
Brad Rieger is assistant superintendent of the Springfield
Local Schools, Holland, Ohio.
National Catholic Reporter, March 22,
2002
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