‘Because we’re living through it, we can fail to see how radical and exciting a time this is in the church,’ she (Kristin Colberg, associate professor of theology at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary) said.

By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter

“At the third Women of the Church conference for Catholic women leaders, a morning prayer service began with a reading of the Gospel account of Mary of Magdala witnessing the resurrected Jesus outside the tomb. Participants were then asked to call out a word from the scripture passage that spoke to them. The most frequently shared word was ‘weeping.

“Catholic women have much to weep about, and many at the conference expressed pain, frustration and hurt by experiences of sexism in the church. But the overall vibe at the three-day event was one of joy and hope — brought on not only by the opportunity to pray, network and celebrate together, but also by optimism about the church’s upcoming synod on synodality and what it might mean for women’s leadership in the church.

“Keynote speaker Kristin Colberg set the tone the first night of the conference with her presentation titled ‘Fruit and Seed: New Roles for Women in a Synodal Church.’

“‘What’s happening with women in the church is not just the beginning of something new, but it’s the realization of something that’s already happening,’ said Colberg, associate professor of theology at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary.”

By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …