Archive for September 5th, 2023

Developing the Voice of the Laity: moving the synodal concept from ideal to reality / Commonweal

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in laity, Voice of the Faithful on September 5, 2023

If the Church is truly a sign of God at work in the world, then it needs to model listening to those in society and in the ecclesial body whose voices have gone unheard and whose needs have been overlooked.

By Kayla August, Commonweal

“The synodal listening sessions opened the door to hearing the voice of the laity in a new way, as parishes across the world were asked to share their stories, hopes, and disappointments about living within the Catholic Church in order to guide where it goes next.

“Yet, according to the 2023 U.S. National Synthesis Report, dioceses entered the process with ‘a combination of excitement, confusion, and skepticism.’ In fact, ‘several dioceses noted some apprehension and even opposition as they began their synodal listening’—due, in part, to a feeling the process would be futile.

“This sense of futility reflects a Church that is communal in nature but not yet communal in participation. Though we speak of a united Body of Christ, the synodal proceedings reveal the limits of the laity’s words and actions in the face of ecclesial structures. In a Church where laypeople have been fashioned to receive and not to share, it’s understandable that many are not simply unwilling but actually unable to make their voices heard. Breaking centuries of silence in the space of a four-year synodal session is bound to be a challenge, especially given that we perhaps failed to consider one of the preemptive needs for the synodal process: training lay voices to speak. I propose the laity may be experiencing what I call “acute ecclesial laryngitis,” the inability to contribute to the life of the Church due to a lack of capacity to speak. In this synodal moment, we find the voice is a muscle, and the failure to use it results in a stifled and hesitant voice.”

By Kayla August, Commonweal — Read more …

, , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a comment

I am a woman who serves like a deacon. Will I ever share St. Phoebe’s title? / National Catholic Reporter

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on September 5, 2023

In some places, there is hesitation to seek the intercession of St. Phoebe, a hesitance to recognize her as a deacon. We know that the deacons of today are not the same as the deacons of the first centuries. But why are we afraid of this dream of women received as deacons? Women like me are already doing such work — just without the title.

By marie Philomene Pean, National Catholic Reporter

“As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I remember feeling like I lived in a paradise as I rested easy in my mother’s lap. She and our community made me feel safe, loved and seen. It was not hard for me to come to know God as a loving mother who cares for all his children. I sensed that God knew me and called me by name to go out and proclaim his word. 

“By the age of 8, I was serving as a lector in our parish, and by the age of 18 was leading retreats for the Legion of Mary and speaking to groups of all ages. I felt welcomed to share who I was and bring forth my gifts.

“I had a vision of Jesus when I was about 15 years old, seeing him as a handsome Black man who patiently asked me the same question he had asked Peter in John’s Gospel: “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). I sensed then that Jesus was asking for my whole life.

“It has not been a straightforward path. I came of age in the 1990s, when the clearest way for a woman to live a deeper call and commitment to the church was through religious life. I spent years discerning becoming a nun — first volunteering with a community of sisters, then entering as a novice. 

“The regular prayer, sisterhood and studies was enlivening. But I struggled, especially when service to the church too closely looked like servanthood. There were real constraints that limited how we could develop our gifts and capacities as women.”

By Marie Philomene Pean, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a comment