Posts Tagged women's voices

To reach and keep young Catholics, the church must recognize women’s leadership / Miami Herald

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Prophetic Voices, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on June 20, 2023

I co-direct Discerning Deacons, a project inviting Catholics to consider women’s inclusion in the permanent diaconate — an order that already includes married men ordained to serve in the life of the church.

By Ellie Hildago, Co-director of Discerning Deacons, in the Miami Herald

“Women play a vital role in passing on the faith to the next generation. But when 99% of Catholic churches will have a male preacher this Sunday in a world where 50% of the Catholic population are women, it’s time for our daughters and granddaughters — and sons and grandsons — to see us naming out loud a problem we’ve endured quietly in our hearts.

“What seemed normalized to my devout Catholic Cuban grandmothers, and became uncomfortable for my mother and has become unacceptable for me, is now unbearable for my nieces and many of our daughters. This will have untold consequences for the future of Catholic ministries.

“According to a report by the Pew Research Center, as of 2022, 43% of Hispanic adults identify as Catholic, down from 67% in 2010. In my work listening to older Hispanic/Latino Catholics in Miami, Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere, I often hear how their children and grandchildren have become disengaged from their families’ long-standing, multigenerational Catholic faith. The loss of family unity feels enormous.”

By Ellie Hildago, Co-director of Discerning Deacons, in the Miami Herald — Read more …

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My daughters have hard questions about the church. Are women deacons the answer? / America: The Jesuit Review

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on May 1, 2023

My kids, who are now teens, had been asking difficult questions, and I did not have good answers. They asked: ‘If God loves us all unconditionally, why doesn’t the church?

By Katie Mulcahy, America: The Jesuit Review

“Although I had attended Catholic school all my young life, I was never familiar with the concepts of synod, discernment and the diaconate. That was until last spring, when a friend invited me to her church for a Discerning Deacons event titled ‘Hope, Change and the Catholic Church.’ It was a cold Sunday evening, the Oscars were on, and I did not feel like driving across the city. But this is a friend who always shows up for me, so I went.

“Looking back on that evening, I believe it was the Holy Spirit who was nudging me to go. I had been feeling apathetic about my place in the church. My kids, who are now teens, had been asking difficult questions and I did not have good answers. They asked, ‘If God loves us all unconditionally, why doesn’t the church? Aren’t women and girls also made in the image of Christ?’ And here is a question that stopped me in my tracks: ‘If we value one group over another, aren’t we enabling oppression against the second group?’

“I attended the Discerning Deacons event with 700 other folks—men, women, teens, senior citizens, all looking for hope, professing their faith through song, prayer and sharing stories. We heard testimonies from women who have dedicated their lives to ministry and service in the church. One story really struck me: Casey Stanton, a co-director of Discerning Deacons and a woman with advanced degrees in divinity, felt called to serve in prison ministry. Because Ms. Stanton could not be ordained as a deacon in the Catholic faith, she was limited in how much she could minister to the female prisoners. I couldn’t help but wonder: Who else is restricted in their ministry because of the limitations put on women?”

By Katie Mulcahy, America: The Jesuit Review — Read more …

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