We are all equal in the sight of God. The Trinity is composed of Three Equal Persons Who are One in a Divine Community. God views all of God's children as distinct persons with distinct gifts, all treasured, all equal in importance, all called to be one community living in Christ, a community of love, understanding, and purpose. EQUAL persons!
In the time of St. Paul, women were certainly not treated as if they were equal to men. Which is why it was so earth-shattering when he said another famous line to husbands: "Husbands, LOVE your wives." In other words, "Guys, don't treat your wives like property. They are equal to you in dignity and importance."
Yet Paul was also a man conditioned by his time. He also said, "Wives, be obedient to your husbands." Today, Pope Francis says that in marriage there is a radical equality between the husband and wife. They are to have a true partnership, rather than one person being dominant over the other.
It's easy to see that society still does not treat women as if they are equal to men. Some men still treat women as if they are sexual play things, at their disposal. (And pornography reinforces the idea that women are objects to be used.) Women still don't receive equal pay for their work. Women still can't go past certain glass ceilings in regards to receiving jobs with higher authority and visibility.
Pope Francis has said, “Why is it taken for granted that women must earn less than men? No! They have the same rights. The discrepancy is a pure scandal. Catholics must decisively support the right to equal pay for equal work.” This is a challenge to the whole church, especially the laity, to recognize the dignity and rights of women, both in society and in the Church. Pope Francis’ words give support to positive action on this front in every Catholic institution.
Today, more than ever, the Catholic Church is being called by God to go beyond society's often restrictive views of women and recognize and affirm and utilize their numerous and diverse gifts. The Holy Spirit gives the Church the gifts that are needed at each point in the Church's history. However, because we are still evolving as a society in our understanding of the gifts women possess, members of the Church are sometimes neither ready nor willing to admit that a woman may be blessed by the Holy Spirit with gifts which the Church needs but has never utilized before. Pope Francis has also said that “We need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church.”
In our Diocese of Buffalo, Bishop Malone has appointed a woman religious to the role of Diocesan Chancellor. (Women religious are members of the laity. They are NOT ordained clergy.) Chancellors are the chief record-keepers of a Diocese. According to the Diocese of Petersburg, Florida, Chancellors are charged with "keeping files of priests, and by providing clearance for visiting clergy, religious and lay presenters who wish to supply sacramental services, offer parish missions or to provide presentations to the faithful of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Diocesan statistical reports for the annual Official Catholic Directory, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and for the Roman Curia are also the responsibilities of the Chancellor’s office."
Buffalo, N.Y. is really in the vanguard. In 2015, Michael O'Loughlin wrote for "Crux":
"Of three high-ranking jobs open to laypeople in Catholic dioceses across the United States - chancellor, chief financial officer, and schools superintendent - only one-third are filled by women. In fact, 35 percent of US dioceses have no women at all in these influential positions.
"On the other hand, given that leadership in the Church has been historically tied to priestly ordination, that one third of these influential posts are filled by women may seem refreshingly high to some.
"Also, this is a country where only 18 percent of the members of Congress are women and only 5 percent are CFOs of Fortune 500 companies. (As of May 2018 , there are 24 female CEOs on the list—or just under 5%.)
"As the role of women in the Catholic Church continues to be debated, and Pope Francis demands greater opportunities for women, a Crux analysis of data from the country’s 197 dioceses found a decidedly mixed bag: Most dioceses have a woman in a position of real authority, yet a significant number have no women at all.
"The three positions were selected as among the most influential in any given diocese by a group of Church management experts - including bishops, priests and nuns, and lay employees - with decades of combined experience working in the Catholic Church.
"These three positions tend to report directly to the bishop and often oversee large departments. They almost always have access to, and influence over, the men who call the shots: cardinals, archbishops, and bishops. There are 571 such positions across the United States, and 32 percent of them are filled by women."
32%! The Church is certainly doing better in recognizing women's gifts than Fortune Five Hundred companies.
Another role that women can fill in the Catholic Church is that of Pastoral Administrator, also called Pastoral Life Coordinator. Mary M. Foley, a lay woman and former Pastoral Life Coordinator, explains,
"What does it mean for the church to have women (or deacons or laymen) pastoring parishes? Note that I use “pastor” and “pastoring” as a verb. According to canon law, the title “pastor” always belongs to a priest. Yet canon law includes a special provision that allows a diocesan bishop to appoint a qualified person other than a priest to share in the pastoral care of a parish when there is a shortage of priests (Canon 517.2). In this case, a priest is named canonical pastor. This canonical pastor, or priest moderator, as the position is often called, is responsible for general oversight of the parish, but he is most often not involved in the daily pastoral care of parishioners or in parish administration. These responsibilities are entrusted to the one who is appointed parish life coordinator. The bishop also assigns a sacramental minister (a second priest), who comes into the parish for Sunday Mass and other sacramental celebrations.
"The parish life coordinator is appointed to be the pastoral leader of the parish and the one responsible for its administration. While pastoring is ordinarily associated only with priesthood, it is good that this provision exists in canon law, because at this time in U.S. history, we do not have enough priests who can become pastors, and we will have more parishes in need of pastoring. I also know that God has entrusted gifts for pastoring to others like myself."
(in her article "Exceptional Pastoring: Women in Parish Leadership," "America" magazine, March 9, 2009.)
Do priests really want Lay or Deacon Pastoral Administrators? A good percentage of them do. On Jan. 25, 2018, Peter Feuerherd wrote in the "National Catholic Reporter:"
"Priests are graying, fewer in number, with little relief in sight.
"That reality was the impetus for a resolution endorsed by the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, calling upon Catholic bishops in the United States to enlist the aid of lay pastoral workers to administer parishes.
"Passed by the association at its convention in Atlanta last June, the resolution calls upon the church to allow 'well prepared pastoral ministers who, working collaboratively with canonical pastors, can know, guide and accompany the faithful on their journey of faith via parish communities.'
"The resolution urged that bishops employ lay workers, deacons and religious who are currently in pastoral ministry to lead parishes under the direction of ordained pastors, a framework allowed in canon law.
"These lay leaders and deacons should have 'the flexibility to make ordinary decisions and actually lead the parish according to its gifts and needs.'
The document envisions clusters of parishes, led by laypeople and deacons, who would make day-to-day decisions about their churches while reporting to an ordained pastor.
"The priests' association urged bishops to provide more training for such lay leaders of priestless parishes. Such local leaders would enable parishes to minister to those who need pastoral care, including the sick and the bereaved, in a way that priest pastors, who are sometimes asked to oversee as many as three parishes at a time in some dioceses, are unable. The resolution stated that lay pastoral administrators should be paid a living wage, and be provided benefits and job security.
"Lay leaders of priestless parishes, including women, can lead worship services and perform the duties of pastors, with the exception of sacramental tasks reserved for the ordained, the resolution said."
Sadly, often parishioners are resistant. What perplexes me is why women should be resistant to seeing the gifts of other women used in service to the Church they love. Having been a Pastoral Administrator myself, I truly felt called by God to "pastor" the people of St. Lawrence Church in a new, deeply humbling and also enriching way. How often I prayed over St. Peter's words - "God's flock is in your midst, give it a shepherd's care. Watch over it willingly." My husband, a Deacon, my Co-Pastoral Administrator, and I visited the sick and the dying, talked one on one with parishioners about their family problems, counseled married couples, made decisions to develop and enhance the parish's ministries. So often I realized that BECAUSE I was a woman, I could offer a unique perspective to parishioners and offer a unique brand of leadership. My husband and I worked as equal partners, using our own gifts as each situation demanded.
As Mary M. Foley, former Pastoral Life Coordinator, observes,
"I have served in a ministry that is feared by some, who see it as devaluing priesthood. The only need we have, they would say, is to promote vocations to priesthood and religious life. Some fear that by encouraging lay ecclesial ministry, especially when it comes to leadership of parishes, we discourage these other vocations. This I do not believe. Religious vocations are God-given, and it is the task of anyone pastoring within the church (bishop, priest or parish life coordinator) to recognize, affirm, encourage, nurture and support all the gifts God has given to the community of faith. To me, this is an essential part of what it means to pastor. In the last four years, in a parish of 935 families, I encouraged two young men who may have vocations to priesthood, and I helped another man enter formation for the permanent diaconate. I gave vocation talks in our religious education classes....I encouraged each child who thought that God may be calling him or her to one of these ministries.... I also invited four laypeople to begin formation in a diocesan lay ministry program.
"We are not the givers of religious vocations, nor can we choose what gifts will be given. Our proper task is to recognize all the gifts God has given to the church, especially in these challenging times....
"In the ministry of pastoring, I have also discovered that another concern compounds the fears of some: female leadership of parishes. When I was originally appointed, the bishop let me know that he expected me to attend cluster meetings with the priests. When the priests found out, some staged a minor revolt and protest to the presbyteral council. I avoided meetings until the matter was finally resolved. Then, over time, collegial relationships developed with some of the same priests who had originally objected to my presence.
"At the parish level, I was informed by someone when I arrived that my coming was disruptive to the psyche of some of the people: 'You have to understand that we have had this tradition for 2,000 years. Now, not only do we not have a priest pastor, but we have a woman on top of it!' Should such challenges prevent the consideration of women as leaders of parishes? In truth, I was never fully accepted by some people. Most, however, came around in their thinking. Our parish grew from 750 to 935 families, and our religious education enrollment of 535 students reflected a 25 percent increase over a few years. Many people said that I was able to minister with them in ways that some priests never could. Does this comment devalue priesthood? On the contrary, effective ministry does not diminish anyone. Rather, it helps our entire church.
"The important task at hand for all pastors is to recognize the gifts that God has freely given for the benefit of the church. Then we must also educate the lay faithful about the state of the priest shortage in our country. Denial is another form of fear. Alternate models of ministry may be needed in particular times and places. We should help people understand the situation by providing them thorough orientation on new forms of ministry. Laypeople love the church, and they can learn, adapt and flourish under various models of pastoral leadership. God will provide priests for the church in the future, and God will provide what we need so that viable parishes can remain active communities of faith and local centers for evangelization. Consider starting a conversation about these things in your parish or diocese. Be not afraid."
Mary M. Foley, I couldn't have said it better myself. The Holy Spirit cannot be controlled. The Holy Spirit gives gifts where She wills. People of God, do not be afraid. Be open and free enough to affirm the gifts given by the Holy Spirit in your own parish. See each person as a divinely gifted Gift for you and to you!