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Fortnight Publications Ltd.
In the Name of God the Father...Author(s): Sylvia ThompsonSource: Fortnight, No. 260 (Mar., 1988), p. 17Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25551479 .
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In the name of
God the father ...
God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him;
male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26
! rw%l HIS ACCOUNT of creation presents 1 us with the mutuality of woman and
L.~.1 man in the image of God. A logical conclusion might be to expect to find this mir
rored in relationships within the church. Sadly we find the church to be no different from the
rest of the world: indeed the church has perhaps been even slower to listen to the voice and
experience of women, and toenable them to play their part in decision-making and ministry.
And so where are we? Where have we come
from? What are the hopes and fears of women in
the church for their future? As one such woman
in the Catholic tradition, I can only begin to
address this topic from my own very limited
perspective. Perhaps as you read you may hear
an echo of your own experience, maybe you will
be angry or even dismissive. All I can say is that
this is true for me at this moment.
My introduction to the things of God came
through women?first my mother and then my teachers. It was a growing up rich in mysticism and prayer and saw the beginning of a journey into prayerful study of the scriptures in a church
pulsating with the life of the second Vatican
council. As a student this positive and participa
tory experience of church was enhanced when
my studies brought me to an English university
parish, and again on my return to Ireland as a
member of a young Christians' movement in
Kilkenny. The awakening of a sense of respon
sibility for the state of injustice in the world and
a call to peace-making came here, alongside women and men, clerics and non-clerics, who
were searching for new ways to *be church' as
they began to confront poverty, homelessness,
violence, both at home and in the world outside.
It was an exciting time. I had a role to play and was challenged to do so. Hope was ever
present and the future looked bright, if busy. A six-year sojourn in north America did little
to quell this enthusiasm. As a student on the
American campus I received an even greater
challenge to take my place in ministry, in work
ing for justice and in the liturgical life of the
community, in prayer and in study alongside fellow students, faculty members, and our chap lains?male and female.
Oh, there were a few other experiences?not
necessarily negative but definitely different?
of a commitment to patriarchy within some
charismatic communities, and some Canadian
parish priests who seemed strangely wedded to
their power and somewhat k anti-people' in their
ministry. But I supposed them to be unusual,
obviously not the norm for this community called church.
Then came my return to Ireland, Northern
Ireland, in 1980. It was devastating. Had I been
on another planet or in another church? But this
was the Catholic church, universal in nature?or
was it? I was rescued by a soul-mate and directed
to a group from whom I could receive support and continue to grow in the spiritual life. But for
that I would have drowned in a sea of despair and
disillusionment at what I experienced in the
institutional church. It appeared to be speaking a different language, or at least to be unfamiliar
with words like 'inclusive*, 'mutual', 'collabo
rative', 'empowering'. This was definitely a
patriarchy, where women appeared to be ex
cluded from any effective power in helping to
shape the church's mission, its law or its liturgy. Women were granted their 'appropriate' role
after the decisions were made. Women did not
even have a role in defining what was appropri ate for them. The same could be said for many
men.
As Belfast became 'home' I became ever
more aware of the deep faith and commitment of
my sisters and brothers in my worshipping
community, but I was not at ease.
And yet there were still places of hope for me.
The first was my reinvolvement in the Christian
peace movement, which brought its challenge of
working for peace and justice both locally and
internationally. Here I found women and men
working together in Ireland, north and south, in
hemispheres north and south, conscientised
through their work for justice in the world and
thereby recognising and working for this within
the church too. On a prayerful and liturgical level I also discovered a community where
power had no place, but rather the gift of life?
laughing, singing, praying, dancing?brought
together people with a mental handicap, their
families and friends, to share eucharist in a deep
experience of church.
And so I have hope and trust though the
journey seems long. There is a great pain being
experienced by women?the pain of exclusion.
It is being experienced by many?divorced,
single, religious and others. Yet many have a
deep longing to work in partnership with men to
bring about the kingdom of justice and peace. But, for this to come, listening must take place in
sincerity and without fear. We pray that this pain will bear fruit?the fruit of a church which can
reflect the faith and experience of all its mem
bers?women and men; married, single and
celibate. The church is more than its institutional
forms: it is all of us.
The recent synod of bishops in Rome on The
Vocation and mission of the laity in the Church
and in the World', though not inclusive in style,
brought some words of encouragement and
recognition from clergy of influence in the Irish
church. These are to be welcomed, tardy though
they may be. Maybe this will be the beginning of
a serious and open discussion of women's roles
within the church.
Similarly there have been moves toward the
use of a more inclusive language in liturgy and
worship and thereby feminine images are be
coming visible, helping us to understand the
divine and grow in appreciation of the mutuality of men and women.
Traditions other than my own, or my own
tradition in other parts of the world, seem even
now to be in quite a different place. As I see
women exercising various gifts of ministry in
these communities I am again encouraged to
continue the journey. As I see women and men
calling upon the church to move toward the
kingdom of justice, I can believe that there may be a true commitment to working for justice in
the world?so that the church may call without
embarrassment for all of us "to act justly, to love
tenderly and to walk humbly with our God"
(Micah 6: 6-8).
Fortnight March 17
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