Women demand equality in the Church, submit memorandum

A statement was issued Sunday by the forum and members like Astrid and Virginia Saldanha said that over the years, the Catholic bishops of India have supported the women empowerment through education, including theological training, healthcare, promoting participation in self-governance, legal aid, income generation schemes and other sustainable development programmes. These initiatives have had an impact on the women of India, particularly in rural areas, they said.

“However, within the church, not much has changed. The concerns and frustrations of women within the church remain the same. We have leadership training for women but there are no spaces for women to exercise this leadership. Doors have been opened for women to contribute their services in pastoral work, as community leaders, as eucharistic ministers, lectors, cantors, ushers, and leaders in outreach activities in the parish, yet their ministries are not valued as much as, or given as much recognition as the ministry of ordained deacons, from which women, including women religious, are banned. That women persist in their ministries and continue to fill the pews despite this very visible discrimination, is a sign both of their love for the Church, and their internalisation of their second class status in the Church, “ the statement added

At the level of governance once again, women are excluded, they said. While the Gender Policy brought out by the Conference in 2010 is a document that “rejects all types of discrimination against women as being contrary to God’s intent and purpose”, women continue to be discriminated against by being kept out of decision making bodies of the Church, which are controlled by clerics, they said. Women have no say in the policy making that shapes the liturgy, worship, theology and practices of the church, including those that affect their own lives, they added.

The statement also highlighted the issue of clergy sexual abuse and the way it is handled by Church authorities which is a matter of concern, they said. Experience has shown that women victims are often not believed, and their clerical abusers use the power of the Church to protect themselves, they said. They continue in their ministry while survivors are ostracised, vilified, and left to languish from the wounds of the abuse and injustice in the Church, the memorandum added.

“We call for equality in the Catholic Church, apart from seeking changes in the policies, practices and structures of the Church so that women can participate fully in the life and leadership of the church,” Lobo added.