#OVERCOMING SILENCE

Why is it that women have very little to no power in making church decisions? Even though most of these decisions affect them directly, their voices are often unheard. 

From as long as we can remember, women have constantly been fighting for their rights to be recognized. We still see that women are not allowed to become priests and stand in the place of God. Voices of Faith found that in Church’s Headquarters - The Holy See, women are not appointed at leadership positions. 

We have started a global campaign Overcoming Silence to remove barriers that prevent women from reaching leadership roles in the Catholic Church. 

Did you know that there are 1.2 Billion Catholics out of which more than 50% are women? However, less than 3% of them hold leadership and decision making positions inside the global church. It is appalling to see that gender equality is majorly being overlooked in the Catholic Church. Even though more than half of the Catholics are women, yet their voice, opinions, and rights are undervalued. 

This is not a fight against anyone but an effort to see inclusion happen at the leadership level in the church. Overcoming Silence has three main goals:

We want our religious sisters to be given the right to vote in the upcoming synods. They should share equal power as our religious brothers. Our aim is for them to cast their first vote in the synod due to take place this October.

Our next goal is to help women be appointed to Vatican Leadership roles. The global church is made up of multiple departments and each of these departments is designated a President, a Prefect, a Secretary, and Undersecretary. Pope, Canon Lawyers and Curia Leaders decided that a layman could lead some of these departments without being ordained. If a layman can hold these positions then why are women not being considered for the same? As of now, no woman has ever been made a President, a Prefect or a Secretary. In fact, until date, only seven females have been made Undersecretaries. Our vision is to help them rise to power and influence decision making. 

Our third goal is to bring women to leadership roles at all levels in a Catholic Church. It is time women break free from these shackles of gender inequality. Why is the Church not using the immense talent, expertise, and perspective that women have to offer? 

This campaign is a way to urge the Pope to address these issues and take some action. There is no time like today to make a change for a better tomorrow that is favorable for the upcoming generation. 

Join our campaign and share your message with us. We want to hear diverse voices to achieve a zestful and an all-inclusive gender church.  https://overcomingsilence.com

Uncovering The Gender Inequality in My Church

If the power structures of the Catholic Church remain unquestioned and unchallenged by the unknowing conformity of the masses, maybe we are complicit in its scandals.

If you asked me a year ago about the role religion and faith play in my life as a 32 year old, I would have laughed it off and likely told you about my parents daily prayers for me to find a husband. My parents, devout Catholics who you’ll find in the front row of their parish weekly, migrated to Australia from the Philippines in the 1980s. They wanted to give their three daughters the best possible opportunities in what they heard was a safe, stable and beautiful country. My dad studied at TAFE, got a building licence and built houses for a living so that he could earn enough money to send his three daughters to a private Catholic school and then to university. I realise how lucky I am to have not paid for my education, and seeing my parents work so hard every day instilled in me a work ethic that led to a solid career throughout my 20s.

So forgive me if I find it a little ironic that as soon as 30 kicks in for their youngest girl, the prayers change from ‘we pray she finds a good job, does well in her studies and finds the right house to buy’ to ‘please God let her find a husband and settle down’. I chuckle, and then ask myself, should I blame them? Isn’t this what most societies, irrespective of their culture and outlook, seem to agree on – that a woman’s role is to bear children, stay at home and raise them? Now before you roll your eyes and turn the page, I’ll admit that my 33 year old self without a doubt wants to have children and I’d like to be able to stay home with them in their early years. However I can’t help but wonder and fear what major changes having children will mean for my career as a woman and my ability to continue on my professional trajectory.

I think about what roles will be available to me when I am ready to go back to the workforce. Will the workforce understand my needs as a parent, will it allow me flexibility, support in training and skill development, help to build my confidence so that one day I might lead the ranks? More than likely not, although I’ll give credit to the Australian government and businesses who have acknowledged this real conundrum for many women. Yet there are still too few examples of it working in practice to equal the playing field and address the gender gap of women at the top.

Source From: https://overcomingsilence.com/uncovering-the-gender-inequality-in-my-church/

By Stephanie Lorenzo

Women have no Power in Making Church Decisions

Why is it that women have very little to no power in making church decisions? Even though most of these decisions affect them directly, their voices are often unheard. 

For as long as we can remember, women have constantly been fighting for their rights to be recognized, their voice to be heard. At the Catholic Church’s Headquarters - The Holy See, women make up only 3% of leadership positions appointed by the Pope. 

Voices of Faith have started a global campaign #overcomingsilence to remove the barriers that prevent women from reaching top leadership roles in the global and local Catholic Church. 

Did you know that there are 1.2 billion Catholics out of which more than 50% are women? However, less than 3% of them hold leadership and decision making positions inside the global church. It is disappointing to see that gender equality is majorly overlooked in the Catholic Church. Even though more than half of the Catholics are women, yet their voices, opinions, and rights are undervalued. 

The Overcoming Silence campaign has three main goals:

Our first goal is to see religious sisters be given the right to vote in upcoming synods convened by Pope Francis. They should share equal power with Bishops and religious brother superiors who were given this right in 2018. Our aim is for them to cast their first vote in the synod on Amazonia due to take place this October.

Our next goal is to help women be appointed to Vatican Leadership roles. The global church is made up of multiple departments and a President or Prefect, a Secretary, and an Undersecretary lead each of these departments. Canon Lawyers and Curia Leaders have stated that lay people could lead some of these departments. If a nonprofessional can hold these positions then why are women not being considered for the same? As of now, no woman has ever been made a President, a Prefect or a Secretary. In fact, until now, only seven females have been made Undersecretaries. Our vision is to help them become part of influencing and decision making at the top levels of the Church. 

Our third goal is to bring women to leadership roles at all levels in a Catholic Church. It is time women break free from these shackles of gender inequality. Why is the Church not using the immense talent, expertise, and perspective that women have to offer? 

The #overcomingsilence campaign is a way to urge the Pope to address these issues and take some action. There is no time like today to make a change for a better tomorrow that is favorable for the upcoming generation. 

Join our campaign and share your message with us: www.overcomingsilence.com

We want to hear diverse voices to achieve a zestful and an all-inclusive church.