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.