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
