In the first event of a three-part 2006-2007 series, Church in the 21st Century (C21) hosted "How Women Live out Being Catholic: Sharing Our Stories" Monday night. The four featured panelists, Kara Cherniga, A&S '07, Pat Casey, BC '75, Sheila McMahon, director of the Women's Resource Center, and Pat DeLeeuw, vice provost, discussed their experiences as women in the Catholic church, and how their faith challenged, nourished, and impacted their lives.
The crowd of approximately 200 people, was composed of mostly female with some male alumni, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.
Throughout all four panelists' stories, the main theme of encouraging and participating in a dialogue about women's roles in the church was stressed, emphasizing that although change will be difficult, it can be prompted by an ongoing dialogue.
Cherniga spoke first, describing her four years at Boston College, "At BC, I've reflected on how to be a Catholic woman," said Cherniga. Although Cherniga was raised in a Catholic family, she said she did not choose to attend BC just because it was a Catholic college.
During her freshman year, she attended Protestant services, but continued to come back to the familiarity of Masses. Once she decided she was definitely Catholic, she decided to major in theology.
"My classes at BC solidified my view of what it is to be a Catholic woman, and determined what I'm going to do with it," said Cherniga.
According to Cherniga, her theology teachers nurtured her faith, especially when she struggled with being a woman in the church and with recent scandals. "My classes have taught me to look at faith critically, and take positives out of it," she said.
Casey spoke next, describing the two main threads she found wove together her Catholic identity.
First, Casey described the central role of the Eucharist in her life. "It has sustained, fed, and centered me, symbolizing the life I want to live, and struggle to live."
She also experienced the desire to bring together the institution of church with today's reality.
"Too often, the church disappoints. It focuses on less important ideas, and misses opportunities to make an impact on important issues," said Casey.
Casey stressed the importance of individuals expending effort in order to find the communities that work for them.
McMahon told the story of a nativity scene that moved her and represented her idea of women's roles in the church.
As a child, she was not comfortable with her faith, and was still not able to reconcile it with her life as a young adult. Mostly, she was troubled by the absence of women in the church.
As an undergraduate, she happened to stumble upon a nativity scene with a female shepard, and was so moved by the image that she photographed it and carried the picture with her for the rest of the year.
"To me, the statue represents the affirmation of women's love and presence in the church," said McMahon.
DeLeeuw spoke last, describing faith relative to the various stages of her life. During her pre-Vatican II childhood, she loved the ritual and certainty of church, said DeLeeuw.
Yet over time, her faith waned until she felt she no longer needed it at all. She picked it up again when she began studying the Middle Ages, or the "Age of Faith," in college.
"I was wrestling with issues of belief in my writing and work, but they were not my issues, but those of people who lived thousands of years ago," said DeLeeuw.
In the end, it was DeLeeuw's children that made her return to Catholicism. "I saw the face of God in my child's face, and knew I had to go back to my roots and the church of my childhood," said DeLeeuw.
McMahon then expressed her worry that there is shame in being raised as a Catholic woman today. "Women do what's expected of them, and ignore their own needs. I hope that women will authentically be themselves, and that their faith comes out of that," said McMahon.
As one audience member pointed out, though each woman's story was vastly different, each mentioned a struggle, and ultimate return to her faith.
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