Women are doing much of the work in today’s churches. But even so, there is still that one elusive role that, so far, women have not been able to attain: that of Roman Catholic priest.
However, says Saugus’ Kathleen Sullivan — a former volunteer at St. Margaret’s Church — just about every other important role within the Catholic Church is filled by women.
“It’s true now,” she says. “Most of the staff of the churches are made up of women, whether they’re paid employees or volunteers. Most of the people who do the work are women.”
So why can’t they take the last step, and become priests so they can administer all the sacraments?
There is no easy answer to the question. In an essay in the Catholic Exchange from August 2019, theologian J.P. Nunez acknowledges that women can recite homilies and perform the sacraments with the same proficiency as men.
But, he writes, women cannot be the same physical manifestation of Jesus Christ that a man can be. Even deeper, Nunez argues, there’s a symbiotic, almost nuptial, relationship between the priest and Christ.
However, the church does seem to be moving on this issue, even though — as Sullivan points out — the wheels of change turn slowly.
“Pope Francis has allowed for a committee to study deaconship, which is an ordained step toward priesthood,” said former St. John the Evangelist Co-Director of Religious Education (DRE) Sister Michelle Sherliza. “Women are asking. It hasn’t been approved by Rome, but with the decline in the number of priests, this will become an option. But it moves slowly.”
Though this was a similar issue with other denominations, it is not anymore. And it has not been for a long time.
Capt. Helen Johnson is the co-pastor of the Lynn Salvation Army citadel on Franklin Street, Lynn, along with her husband, Capt. Kevin Johnson. Hers is not an adjunct position. They share responsibilities equally.
“Ours is very much a team ministry,” said Capt. Helen (as she prefers to be called). “And when it comes to duties, we do the things we’re best at. He may handle the finances and I may handle ministering to the kids. And we take turns preaching.”
The Rev. Heather Ardrey, pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene (Iglesia Hermosa del Nazareno) on Eastern Avenue, Lynn, says that while being a woman in the ministry can be a challenge at times, it is largely a blessing — especially in this part of the country. But both Capt. Helen and Rev. Ardrey have encountered difficulties elsewhere.
“A captain in the Salvation Army is on a par with a pastor,” said Capt. Helen. “I notice sometimes that people will automatically give my husband the title, but do not give me the same title. They’ll just call me ‘Helen.”’
The Rev. Ardrey recalls preaching in the Marshall Islands, “and after preaching one Sunday, I got emails telling me I shouldn’t be preaching.”
They also can see where being a woman could get in the way of doing the type of sensitive counseling ministers often give their parishioners.
“With us, that doesn’t present that much of a problem,” Capt. Helen said. “He’ll talk to the men and I’ll talk to the women if the issues are sensitive enough to warrant that.”
With the Rev. Ardrey, the line is a little finer.
“It would depend on how comfortable they are in talking to me,” she said. “I’m very careful with things like that. I prefer meeting in public places, like over a cup of coffee or down at the beach. The most important thing is for everyone to be comfortable.
“The need for mental health support varies. Sometimes it is better if a man shares something with another man, and there are men in our community who are willing to help out in that manner. I also make people aware that there are other things in place (for counseling). That’s important for anyone.”
Both, however, find their careers rewarding.
“My parents were also Salvation Army officers,” Capt. Helen said. “As a teen, I revolted against it. But when I was about 20, I went to Nepal, and saw the poverty there. I got struck with this desire to help and to do something that was part of the solution.”
“It is always a gift to be invited into the lives of people,” Rev. Ardrey says. “You share their joys, share their pain. It is an honor.”
Sister Michelle, who worked under four pastors, including Monsignor John Carroll, credits Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council with giving the Catholic Church a huge nudge forward.
“He allowed for lay ministers, lectors … he was a man of vision. He moved the church forward, and we’re still feeling that.
“We developed a dynamic parish at St. John’s,” she said. “We visited the sick and gave Communion. We reached out to the spiritual side of ministry. It was quite an experience. God was present in our lives, and it just came together. We were able to perform wonderful things.”
And while she won’t speak against the Church’s reasoning for its views on priesthood, it’s not difficult to see where her feelings might fall.
“I think it’s part of the society in which we’ve grown up,” said Sister Michelle, who was the DRE at St. John’s for 34 years, beginning in 1973, before moving to Columbus, Ohio, where she is now. “The right for women to vote, all the different areas where women have strived — it’s a matter of justice, and equality, in all of society in which women assume positions equal to men. I think it will happen eventually. If we keep moving forward, eventually we’ll see change. We leave it in the hands of God to direct us.”