Voices of Women: Women's Experience of the Catholic Church in Australia

Abstract

The paucity of material, especially in Australia, on how women experience the Catholic Church and other Christian churches, is evidence that women and their reality have been held in little account by the church. With the increasing alienation of women in the church, especially in the Catholic Church, an urgent need was seen to exist for this present study. Because the teaching voice of the Catholic Church is that of the male hierarchy, women are spoken for by men; women themselves lack voice. This study seeks to fill this void and give to Catholic women their own voice. The guiding research question is addressed specifically to a group calling themselves Women and the Australian Church (WATAC): 'How do women experience the church and desire change within the church?'. The study seeks to explore attitudes of these women in order to understand their social setting and its meaning from their perspective. Essentially the study explores what is real for women through their articulation of their experience. The methodological framework is essentially phenomenological. Ethnographic tools and survey techniques were used to obtain data. Initial data were obtained via a survey of all members of WATAC (NSW). In-depth data were gathered from key informant interviews of Catholic lay women who were selected from the survey responses. Findings indicate strong emergent patters: love-pain tension between church as a worshipping community of believers and hierarchical structures; a we-they dichotomy between laity and clergy, women and men; and common issues addressing the questions of 'what does it mean to be Catholic?' and 'why stay in the church?'. The study establishes that WATAC women desire to be heard in the Australian Catholic Church, their love for and loyalty to the church are demonstrable and their collective insights warrant consideration. It establishes that Vatican II is pivotal in understanding the tension and dichotomy within the present church. This tension and dichotomy are seen as reaction to change that has occurred and is still occurring, and as an indication of the need for further change. Language about church is seen as a tool of social construction and thus can be used as a means of initiating grass roots change. Implications are drawn for laity especially women, and for church leaders. These relate to issues of empowerment and leadership, and what women and church leaders might do in order that all inclusive Catholic Church that incorporates the experience and expertise of women comes into being. The study also offers prospects for research that might pick up on themes arising from this study.