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Image: Sr. Anita Baird, DHM (L) and Deborah Rose (R) pose for a "selfie" at the 2023 LCWR Assembly.
As I attended the annual gathering of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Dallas, Texas this past week, I was reminded of prophetic power of faith-filled women. Courageous and tough-minded, the women of LCWR serve as CEOs, CFOs, presidents, and more - building and guiding communities, organizations, and institutions to carry out the work of the Gospel in our broken world. While Wall Street erects and sustains institutions for profit, these women of the Good News build and sustain structures that serve those who are left behind, disdained, and excluded from the social, religious, political, and economic goods of our society. They are, without a doubt, Christ’s heart and hands in this world.
Yet, surprisingly, not everyone has been pleased with the work of LCWR over the years. Like all good prophets, LCWR members have challenged the hard hearted and even called the bishops to task when they have acted unjustly. Most of the time though, it is not their words, but their simple ministry to those who are spurned that riles up the holier-than-thou class. Their prophetic vision for ministry to LGBTQ+ people and for women’s full participation in the Church and world left some bishops crying foul over their “radical feminist themes.” And their public support for governmental healthcare for all in 2008 drew such ire that certain bishops sought to silence them. In 2009 and 2012, churchmen, under Pope Benedict XVI, investigated and cracked down on the nuns.
It was at the 2012 LCWR gathering, that a woman of extraordinary faith and vision, Sr. Pat Farrell, OSF, spoke to a hurting, wounded church. Her words flew far beyond LCWR participants to thousands of Catholics who had been saddened and angered by the accusations and the actions of the Pope’s men.
In that painful moment with the doctrinal assessment looming, Farrell was faithful and fearless. Looking for the deeper meaning of the hurtful events she told us there was no “reason to be fearful of the cataclysmic movements of change swirling around us. We only need to recognize the movement, step into the flow, and be carried by it. Indeed, all creation is groaning in one great act of giving birth. The Spirit of God still hovers over the chaos.”
Throughout my days at LCWR, I reflected often on the caliber of these Jesus-like “troublemakers.” I had the opportunity to talk with congregational leaders Sr. Anita Baird, DHM, and Sr. Terry Rickard,OP, both preachers for Catholic Women Preach, and was reminded again of why they are so beloved and respected by Catholics everywhere.
I bumped into Sr. Sally Hodgdon, CSJ, who currently serves as the General Superior of Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambéry. In 2018, Hodgdon was on the leadership team for International Union of Superiors General and participated in the Synod on Young People as a non-voting member. Disturbed by the blatant sexism on display when it came to voting rights for male and female religious superiors, she was instrumental in planting seeds for change. As we talked, we rejoiced in the fact that our “Votes for Catholic Women” campaign resulted in women voting for the first time at a Synod this year!
Each speaker, Sr. Rebecca Ann Gemma, OP, Sr. Barbara Reid, OP, and Sr. Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, inspired me to open my heart and mind more courageously to God’s call to be radical in my love for the least among us.
And although I was only able to view the 2023 Outstanding Leadership Awardee, Sr. Donna Markham’s witness via video, Sr. Markham’s words rang with the same faithfulness and fearlessness as Sr. Pat Farrell’s in 2012. Another prophetic visionary in our church, the former director of Catholic Charities, USA, Sr. Donna Markham, OP, knows what it is like to be the target of ire of a different kind.
S. Markham faced down angry congresspeople who claimed Catholic Charities was breaking the law with their humanitarian efforts at the border. When the epidemic was taking millions of lives including the lives of immigrants and humanitarian workers, she reached out to religious sisters who, despite the dangers, came to the border by the hundreds to carry out the mission. When faced with an epidemic, hostility and threats from politicians, S. Markham remained resolute in her determination to continue the work. From a lifetime of doing God’s work, she told those who gathered:
…I am no longer afraid of what may become of me in speaking truth or doing what I know to be right. I know you understand this and live it with me. We will allow absolutely nothing to prevent us from reaching out in compassion. This is the gift and the hope I believe we women religious leaders offer to our broken, angry world today.
We live in a world where living, breathing prophets and giants live and work among us. When we are disappointed with the bland leadership of male leaders, we can turn to our true teachers, the religious sisters who have faced down hostility, indifference, and hatred and have taught us, by example, how to love in the midst of darkness. I, for one, want to follow their lead as faithfully as I can.
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