More women participation in Church after empowerment initiatives in India

(March 7, 2009) Women are now taking on greater roles in the Indian Catholic Church after bishops began emphasizing gender justice and women's empowerment a year ago. However, more work still needs to be done, women leaders say. "Definitely, women's participation and involvement in Church activities have increased in the past year," said Salesian Sister Lilly Francis, secretary of the Commission for Women, on March 5. Her commission, which comes under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), prepared material for the Indian bishops' 28th plenary meeting in February last year and the issue of women's empowerment in the Church and society was discussed. A CBCI survey conducted before the meeting indicated that Catholic women had practically no role in the decision-making bodies of the Church here. Sister Francis said the survey sought to identify practices that excluded women from decision-making, with the intention of fostering gender sensitivity in Church and society. The survey also highlighted the need to improve the roles of women in the social, political, economic and spiritual arenas. A year after the meeting, Sister Francis said she is happy as her commission has "received great response" from all 12 CBCI regions, who were told to draft practical suggestions to increase gender justice and enhance women's roles in Church and society. These developments show that more and more women are getting "effectively involved," Sister Francis said.