Chapter 11

Women’s Advisory Committee

Catholic Women in Leadership Study

Maureen K. Day, PhD

The 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality has raised many important questions for us to consider as a Church. Among these are the roles and experiences—both graces and challenges—that women leaders have experienced in our parishes, schools, non-profits and other contexts. To better understand this within the Diocese of San Diego, Cardinal Robert McElroy commissioned a census to ascertain how many men and women were serving in a variety of leadership positions. At the same time, he also sent a survey to the priests of the diocese to learn their experiences with and thoughts concerning women leaders. He then called a Women’s Advisory Committee to further explore this question; the next step was a survey to hear from women in a variety of Catholic leadership positions. The Women’s Advisory committee contemplated the results of all three of these studies and offered their initial thoughts anonymously to the group. All these deliberations are reported here.

Executive Summary

The following offers key takeaways from each stage of this data gathering process.
  1. The parish census revealed that the vast majority of parish ministries are female-majority. There were exceptions to this, but this was the prevailing pattern.

  2. The pastor survey demonstrated that a strong majority of participating pastors are appreciative of and value women’s leadership. Most claimed that barriers to female leadership within their own parishes either did not exist or had been resolved insofar as possible.

  3.  The survey of female Catholic leaders revealed that most women have very positive feelings surrounding their experiences as a leader. When asked about the graces they have seen within their role or in other female leaders, the most common responses included the following themes: women have particular virtues or personal characteristics they bring to their leadership contexts, women in leadership are inspirational to other women, and women have particular professional skills or competencies they bring to their role.

    When discussing their challenges, many named a general sexism, feeling their authority or voice devalued, unsupportive clergy, being spread too thin (especially with conflicts between ministry, work and family), and unsupportive lay people. When asked where they would like to see a greater presence of female leadership, prevailing responses named deacons or serving in diaconal roles (the most commonly named was preaching, but some also named sacramental duties), more prominent parish and other leadership roles, and expanding the priesthood to include women. When suggesting supportive changes, they offered more educational or formational opportunities for female leaders, relationship and community-building opportunities among women leaders, greater support for women leaders (with pastors playing a critical role for women who lead in parishes), and to be more supportive of family obligations. There were less commonly named, but still important, themes for each of these questions that are expanded within the main body of the report.

  4. Finally, the Women’s Advisory Committee met to discern next steps given these findings. When discussing the barriers, sexism rose to the top. When thinking about enhancements and other supports for women leaders, opportunities for the education, formation or other skills were most popular as was a desire for clarity as many were unsure about which roles or duties are available to women. When asked about a concrete recommendation to address either a barrier or an enhancement, formational and educational programs for women as well as workshops or conferences were most popular. There were many other important but less frequently named barriers, enhancements or recommendations; these are elaborated in the report.

Women’s Advisory Committee

Task force exploring the role of women in church leadership today

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About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pulido’s coat of arms is divided into four quarters with wavy horizontal lines from top to bottom. The blue and white lines represent the Blessed Virgin Mary. They also suggest water, which alludes to Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and to the waters of baptism. The red and gold lines represent the Holy Spirit and fire. The colors also can be seen as referring to the Blood that (along with water) poured from Jesus’ side at His crucifixion, as well as to the bread (gold) and wine (red) transformed into the Eucharist. At the center is a roundel featuring a symbolic representation of the “mandatum” (washing of the feet), which he believes exemplifies service to all humanity. The roundel’s outer edge is a line composed of small humps; it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Yakima, where Bishop Pulido served as a priest before being named a bishop.

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pham’s coat of arms depicts a red boat on a blue ocean, which is crisscrossed by diagonal lines suggesting a fisherman’s net. This symbolizes his ministry as a “fisher of men,” as well as how his own father had been a fisherman. The boat is also a symbol of the Church, which is often referred to as the “barque of Peter.” At the center of the sail is a red beehive (a symbol of the bishop’s baptismal patron saint, St. John Chrysostom, who was known as a “honey-tongued” preacher). The beehive is surrounded by two green palm branches (an ancient symbol of martyrdom; the bishop’s ancestors were among Vietnam’s first martyrs). The eight red tongues of fire around the boat are a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a representation of the diversity of ethnic and cultural communities. The red of the boat, the beehive and the tongues of fire allude to the blood of the martyrs.

About the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms combines symbols that reflect Bishop Bejarano’s spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows four wavy vertical lines on a gold background. These represent flowing waters. This alludes to his chosen motto and also symbolizes the graces that come from the Divine life to quench our thirst for God. The upper third of the shield is red because it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, of which the Bishop’s patron saint, Raymond Nonnatus, was a member. The central symbol resembles a monstrance because St. Raymond is often depicted holding one. The Eucharist is Bishop Bejarano’s inspiration for his vocation. It was through the Eucharist that he received his call to the priesthood at age seven and which keeps his faith and his ministry going. It represents the call to offer oneself as a living sacrifice. The monstrance is flanked on either side by an image of the Sacred Heart, alluding to the mercy of God and echoing the idea of a sacrificial offering of oneself united to the sacrifice of Christ, and of a rose for Our Lady. It is an allusion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and highlights the bishop’s Hispanic heritage.

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