FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2008

Ms. Barbara Litrell (Sedona, AZ) 928-649-0135 (h) 928-300-5839 (cell)

Synod Asked To Restore Deleted Biblical Women
Catholics Work to Put Women Back in Biblical Picture at Vatican Synod

Cleveland, OHNearly 20,000 Catholics from around the world have sent paper and electronic postcards to Vatican organizers of the Synod on the Word and to their Bishop delegates, asking them to restore women leaders such as Mary of Magdala and Phoebe to lectionary texts from which they have been deleted. The Synod begins October 5 in Rome, and will be in session until October 27.

Spearheaded by the Cleveland based FutureChurch, the two year project also asks synod leaders to invite women biblical scholars, devote greater pastoral attention to the inclusive practice of Jesus and St. Paul and expand preaching opportunities for women.

“We’re encouraged that the Vatican has invited women experts to the synod,” said FutureChurch director, Sr. Christine Schenk.  “Now we hope synod fathers will recognize the need to recognize the many “women of the Word” who played such important roles in early church history.”

Schenk will be in Rome along with two FutureChurch board members, Fr. Gerry Bechard and Ms Rita Houlihan, while the synod is in process.

A fascinating 1996 analysis by Sr. Ruth Fox OSB found a disproportionate number of passages about women were deleted from the lectionary, a book of biblical passages carefully chosen for church proclamation. (article available for free download at http://www.futurechurch.org/watw/womeninbibleandlectionary.htm)

“Many mistakenly believe Jesus called only men and that Paul was anti-women,” said Schenk. “This is due in part to the fact that New Testament texts referring to Jesus’ female disciples and Paul’s coworkers are never read on a Sunday. This creates significant pastoral challenges to evangelizing 21st century women and men who are accustomed to seeing women serving in civil and corporate leadership roles alongside men.”

Fr. Gerry Bechard, pastor of St. Simon and Jude parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit, and a FutureChurch board member said: “Phoebe, an important leader of the Church at Cenchrae, is completely excised from the lectionary text of Paul’s letter to the Romans, as are Lois and Eunice from the letter to Timothy. We want Church officials to correct that.”

“For centuries, Mary of Magdala’s leadership and that of many other biblical women, has been minimized or excised from the official lectionary used in both Catholic and Protestant churches,” said FutureChurch Board Member Barbara Litrell.   “For example, even though all four gospels name Mary of Magdala as the first witness to the Resurrection, Jesus’ commission asking her to proclaim it to the male disciples is never read on Sunday, yet we hear about doubting Thomas every single year.”
 
In July and August FutureChurch sent a packet of materials to all the English speaking bishop delegates to the Synod, including clerics in the U.S. the UK, Ireland, Australia, the Philippines, Canada, India and Africa. The packet included a list of 23 female biblical scholars available to serve at the synod and copious background materials about lectionary omissions regarding women leaders. 

Concerned Catholic advocates sought and in some cases received meetings with US and Canadian synod delegates. A number of international Bishop delegates also responded positively to FutureChurch requests via letter, email and telephone.  FutureChurch leaders are seeking meetings with synod delegates while in Rome.

“If we want to reach the next generation of Catholics, there is a need for Catholic preaching and education about the Word to reflect the gender balance found in Jesus and St. Paul's counter cultural practices. FutureChurch's work in our Women and the Word: Synod 2008 campaign arose directly from the need to find solutions to such important pastoral challenges,” said Schenk.  “The Church has gotten very restrictive about allowing lay people to preach, even those with degrees in scripture and homiletics. This means no women can ever preach at Mass and it is a great loss to the believing community,” she said.

Campaign accomplishments:

Nearly 20,000 paper and electronic postcards were sent to US bishops, the Pope and Vatican officials asking for attention to women's biblical leadership and experience in church preaching and scripture proclamation at the October Synod.

In 2007 and 2008, hundreds of organizers at over 600 Mary of Magdala celebrations in the US , Canada, Austalia and six other countries incorporated a special prayer service celebrating the hidden women of the lectionary and distributed hundreds of postcards and forwarded e-postcard appeals.

Many leaders of men’s and women’s religious orders spoke or wrote personal letters to their bishops asking for female biblical experts to serve as consultants at the Synod.

A number of bishops and Cardinals wrote in support of the campaign, or have privately expressed their support of it.

For the past eleven years FutureChurch has sponsored annual celebrations of the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala to promote understanding of Jesus’ inclusive practice and provide a place for women to serve in visible liturgical roles.

For more on the Woman and the Word: Synod 2008 campaign visit http://www.futurechurch.org/watw/

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FutureChurch, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a U.S. coalition of 5,000 parish centered
Catholics striving to educate fellow Catholics about the seriousness of the priest shortage, the centrality of the Eucharist (the Mass), and the systemic inequality of women in the Catholic Church. FutureChurch makes presentations throughout the country, distributes educational and informational packets and recruits activists who call on Catholic leadership to open ordination to all baptized persons who are called to priestly ministry by God and the people of God