Vatican II at 50: Male and Female, God Created Them

The recent election in the United States is being viewed as a breakthrough for women.   The new Congress that will convene in January will include a record number of women:  20 senators and at least 81 representatives.  Not only that, New Hampshire will be the first state to send an all-female delegation to Congress.  And the South Carolina Senate, currently all-male, will see its first female Senator.   Though still a minority in a male-dominated legislature, a larger presence of women is likely to add new and different perspectives to issues that affect all citizens.

This idea was echoed by Cardinal Leo Jozef Suenens of Belgium at the end of the second session of the Second Vatican Council when he asked his fellow bishops:  “Why are we even discussing the reality of the church when half of the church is not even represented here?” He was referring to the fact that midway through Vatican II in 1965, the Council was totally male—some 2,500 bishops and 400 theologians.  That prompted Pope Paul VI to appoint 15 women, both lay and religious, as “auditors.”  That number increased to 23 women by the Council’s end.  The women were silent observers, yet their presence spoke volumes.  They paved the way for generations to come.

Since the Council, female involvement in the Church has grown steadily.   Fifty years ago, it would have been unheard of to listen to women proclaim scripture or to see girls serve at the altar.   A recent study compiled by the Center for Research in the Apostolate claims that more than half (57%) of lay leadership in parishes are women.  Women have a long way to go before they are considered equal in the eyes of a male-dominated church and society,  still, their presence is invaluable as recognized by the voters in the previous election, and by persons like Cardinal Suenens.  As we continue to reflect upon how the Second Vatican Council changed the way we view ourselves and the world, we would do well to remember St. Paul’s charge to the Galatians some 2,000 years before:  All of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with him.  There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female.  All are one in Christ Jesus.