In the first event of a three-part 2006-2007 series, Church in the 21st Century (C21) hosted "How Women Live out Being Catholic: Sharing Our Stories" Monday night. The four featured panelists, Kara Cherniga, A&S '07, Pat Casey, BC '75, Sheila McMahon, director of the Women's Resource Center, and Pat DeLeeuw, vice provost, discussed their experiences as women in the Catholic church, and how their faith challenged, nourished, and impacted their lives.
The crowd of approximately 200 people, was composed of mostly female with some male alumni, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.
Throughout all four panelists' stories, the main theme of encouraging and participating in a dialogue about women's roles in the church was stressed, emphasizing that although change will be difficult, it can be prompted by an ongoing dialogue.
Cherniga spoke first, describing her four years at Boston College, "At BC, I've reflected on how to be a Catholic woman," said Cherniga. Although Cherniga was raised in a Catholic family, she said she did not choose to attend BC just because it was a Catholic college.
During her freshman year, she attended Protestant services, but continued to come back to the familiarity of Masses. Once she decided she was definitely Catholic, she decided to major in theology.
"My classes at BC solidified my view of what it is to be a Catholic woman, and determined what I'm going to do with it," said Cherniga.
According to Cherniga, her theology teachers nurtured her faith, especially when she struggled with being a woman in the church and with recent scandals. "My classes have taught me to look at faith critically, and take positives out of it," she said.
Casey spoke next, describing the two main threads she found wove together her Catholic identity.
First, Casey described the central role of the Eucharist in her life. "It has sustained, fed, and centered me, symbolizing the life I want to live, and struggle to live."
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