 In a C21 event, BC faculty members spoke about the leadership of women within the Church.
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The Catholic Church is more known for its strong tradition of male leadership than it is for its strong female leadership. On Ash Wednesday, however, members of the Boston College community gathered to celebrate the underestimated, but nonetheless rich, tradition of prominent women leaders within the Church's history.
Church in the 21st Century's "Foremothers in Faith: Historic Women of Our Time" was held in the Heights Room in Corcoran Commons and included reflections by Lisa Sowle Cahill and M. Shawn Copeland, professors in the theology department, Dr. Patricia DeLeeuw, vice provost for faculties, Colleen Griffith, faculty director of spirituality studies, and Ruth Langer, associate director for the center for Christian-Jewish learning. These speakers represented a diverse field of views from the Christian and Jewish faiths, reflecting on the role of the most prominent women members of the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
Cahill began the night by reflecting on Mary Magdalene, a historical figure not very well understood in the modern church.
Cahill said that Mary Magdalene is portrayed in much of later Christian tradition as nothing more than a reformed prostitute and as the one who washed the feet of Jesus.
Cahill said that Mary Magdalene was defined by much more than her sexuality.
She said that Magdalene was given a role in the church as an "apostle of the apostles," which was the same apostolic level as St. Paul.
"All four gospels portray Mary Magdalene as one of the first witnesses to the resurrection … She is given the mission to preach the gospel," Cahill said. She added that the reason that Magdalene is never seen as equal to St. Paul in church tradition is because of her womanhood.
Nevertheless, Cahill said she hopes that others can spread the truth about Mary Magdalene so she can be looked upon as a role model for women as leaders of the church.
Presenting on the Jewish tradition was Langer, an ordained Rabbi. She spoke on the glaring lack of strong women role models in the Jewish tradition.
Langer said that even though there is only marginal evidence of women leaders in Jewish tradition, current scholars can use what is known to construct historical fiction with strong role models. "We as a community end up building imaginatively on the few clues that are preserved in history to construct models for ourselves, and this active construction is precisely what a few female novelists have been doing, writing historical fiction … grounding their work in significant research, but often elaborating on a tiny, tiny handful of clues," Langer said.
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