Dispatches from Rome: Installment #3

Join Cecilia González-Andrieu, a Catholic theologian and professor of theological studies in the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, on a transformative journey to Rome. She will share "Dispatches from Rome," reflecting on the Synod on Synodality and the urgent call for women's leadership in the Church. She is part of a rich tapestry of voices gathered from diverse backgrounds, united in their mission to serve marginalized communities and engage in discussions on women deacons and Church representation. All in the spirit of hope and collaboration in this pivotal moment for the Church.

Have you heard the phrase "I feel like I've been drinking from a firehose"? That's what it feels like to be in Rome. The streets are full of the usual crowds, plus the over 300 voting representatives at the last meeting of the 3-year Synod and the rest of us who have a stake in the future of the Church. The global news media is covering every detail. This is historic. How do people from every continent come to a consensus on what it means to be a Catholic community (not just a bunch of individuals) today? What should we be doing? Where have we failed? Who are we meant to be?

My presence here is just one piece of an enormous mosaic. Perhaps the best strategy is to focus on our tiny piece of glass until it shimmers.

It's starting to sprinkle as we make our way to St. Peter's Square. The initial group of women who met with Pope Francis (see Installment 2) has now grown to over 60 women and allies. The group ranges from college students to elders braving slippery sidewalks with their canes. We have come from everywhere, converging on the question of women's roles in the Church and why this is good for the whole world.

Women are working in places where vulnerable people need someone to help them find shelter, understand their rights, access education, bury their dead, baptize their children, marry their young, provide counsel and care, and pray and worship. Meanwhile, the institution reserves some of these roles only for men. However, astute local bishops have given permission to women to do what makes sense-not only because of the need but because of the Gospel: all are called to be bearers of hope and to work for a world that resembles God's vision. In this group are women doing this work among the most vulnerable in the Amazonian region, Australia, and Canada. Is there such a thing as women leading and serving the Catholic Church in the U.S.?

Allow me to introduce you to three:

Daniela was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the child of a single mother who came to the U.S. without authorization under desperate circumstances as a teenager, bore four children, worked three jobs, and who, because of our severely broken immigration system, remains a person without documents nearly 50 years later. Daniela is a youth leader at Dolores Mission, the Jesuit Parish in Boyle Heights, where she teaches and preaches. She has been mentored by Rosa Bonilla, the pastoral assistant whose duties at this famous community (Homeboy Industries was born here!) include coordinating 13 parish groups, visiting the sick, preaching, and supporting those who are grieving. Finally, there's Elizabeth Román, who on this rainy morning delivers an impassioned plea about the plight of migrants and refugees just a few steps away from the only new monument in St. Peter's Square, Angels Unaware (2019) by Timothy Schmalz. Román is president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry, and as she speaks of the suffering of displaced persons, we all gaze at the life-sized depiction of this migrant boat.

The sculpture is haunting, as each person is an individual with distinct features and dressed in ways that give clues to the repeated forced migrations of human history. Somewhere in the center of the boat, two wings rise, alluding to the Scripture verse in Hebrews 13:2: "Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels." "Would that we could see that there are angels walking among us," Román reminds us. One feature of the sculpture is golden, the patina rubbed away by the thousands of visitors who have reached back to touch the outstretched hand of someone resembling Jesus.

The women who want to serve the vulnerable around the world without depending on a kind bishop for special permission, and the women who already do that work invisibly and persistently, know well how to entertain angels. Although the news from the Synod has been disappointing regarding women, we will keep at it.

Daniela, Rosa, and Elizabeth are entertaining angels.

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