Women’s contribution to the life of the Church celebrated on International Women’s Day

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Office for the Participation of Women today celebrated International Women’s Day with a special Mass and lunch at the ACBC secretariat in Canberra.

Chair of the Council for Australian Catholic Women, Patricia Banister, welcomed everyone to the lunch and took the opportunity to thank women for the significant contribution they make in the Church.

Patricia also said a prayer for International Women’s Day that reflected on the different gifts and talents women bring to the Church.

Kimberly Davis, the Director of the Office for the Participation of Women said it was encouraging to see women from a diverse range of Catholic agencies and organisations coming together to celebrate the day.

“Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day. International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men,” she said in welcoming those attending the Mass.

“This day provides an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the contribution all women make in families, society and the Church.

“The report on the participation of women in the Catholic Church in Australia published in 1999, Woman and Man: One in Christ Jesus, identified gender equality as the dominant issue. This called for the equal dignity of women and men created in the image and likeness of God to be recognised. This understanding of equality did not imply the sameness of men and women, but rather their complementarity and mutuality.

“The decisions and proposals set down in the Australian Catholic Bishops 2000 Social Justice Statement provide a blueprint for action to ensure that women are more fully participative members of the Catholic Church in Australia. Today we are invited to pray for all women who contribute to the Church through a great diversity of roles and tasks.”

Among those attending the International Women’s Day celebrations were representatives from the ACBC

Secretariat, Centacare, Calvary Health Care, Caritas Australia, the National Catholic Education Commission, Catholic Earthcare Australia, the Catholic Enquiry Centre, the Office for Employment Relations and the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.

Kimberly said the OPW had also been encouraged by the many orders received for the parish kit which was designed to give parishes resources to celebrate International Women’s Day.