Theologian Susan Reynolds said the limited awareness surrounding the abuse of women by the clergy is indicative of the broader issue of misogyny within the Catholic Church.
“What is also clear is that the Church ignores the testimony of women and girls at its own peril,” said Reynolds, CSTM ’13 and GMCAS ’18. “There is simply not a credible future for an institution that finds the testimony of women uncredible.”
Reynolds returned to the Heights on Thursday for the second annual Nancy Marzella Lecture on Women and American Catholicism, hosted by the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. Reynolds is an associate professor of Catholic studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.
The limited visibility of women and girls in the narrative results in a skewed representation of survivors, according to Reynolds.
“This fractional visibility of women and girls in the story of clergy abuse doesn’t only tell an incomplete story about who survivors are, but it also paints an incomplete picture of the role of power in ecclesiastical contexts,” Reynolds said.
Although the media has spotlighted the male-centered Catholic psychological and sexual abuse, Reynolds noted that “women and girls are, and always have been, part of the story of abuse in the Church.”
“They are victims and survivors,” Reynolds said. “They are mothers, aunts, sisters, nuns, religious sisters, and postulants. They are teachers and whistleblowers and mandated reporters.”
Historically, women in the Church have been perceived as untrustworthy, which Reynolds contends results in the dismissal of complaints from female whistleblowers, particularly those submitted in writing.
“Survivor voices and the voices of mothers, nuns, and mandated reporters are reduced to court dispositions, legal transcriptions, and rare public statements,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds argued that the visible, male-dominated hierarchy within the Church reinforces the superiority of sacramental authority over that of nuns and lay people.
“Clericalism gains force by treading on other structures of domination based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, legal status, and age,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the lack of public attention highlights the obscure role that women have within the Church. By addressing their experiences, she argues they can begin to understand the intersection of gender, sexuality, and power within the Church.
“The stories of girls and women, as well as the stories of migrants and indigenous victims, received little to no public attention,” Reynolds said. “It’s here I think that the ambiguous status of women in the Church really comes into sharpest relief, where we begin to grasp the complicated and multi-layered intersection of gender, sex, and power in the institutional Church.”
To move forward, Reynolds said the Church must acknowledge these stories, and society should pay attention to the survivors who are often forgotten.
“The Church as an institution and as people must practice listening to women and girls, migrant women, religious sisters, teenagers, mothers, grandmothers, children, and all of us,” Reynolds said. “We might turn a listening ear to those who have dared to tell not only beautiful truths, but ugly ones, the truths we want to hear least and need to hear most.”