Forum: Movement for the Equality of Men and Women
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Women are asserting themselves in all branches of human life today, including areas that were previously considered, largely if not entirely, within the male provinces. In recent years, women have occupied the very highest positions in our political, business, professional and educational worlds, and they have performed generally, at least as well as men.
There is not yet the level playing field for both men and women, that Thomas Friedman talks so well about, but progress is definitely being made by women in that direction. The movement for the equality of men and women in our society is happening, and it is happening very quickly. As is the case in so many other matters, it is happening more slowly within the Churches, and especially within the Roman Catholic Church. The net result, thus far, seems to be that the churches are being viewed as more antiquarian and irrelevant than ever to the issues that preoccupy adults today..
The importance and difficulty of these changes may be misunderstood, but they must not be ignored. Human beings differ more in gender than in any other source, including color and race. Men and women are not only biologically different, they frequently think and act very differently. These differences, at best, can be complimentary and helpful, and, at worse, polarizing and destructive. Choosing the right course between these extremes is often most difficult. It is largely uncharted territory.
Young men and women appear to be making sensible adjustments to this new reality. They are doing so in ways that baffle older generations. Men and women have related to one another in generally acceptable and workable ways over the years. In our own times, the differences in this relationship have varied widely from generation to generation and from couple to couple. But, the accommodations among younger people today seems truly exceptional.
Where are we headed in all of this? Will the churches play any role at all in this development, as they have among past generations? Is so, what will it be? If not, who or what will play a significant social role in this area and what does that suggest for the future of family life and the respective roles of men and women, and what does it suggest for the future of the Church in our society? These are difficult questions, but, it seems to us, they must be answered is we are not simply to drift, aimlessly.
