"Adult Feminists in Charge of Things Catholic" by Mary Hunt/Excellent Post-Election Analysis/Empowerment of Women/Catholic Communities of Progressives

http://www.fsrinc.org/blog/%C2%A0adult-feminists-charge-things-catholic%C2%A0

..."As predicted, white, mostly male, Catholics of a certain age voted one way; Hispanic, young, LGBTIQ, women, and others voted another. That President Obama, same-sex marriage, reproductive choice, and immigration reform all came out on top is welcome news and serious responsibility. Progressives, especially feminists, are the new adults in the U.S. Catholic community. How are we going to act now that we are in the driver’s seat?
I have written often about the demise of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops. I have no need to rub their collective noses in their massive defeat. However, no one can ignore the enormous amounts of church money (both from parish collections and the Knights of Columbus) they poured into one losing proposition after another. Perhaps this experience will chasten them. I doubt it.
Their bravado a week later is telling. They claim that they will continue to be the guardians of hetero-only marriage and persist in their health care quibbles. But the frank fact of the matter is that just as pollsters won over pundits in the election, so too did Catholic progressives win over the bishops. Elections matter and the momentum has shifted definitively in our direction.
As a feminist, I welcome this new post-election clarity. When confronted with the notion that Catholics are expected to pray, pay, and obey, I have only to point to the 2012 results as proof that most don’t. There is every indication in the trends that the new Catholic majority, especially Hispanics and young people, is growing. I am concerned about this because the Catholic community as one fourth of the U.S. electorate still makes a difference. With the bishops in disgrace—unable to pass a simple letter on the economy four years into a damaging recession—the mantle of leadership has passed to the rest of the community where it belongs.
Now the real work begins to establish what it means to be a Catholic feminist in the 21^st century. At a minimum, it means transforming a kyriarchal tradition into an egalitarian one. It means finding ways to live with differences of opinion, with diversity without requiring conformity. Yes, that is Catholic. Mostly, it means letting the needs of the world, not the failings of an outmoded institution, drive the agenda. Most importantly, it means making the values of love and justice manifest in a world in which hatred, greed, and violence are normative. This work can only be made easier by strong coalitions, smart, committed leaders, and participatory models of operating, all of which feminists value. It also requires the careful scholarship that feminists provide that in quantity..."
Bridget Mary's Response: Well said, Mary!