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Witnesses
Kelly Sankowski
St. Phoebe Day Witness, St. Martin de Porres, Toledo, OH
March 27, 2024

Writing my St. Phoebe Day reflection gave me the opportunity to reflect on my long and winding journey of discerning my vocational call to ministry, and how that was impacted by my own exposure (or lack thereof) to women leaders in the Church. While I consistently felt drawn toward ministerial roles and academic study of religion, it was not until I worked for a diocese and saw women in leadership there that I began to imagine that I, too, could have a career in ministry in the Church. 

While this does not necessarily mean a personal call to the diaconate, I believe the prospect deserves serious consideration and discernment. I have come to appreciate that each individual reflects different aspects of who God is, and I believe that having women's voices heard from the pulpit could open us up to a more complete picture of the divine. Perhaps it could also make it easier for future generations of Catholic women to imagine themselves as leaders in the Church.

“This is not only because Church teaching written by men sometimes misses the mark when it comes to women’s lived experience. It is not only because our Church’s management in many ways mirrors the patriarchal systems that have also harmed our secular society – mismanaging cases of abuse and failing to provide living wages or adequate parental leave policies to its employees. It is primarily because without women’s voices, we are missing out on entire elements of who God is.” -Kelly Sankowski, St. Phoebe Day 2023

 

Witness
“Being able to be educated on who St. Phoebe is and giving others the chance to meet her, being part of a community of women who promote an inclusive model of the church, and seeing my own community come alive and heal from division provides a vision of what can and will be possible one day in the Catholic Church.”
Kathleen O'Brien
Maryknoll Bay Area Regional Coordinator in the Mission Formation Department
Witness
“I have witnessed these women become Catholic high school teachers, professors, writers, administer parish life and leaders of prayer services. Women have been my peers and supervisors, except in diaconal ministry. I continue to hold out hope that women’s gifts for ministry and service can and will be acknowledged by the church.”
Fr. Tom Cwick, SJ
Pastoral Minister, North Side, St. Louis, MO
Witness
“I am grateful as a pastor and a part of the BCCs here to learn and journey together with others. As a priest in our community, I am proud to be a part of this ministry to uplift women who are struggling. It is great joy and fulfillment. In my personal life, I have experienced the richness of acknowledging and uplifting the witness of women in the early Church and also in our Church today.”
Fr. Vincent Dsouza, SJ
Pastor and Base Christian Community Leader, India

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