Women in Education in the Catholic Church
Natalie Murphy
This month we honour Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church. Familiaris Consortio ‒ The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World ‒ states ‘parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children’. We look to Mary as the first educator of Jesus.
Prior to Vatican II the majority of women in education were religious sisters who taught in primary and secondary Catholic schools. Most secondary schools for girls were administered and staffed by women, which modelled for girls that women can be leaders in society and in the Church. The founders of many women’s religious orders would have concurred with the sentiments of Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of
Mercy that ‘no work of charity can be more productive of good to society, or more conducive to the happiness of the poor, than the careful instruction of women, since whatever be the station they are destined to fill, their example and their advice will always possess influence…’.
The education of women by women has indeed been ‘productive of good’, not only for the influence of women within their families, but also within the many public roles women now hold in society.
With the renewal of the Church through Vatican II the importance of the laity role in the mission of the Church was emphasised. Many religious sisters undertook tertiary study in such areas as Scripture and Theology and used the fruits of their study in adult education to assist the laity to take their rightful place within the Church.
Women, lay and religious are now engaged in theological and scriptural research. Their writings bring new insights to the richness of the Gospels and Scriptures, which resonate with women’s experience and help them deepen their commitment to Christ, the Church and Earth. Today the sphere of women in education is wide. Women are involved in education in schools, in the Catholic Institute, in universities, in spirituality centres, in Caritas to name but a few.
Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Natalie Murphy has been a teacher in Wellington and Blenheim Catholic primary schools and RE Adviser in the Palmerston North Diocese and is currently volunteering in classrooms at St Anne’s School in Newtown.