ARTICLES

Women’s survey shows general satisfaction with parishes

By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian

The recent survey in which women of the diocese had a chance to respond to statements or answer questions about women’s roles in their parishes drew 4,595 respondents.

The survey, which was available in both English and Spanish, shows that most women are satisfied with their parishes. Indeed, 78 percent said they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “My parish is an important part of my daily life.”

Respondents overwhelmingly (by 90 percent) agreed with the statement “Joining the parish was a positive experience.”

Another statement: “I would seek support from my parish in times of personal crisis” is one in which 80 percent agreed or strongly agreed.

But the numbers dropped when certain other questions were asked. An example was “How often do you feel alienated from your Church?” To this question, 58.1 percent of the respondents said “never,” while 42 percent said they felt alienated — 34.2 percent answered “sometimes” and 7.7 percent responded “frequently.”

To the question “Are you considering leaving the Catholic Church?” 93.4 percent said “No.” The question drew a response of “Yes” from 1.8 percent, and “possibly” from 4.9 percent.

Overall, most women were satisfied with their spiritual growth, but 85 percent said they felt a need for more spiritual programs for women only, especially Bible study groups and retreats.

While the vast majority of women who completed the survey said there were ample opportunities for involvement in their parish and that it was easy to volunteer, only 47 percent of them said they were so involved. The survey shows that 23 percent were seeking spiritual growth in non-Catholic communities. Single women (30 percent) said they felt there should be more emphasis on their unique needs.

The demographics indicated a mature, educated profile whose respondents had higher than average income. Respondents were 82 percent white, 8 percent black, 5.3 percent Hispanic, 2.5 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 2.5 percent “other.”

The survey drew response from only 15 percent who were between the ages of 18-39. The remaining 85 percent were 40 or older and those 60 or older accounted for 40 percent of the respondents. Almost 30 percent of the 4,595 respondents indicated they were single, either never married, divorced, separated or widowed.

The survey was initiated as the result of a meeting of Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo with the diocesan Women’s Commission in the fall of 2005. He had told them that the Women’s Commission in the Diocese of Honolulu when he was bishop there had done a similar survey which was restricted to professional ministers.

“The bishop told us ‘I’m willing to help, just tell me what you want me to do.’” said Pat Slater, associate director of the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace.

“The Women’s Commission picked up the ball from there,” she added.

“It’s just a wonderful cross-section of women in our diocese,” Ms. Slater said, pointing out that the advisory body now has 23 members from Chesapeake west to Bristol.

The commission hired Sarah Jane Brubaker, a sociologist at Virginia Commonwealth University, to develop the survey. The cost of conducting the survey was approximately $20,000, Ms. Slater said.

The commission is seeking to establish a point of contact with every parish in the diocese other than the priest so that women’s concerns can be addressed at the parish level.

“Now we have go-to people at every single parish,” said Barbara Rainville, a member of Holy Comforter parish in Charlottesville, who was involved in the survey.

“They were very helpful at doing the survey in their parish,” she added.

The Women’s Commission has a vision of points of contact going beyond the survey in which working groups will be established so that women interested in specific issues can participate either at regional meetings or through telephone conferences.

The specific issues will be Domestic Violence, Cultural Inclusion, Women in Prison, Women’s Leadership/Women’s History, Communications and Resources/Spirituality.

“The survey was the first working group,” said Mary Polce-Lynch, of St. Ann parish in Ashland, no longer a commission member but who was on the Women’s Commission when the survey was designed.

“We appreciate the support Bishop DiLorenzo has given us,” Ms. Slater said. “He’s so big on accountability and follow-through. He wants people to look at the survey and do something with it.”

Women’s Commission members met with directors of Catholic Charities agencies in Richmond March 27 to focus on issues of depression and bereavement.

The Chancery staff heard a report of the survey on March 30 so that diocesan offices might see how they could respond to some concerns in their programs.

Women’s Commission members will later address the Diocesan Pastoral Council and Priests’ Council about the survey.

In all, 137 communities participated in the survey. This includes responses from women from five colleges in the diocese.

The largest number of responses came from the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk (222), followed by Holy Cross, Lynchburg (196); Epiphany, Richmond (166); St. Michael, Glen Allen (160); Redeemer, Mechanicsville (124); Incarnation, Charlottesville (118) and St. Gregory, Virginia Beach (110).

“It was nice to hear that we’re doing a lot of things right,” Ms. Rainville said. “The flip side of that is 42 percent of women feel alienated from their parish and seven percent are considering leaving the Church.

“In general, the comments they made were very sincere and hopeful for the future,” she added.

The complete survey is available on the internet in both English and Spanish by going to www.richmonddiocese.org/women/index.htm

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