Written by By Jacintha Bowe and Patricia Stoat
Aim of the study days
- To learn about and learn from movements involving women and how they have shaped the Church, society and the world promoting respect and equality.
- To take part in the voting on a new constitution and executive committee.
- To be in solidarity with women from the East and West of Europe.
Arrivals
46 participants- seven different nationalities all met at the Bridgettine convent in Gdansk.
The convent is located in beautiful grounds with a significant history. It was damaged during communist times but restored for religious purposes after martial law ended when the Bridgettine community moved in. The sisters offer excellent hospitality and delicious cakes!!!!!!
On the first evening, we focussed on introductions and played icebreakers about notable women associated with our organisations and country and guessed the dates of significant events related to them. This activity certainly ensured that the grey cells were ready for subsequent lectures!!!
Day 1
Keynote speaker: Prioress Irene Gassman of the Benedictine convent: Kloster Fahr Switzerland.
Since 2016, she has been advocating for a gender-equitable church, inspired by her pilgrimage to Rome. Her talk focused on role models and sources of inspiration that keep us moving forward. She began the “Prayer on Thursday” movement which has become a worldwide movement. She has been honoured many times for her commitment to bringing tradition and renewal together and for her clear position on the role of women in the Catholic Church.
She described her path to becoming a Benedictine sister and prioress of the convent which has no one under the age of 60, but nevertheless this convent has become a worldwide phenomenon owing to the Prayer on Thursday movement. Her motto is to keep moving.
Her inspiration is the text of Exodus which is about the impossible becoming possible. Just as the Israelites didn’t know the path, they still walked with prospect, just as we, the NBCW, must walk with prospect and hope. She recognised that at the present moment women cannot live their vocation fully in the church because there are barriers, but to raise these barriers and their profile they must not move alone but must move with others. Interestingly, she isn’t an activist, but is gently raising the profile of women, and she is respected for it.
She mentioned that at Fahr they have had no chaplain since 2006, but the Abbot at Einsiedeln trusts them to provide spiritual leadership. They hold Mass three times a week and conduct their own liturgy on other days. She has established religious houses, including an ecumenical village community and the Fahr Women Project, a contemplative community, within the convent grounds. She has communicated changes transparently. Monks do not participate in decisions at Fahr.
Although not missionaries, many people attend OSB courses and retreats at Fahr, which are attracting numerous young enquirers and people searching for spiritual enrichment. Kloster Fahr – Frauen, die das Leben lieben.
Notable points for consideration
- “Development and movement always happen in interaction with other people.”
- Prayer should be at the centre of a Catholic women’s Movement. Could we host a regular, perhaps monthly, prayer by zoom?
- How are we role models for others?
Speaker 2: Mr. Zbigniew Nosowski – journalist, theologian, sociologist, publicist and Catholic activist. Solidarity – the movement that changed the history of Poland and its relationship to the Roman Catholic Church
Following the August 1980 strikes in Gdansk, the independent trade union Solidarnosc emerged in communist Poland, quickly growing to 10 million members. The talk examined how this movement transformed the country and the region, evaluating the role of Pope John Paul II and discussing challenges for the Catholic Church in Poland.
He began to talk with reference to a painting which hung on the wall. This depicted a priest, richly dressed, who was responsible for the refurbishment of the convent where we were staying, but who, sadly, collaborated with the Communists. This painting was quickly removed throughout the conference. After the conference it was restored.
The speaker utilized terms such as “critical fidelity” and “mercy” to elucidate his relationship with the church.
Throughout his presentation, he referenced Pope John Paul II’s book, “Memory and Identity,” which details the Church’s connection to Poland during that period. (I highly recommend this book, having read it in preparation for the conference.) He provided an overview of Poland’s history, highlighting the severe hardships experienced under communist rule, where people faced hunger and severe shortages. Additionally, he discussed the causes of various protests and uprisings in 1956, 1970, 1976, and 1980. In 1980, the conditions were so dire that the Gdansk shipyard became the catalyst for a protest movement that inspired individuals across Poland. This movement was notably led by Lech Walensa. Whilst initially the movement was recognised and the demands of the workers were met, the Communists quickly instituted martial law, which lasted for two years. However, the movement continued to exert pressure as did the global community and the church. Pope John Paul II visited three times, and eventually the communist movement toppled. 1989 became the watershed year where Polish people believe they gained freedom.
Much of what I have written can be read on Wikipedia, and if you are interested, I would urge you to read the narrative. Several lives were lost in the struggle to overthrow communism, including the torture and murder of a Catholic priest, now Blessed Fr Jerzy Popieluszko, in Warsaw, an Oscar Romero figure, whose homilies inspired the Polish people and gave them hope of freedom.
Our speaker reminded of us of how insidious a narrative such as communism can permeate social organisations and speak its narrative with influence, with brainwashing results. For example, he speaks of himself innocently joining the Scout movement, only to find that even this had been infiltrated by a communist agenda, and how he himself was almost drawn into the communist movement.
As I was listening to this heartrending talk, I was considering what we at the National Board could learn from this and I have identified the following points, all taken from his speech.
- Victory is not an end – Freedom is precious and can easily be taken away.
- Faith is personal on one level, but it is also social, so we must remain alert and informed and, when necessary, be active.
- Our committees must inform the women about global issues.
- Liberation does not necessarily mean being free.
- Prayer should be at the centre of struggle. The women in Poland led prayer groups for their independence. Similar to the above, we need to be an organisation that prays together.
- Read the book Memory and Identity- a possible book club choice
- Reach out to the Polish women
Our next speaker was Sister Barbara Radziminska: Synodality as the path of the Church in Poland- is this a Dream or a Reality?
Sr. Barbara is a Polish Catholic nun and activist who founded the Congress of Catholic Women and Men, an organisation dedicated to promoting gender equality and active participation of women in the Catholic Church. She creates inclusive spaces for dialogue and collaboration between men and women in the church. She has also significantly contributed to the empowerment of women in religious communities.
In her synopsis she wrote: Synodality is one of the key topics in discussions about the future of the church. The church should be more community oriented and open to listening and involve more people in decision-making. But how is this idea put into practice in Poland? Is synodality truly happening, or is it just a concept facing challenges from Church structures and traditional ways of thinking?
In her presentation she examined both the official synodal process in Poland and at the grassroots initiatives led by lay people who are working to bring Synodality to life. She focused on the Congress of Catholic Women and Men, a space where real dialogue and shared responsibility among lay people and clergy takes place.
Similar to the previous speaker, she outlined the extent to which the Polish church is mixed with politics in Poland. Speaking about the former Bishop in Gdansk, who was violent and an alcoholic, she showed how his traditionalist and right-wing conception of church had influenced homilies, RE teaching and the general perception of church. Gays and LGBT Q were stigmatised. Furthermore, the autocracy of the of the church meant that many Bishops covered up the fact that 1/10 of the episcopacy were involved in sex abuse. Even today the culture in the Polish church is hugely patriarchal.
In 2020 a right-wing government was elected, and abortion laws became stricter. This caused the demonstration by women who protested in their thousands against the church. Polish women reject the Catholic Church’s hold on their country. The priests condemned the women and women’s groups were closed down. However, amidst all the injustice towards women, there was a glimmer of hope. An enlightened priest in Gdansk published a powerful letter criticising the right wing of the church. Seven women signed the letter, as did many lay men. Those who signed were invited to the priest’s house for a meal, and from this meal the Congress of Catholic Women and Men was formed. Their agenda is less right wing; they focus on the primacy of conscience, which has always been a problem for Polish Church, and they have opened the doors to invite Christians from other denominations.
In respect of the Synod and its aims sister Barbara considers that the bishops in Poland have some way to go in understanding the concept of a more open church, synodal accompaniment and deep listening to one another. She herself has received hate mail for promoting the synodal way.
Learning Points
- NBCW to continue to offer courses related to synodality
- Similar to the above, we must be an organisation that must stay awake and inform through committees
- We must speak truth to power
Simone Curau Aepli – CWC Initiating, organising and developing a global movement
In this talk, Simone discussed how new movements can bring change to the Church. As a member of the Swiss Catholic Women’s Federation and co-founder of the Catholic Women’s Council (CWC), she spoke of how in 2019 CWC was formed with source funding. CWC connects women globally to ensure their voices are heard. Being a global movement, their administrator is based in India and their preferred communication method is Zoom, though they met in person in Rome in 2023. Notable is they are an activist organisation.
CWC advocates for women’s dignity and equality, including women’s ordination. In Rome, they protested by proclaiming the Gospel alongside male deacons. They initiated a strike in 2018 against the church’s stance on sex abuse and held services outside churches in 2019. By 2020, they began online liturgies attended by 300 women and lobbied for a women’s Synod. Their campaigns intensified in 2021, but the English and French members split from them.
CWC runs a YouTube channel; they hold listening to sessions and elections to key roles within the group. Significantly they do not have any membership fees, but they, like us, they are constantly on the lookout for members as well as funding. This is the organisation that was recently responsible for organising a strike of Catholic women.
Simone then introduced us to her administrator in India who had some great tips on how to use the media to maximum effect.
She considered the following, all of which are learning points for our organisation.
As the world changes quickly, an organisation needs to have quick responses to messages on social and digital media; an organisation needs someone who is technically competent who can avoid echo chambers and is skilled in obtaining funding. Having a voice online is important but also it is important to meet in person.
Significantly, she mentioned that the organisation should be rooted in prayer and offer online liturgies. We must learn to use A1 well; and, surprisingly, the digital space is safer for discussing some issues.
She urged us to think about how we focus our technical work. Videos and Facebook get more hits than press releases which don’t always bring the results. 60 shots on Instagram, and TikTok are quick, are instant and command a big audience. We must learn to speak the language of people. The Root and Branch organisation has a link to CWC, as do Radio Maria Groups.
We were then placed in groups to discuss some questions which focused on how to recruit and how to obtain speakers etc as well as how to improve their own organisation.
Dr Amal Tawakuli – Artificial Intelligence and gender equality.
Dr Amal Tawakuli, holds a PhD in computer science specialising in data science and artificial intelligence. She is a professional within the financial industry having worked for Deutsche Bank Luxembourg and co-founded Al Gora S.A.
Her introduction read as follows:
Artificial Intelligence systems increasingly influence decision-making in areas like hiring, healthcare and finance. However, these systems often reflect and amplify societal biases, particularly gender bias, due to skewed training data, algorithmic design flaws, and lack of diversity in development teams.
In her presentation we explored how gender biased manifests in AI – from biased language models to discriminatory facial recognition. Chat GPT, a platform we are familiar with, is guilty of such practice. We examined the real-world consequences of such discriminatory practice in terms of the recruitment of women into positions of authority and negative attitudes towards women in general.
She suggested strategies to mitigate bias, including inclusive dataset duration, recruitment of women into science and IT as well as engineering, and ethical AI governance. Companies should be externally regulated; this has been an ideal but in practice hasn’t worked because recommendations are difficult to enforce.
America does have a model to clean up data and remove gender bias from AI but it involves the use of robots and not humans, and robots are often preprogrammed. She forcefully made the point that we cannot do without human beings. We write poetry and use our imagination which AI cannot do. AI should not take over decision making. It should be a human at the end of all decision-making. But will we learn?
She hopes that by raising awareness and promoting equitable AI practices, all of us can work towards technology that serves all genders fairly.
Learning points for NBCW
- Be careful how we use algorithms and AI.
- Be careful how we use technology in general- we must pay attention to the language that we use when we are imputing data
- The Education Committee could hold a webinar to inform the NBCW
Workshops
There were five workshops on offer and each participant had to choose three. There were two focused on the Synod:
1) how to listen deeply to the Voices of the Women in Scripture
2) Synod “Where Do We Go From Here” led by the German representative who was present at the discussions in Rome.
Workshop 3) offered participants to experience Sacred Dance, a beautiful experience not to be forgotten, and one which was led by a Benedictine sister from Germany.
Workshop 4) Building A Bridge between East and West , uniting women in both areas of Europe in equality and justice; and finally Workshop 5) How do Movements Function? Any recipes for success
Excursions
There were two excursions: 1) A Women’s Centre named WAGA; and 2) Gdansk itself
On the second evening after a day full of lectures we took the tram into Gdansk, a 40-minute journey, to visit a community centre named WAGA, which had been set up by women. The centre offers education, support for local women and men, and offers a variety of social events. The project initially set out as a small movement for women to be in solidarity with one another, but with faith, hope and good management it has grown and expanded to include language courses and help with job applications etc . and much more. It is now well established, has received many awards and has a paid worker.
Gdansk
May 1st, 2nd and 3rd are national holidays in Poland and most businesses are closed except for tourist exhibitions and museums and churches. The Briggitteen sisters had asked if we could vacate the building for the day, possibly because they were hosting Holy Communions for the children, so we took the tram to Gdansk.
In the city we were greeted by an official tourist guide, which was excellent as we were able to immerse ourselves into the Polish culture and its history. As we moved around commemorative statues and informed about their meaning, what we had learned in the lectures became alive. We visited the museum at the shipyard where the Solidarity movement started, offering a powerful reminder of the events leading to liberation.
On the gates in front of the former yard hung a devotional icon to Our Lady of Poland and a portrait of Pope John Paul II, signifying the role that faith and the Church can play in challenging oppressive regimes.
Furthermore, an impression of John Paul II’s shoes set in concrete ensure a permanent reminder that evil can be overcome. Additional plaques in the pavement remembered those who lost their lives in the struggle for freedom. The actual exhibition itself was overpoweringly emotional and was very detailed even to creating the shipyard as it would have been.
Following this visit we had lunch in a restaurant situated on the 16th story of a large high-rise building. Unique in its design it afforded a spectacular view of Gdansk.
Our final visit was to St Bridget’s church to see the famous Amber Altar, which was dedicated in 2017 by Archbishop Stawojgtodz and President Andrzej Duda. Standing at the centre of this amazing altar piece is the most beautiful statue of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus. Inspired by Our Lady of Czestochowa the altar was intended as a tribute to the Divine Providence in thanks for the papacy of Pope John Paul II and the regaining of Polish independence. The amount of amber used in the construction is very substantial and it is still unfinished!!
After this visit we were left to ourselves to explore Gdansk. We returned home by 7 PM in the evening and shared supper together.
The General Assembly
This took place on the Wednesday evening and Friday morning, which was our last full day. As I was representing NBCW, I had one vote to exercise.
On the Wednesday evening information was given about the number of organisations. Andante had lost four organisations, but for no other reason than they did not exist anymore. On a more optimistic note, the organisation gained two new organisations Thecla, a small Polish women’s group which wanted to be in solidarity with more women, and the Newman Association.
A report was given on Andante’s activities and its work with the European council. Andante attended the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations at the Council of Europe; it is one of over 300 NGO’s that currently have participatory status in the conference. Since 2016 Andante’s representative has been Sybille from Switzerland, however after this General Assembly she stepped down owing to pressures of work. Her work for Andante and European Council was recognised by many ovations.
Andante is rightly very proud of the fact that they have won the Aggiornamento Prize. This prize honours initiatives and projects by Catholic Christians who are courageously and innovatively involved in the Church and society.
But back to business–The existing COCOA members had to step down, as dictated by the constitution, but then gave their reasons for re-nomination, the voting of which would take place on the Friday. They gave report on their activities, which can be found in the report. On Friday all nominated candidates were voted onto Cocoa.
Thecla, despite being a new organisation from Poland proffered one candidate for COCOA, an employee of Caritas Poland, who gave her profile by zoom, and she was also voted in.
On the Friday morning, the treasurer’s report was given and accepted, the social report etc. A sad goodbye to Sabine Slavik who had been co-president along with Sophie Rudge resulted in many tears and hugs, but happily Sabine will continue as representative on the European Council.
Much of Friday morning was taken up with the proofreading of the proposed new constitution after which it was hoped the majority would accept it. Similar to the NBCW, the need for a new constitution was so that the organisation could be opened up to include Friends of Andante- individuals who might not belong to an organisation but who might want to stay affiliated to Andante. As one might appreciate the process of analysis and adoption was quite a headache for those chairing the meeting.
A lawyer in Munich had been appointed for the rewrite, and ostensibly the constitution looked almost finished, but there were one or two omissions such as safeguarding and data protection, which would necessitate an inclusion. In principle the majority accepted the Constitution subject to the amendment. Having just been through similar with the NBCW I could empathise with the whole process.
With our heads full of constitutional matters, we finished off the busy day with a cultural evening: a food share and concert given by a group of Polish women folk singers whose rendition of ancient folk songs were note perfect. This was amazing as they sang a cappella. What a perfect way to end the conference
On May 3rd, we prepared for departure. This date coincides with an important feast day, Our Lady of Poland. We were honoured by the Bishop of Gdansk who celebrated Mass at the convent, which those not yet departed were able to attend. This event marked a fitting conclusion to a highly inspiring conference.
In Summary
The whole experience gave me much to think about. Not only was it a chance to pause and reflect, but it was also chance to learn from Catholic women across Europe and how they experience Church. I have placed learning points underneath the lectures which I think the NBCW might find useful.
Sister Irene Gassman’s words keep ringing in my ears- “Women cannot move alone they must move together”. The Andante study days bring women together in solidarity to accompany one another on their journey of being Church. The collective learning together witnessed to a communitas that brought each woman present into communion with one another strengthening the bonds of unity. Such interconnectional relationality infused and reinvigorated all those present with a confidence that underlined their mission. Women have unique gifts and the Church must recognise them and employ them to reflect the totality of Catholic Christian witness to the message of the Gospel. This conference inspired hope for a more inclusive Church, recognizing women’s equality and dignity across Europe. May such movements continue.
Thank you to Jacqui Stoyt for making this possible. May you rest in peace.