Sexism researcher not fazed by traditionalists

Press, 6 October 1988, Page 35

Sexism researcher not fazed by traditionalists

The convener of the Catholic Commission for Justice, Peace and Development’s sexism research project, Ms Christine Cheyne, does not see any inconsistency in the project’s aims and the Church’s traditional stance on women. Ms Cheyne is responsible for research for the commission’s project on sexism in the Catholic Church, entitled “Made in God’s Image.” “I don’t regard it as surprising that the Catholic Church should be undertaking such a project,” she said. The Catholic Church had been involved in other initiatives on sexism, many of which the public were not aware of. Ms Cheyne, who is a planning officer with the Palmerston North City Corporation, will begin preparing a research out-

line for the commission study from January and will travel round New Zealand from June to speak to Catholic women. Her findings will be presented in a report to be published in January, 1990. She also plans to present the findings in kitsets that can be used by study groups. For change to occur at the top levels of the Catholic Church it also had to occur at other levels, Ms Cheyne said. A petition objecting to the $30,000 project was signed by 2500 Catholics who saw it as a misuse of funds. The director of the Justice, Peace and Development Commission, Mr Manuka Henare, said the project would be financed by donations. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference supported the project and pointed to recent statements by Pope

John Paul II to American bishops praising their attempts to eliminate discrimination based on sex and referring to the inalienable personal dignity of women. However, Pope John Paul II has recently been reported as reaffirming an all-male priesthood and rejecting arguments that Jesus Christ chose only men at the last Supper merely because women were regarded as subservient in those times. Ms Cheyne said change was complex and there were a variety of points of view on the issues, and the Pope’s was one. She said that while the Catholic Church in New Zealand was linked to Rome there was room to adapt to local conditions, and New Zealand could possibly lead the way in making changes.