‘A CHANCE TO MOVE FORWARD’

Albany Diocese, Siena University host ‘Women’s Participation in the Life and Leadership of the Church’

Bishop Mark O’Connell shares a laugh with participants of the synod session he inspired titled, “Women’s Participation in the Life and Leadership of the Church’ at Siena University on Sept. 19. (Patrick Dodson photo for The Evangelist) (Courtesy photo of Patrick Dodson)

This past Saturday brought discussion, debate and delight for the women of the Albany Diocese. 

On Sept. 19, dozens of Catho­lic women gathered together for an invite-only synod session titled, “Women’s Participation in the Life and Leadership of the Church” in the Maloney Great Room in the Sarazen Student Union at Siena University, which helped organize and co-host the event. 

The session focused on “The Final Report of Synod Study Group 5 on Women’s Participation in the Life and Leadership of the Church,” which the Vatican released in March. The report came from one of the 10 study groups commissioned by Pope Francis at the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality, which he initiated in 2021.

The event drew approximately 80 participants, including lay Catholic women, women religious, women in Church leadership positions, teachers and administrators for Catholic schools, Siena students, and other volunteers and members of the Church community. 

The day included two panel discussions and two opportunities for tables to react to and respond to each panelist’s topics. A facilitator for each table shared a brief summary of their thoughts with the room, and each table’s responses were recorded and collected at the end of the session. 

After the panel discussions at the ‘Women’s Participation in the Life and Leadership of the Church’ synod session, attendees talk about what they heard. Each table’s responses were recorded and collected at the end of the session. 

More than a way to gather information, the day gave Catholic women space to discuss their opinions, their hopes and their frustrations about the dynamics surrounding women’s leadership within an institution that so many have come to call home. 

“I’m a big believer in that we have to listen to each other,” said Bishop Mark O’Connell, who inspired the synod session. “Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo, really wants us to not just kind of listen, but really listen, and the only way that we can really listen is to give a forum for that. So I am delighted with what’s happened here.”

The Albany Bishop has always been passionate about women’s roles inside the Catholic Church. While serving as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Boston, he launched the podcast “Listening to Catholic Women (www.

youtube.com/@listeningtocatho­licwomen)” in 2025, and Season 2 of the show will feature the panelists who spoke during the day’s talks. 

The podcast’s inspiration came after the Bishop felt he was “work­ing with so many women that needed a voice, but also, very specifically, the inspiration for all of this, to me, is that there is a revival of faith in the Church among young people.”

Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany shares her experiences as a woman in a leadership position in the Church with the attendees. 

“Men have more role models in the Church than women, and a lot of the young generation, their parents don’t go to church,” he said. “So I began the podcast to have women of faith share why they’re women of faith and what it means to them. And therefore, that’s the origin that leads to this.”

The first panel included talks from Sister Joan Mary Hartigan, CSJ, a member of the Property Project Management Team for the CSJ community, who shared a brief overview of the Final Document of Study Group 5; Dr. Joy Galarneau, Program Director at the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center, who summarized the ongoing debate of women and the diaconate; and Caitie Levine, Faith Formation Coordinator for Our Lady of Victory in Troy and Our Lady of the Snow Mission Church in Graft­on, who discussed signs of hope seen in the Final Document. 

Sister Joan Mary said the Study Group 5 document is well summarized in the opening lines of paragraph 60 in the Final Document of the XVI Assembly, which discusses women’s roles in the Church. It reads:

“By virtue of baptism, women and men have equal dignity as members of the people of God. However, women continue to encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation and place in all the various areas of the Church’s life. This is to the detriment of serving the Church’s shared mission.”

Galarneau summarized that the discussion of women and the diaconate is a question that “remains open” to being explored, citing a voiced desire to look deeper into the history/previous evidence of women deacons.

During table responses, a variety of similar themes emerged. Some voiced how to help other women bring their gifts and talents to the Church, but also how those gifts can be used. Several groups discussed a shared call by their baptism and the unifying spirit it brings, but also the obstacles they continually face along the way.

Mary Rosmus, Parish Life Coordinator for the Battenkill Catholic Cluster (Holy Cross in Salem; St. Patrick’s in Cambridge and Immaculate Conception in Hoosick Falls), shared her table’s responses to “The Final Report” during the first table summary. In a line that notably struck the whole room, Rosmus said her table felt that women were exhausted.   

“The place where you should be comforted and most at home is becoming exhausting,” Rosmus later told The Evangelist. “And it’s exhausting because of barriers, and it’s exhausting because of expectations, and expectations both outside and within the Church. So feeling like we, as women of the Church, we now have to defend the Church.”

The second panel included Elizabeth Simcoe, Parish Life Director for the Church of St. Vincent de Paul in Albany, Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, CEO of Albany Catholic Charities, and Kristen Curran, Director of Government Relations for the New York State Catholic Conference, who each reflected on their own lived experiences as women in leadership positions in the Catholic Church. 

Each woman discussed the love they felt within their roles, but also the hurdles they faced along the way. Simcoe recalled times when her name was omitted from meeting minutes that she was a part of, especially if she was the only woman in attendance. 

Sister Betsy shared the story of a family she helped while at St. Helen’s Church whose daughter had suddenly died. Father James Kane, then the pastor of St. Helen’s, told Sister Betsy she should preach at the family’s funeral.

“It was a sacred privilege,” she said, “and it was illegal.”

Simcoe recalled an argument she shared with her daughter when she asked Simcoe why she would choose to stay in the Church. She said it was a fair question, but even as things were, she truly felt that “many women have found a way to lead.”

Sister Betsy echoed the feeling of staying: “I know that the truest expression of who ‘Betsy’ is, is in the Church.”

Grace Trombley, a sophomore at Siena University, said she found it “very uplifting” to hear varying women’s experiences across different churches. Alex­andra Dardzinski, Trombley’s roommate who also attended, said the day made her more aware of discrepancies in the Church.

“It was just nice hearing about everyone’s experiences, and that gave me more understanding of it,” she said. 

Beth Dennis, teacher at St. Pius X School and an associate of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, said she “learned a lot about how to move forward with being a leader in the Church.”

“I look forward to seeing new, inspiring things come from this,” she added. “I feel like we have a chance to move forward and grow in the Church.”