Korean women church leadership well behind wider society

Sacred Heart Sister Kim Sook-hee is the executive secretary of the women’s committee of the Korean Catholic bishops’ conference. She is a member of the executive committee of AMOR XV. Tom Fox interviewed her during the AMOR XV conference held Samphran, Thailand Oct.13- 21. The following text draws on that interview and some of her recent writings.

By Sister Kim Sook-hee
Like many other Asian countries, Korea has been strongly influenced by Confucianism and its values. The social system was hierarchical and women's status was traditionally rather low.

However, with improved education of women in modern society, the feminist movement has grown. A growing number of women now stand out in every walk of life. A society that used to be non-favorable toward women has changed greatly.

The rapid economic growth in Korea, beginning in the early 1970s, brought about enormous changes in many areas. First, women confined to family work began economic activities. In the beginning, women were involved mainly as workers in textile factories, or in simple activities such as assembling machine parts.

With recent economic growth, women have had more opportunities for higher education, professional activities and high positions in the government and parliament. More women than ever before are now CEOs, lawyers, accountants, consultants and medical doctors. These changes were possible not only because of higher education, but also because of newly established laws regarding gender equality and favorable gender policies.

Women's active participation in various areas, such as in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres, naturally has led to the extension of their rights. A women's ministry was established in the government cabinet, and Korea has had a woman prime minister. However, compared with other OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, Korean women still participate in the political area rather inactively.

There are still many issues to work on in Korean society. There are many discriminatory practices against women -- preference for a baby boy, inequity in wages between men and women, division of roles in the workplace, unequal promotion opportunities, sexual harassment, domestic violence against women, unequal child-rearing practices.

Meanwhile, according to the statistics of the Korean Catholic Church, women comprise 70 percent of all active church faithful. Women are much more actively involved in the church.

However, the Korean bishops’ women's committee statistics show that the proportion of women in decision-making positions in parishes and the church is remarkably small. This is because the proportion of women in parish pastoral councils is very small. Moreover, decisions are made mainly by priests and male council members. Women are still subordinate and passive.

In the 1990s, however, with the influence of democratization in society, church women established a stronger voice in resisting undemocratic and inequitable practices in the church.

Some radical women established groups, arguing that conservative church leaders were not aware of rapid changes in women's consciousness and could not cope with changing times. These groups searched for dignity and identity in the church. They included the Korean Catholic Women's Community for a New World and the Association of Korean Catholic Feminist Theology. Both are under the Association of Major Superiors of Women Religious in Korea.

Pope John Paul II said in Mulieris Dignitatem: "The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness; the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved" (Article 1).

Although the beautiful vision of John Paul II in which women and men complement each other has not yet come, there have been small but gradual and significant changes in the Korean church.

In response to repeated requests from women's groups, and on the recommendation of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), the Committee for Women was established under the Korean bishops’ Committee for the Lay Apostolate, at long last, in the fall of 2000.

The women's committee has conducted research, seminars and symposiums on significant church issues such as research on the consciousness of the faithful regarding women, a 2006 symposium on the future orientation of pastoral approaches to women, and a 2008 seminar on maximizing professional women's potential within the church.

As Pope John Paul II proclaimed, this is the moment when Korean Church women should not remain passive but move beyond the church to work toward protecting the dignity and rights of women, until the late pope's beautiful vision in Mulieris Dignitatem is fully realized.

For this, the male-centered local church system should be changed. It is possible by strengthening the above-mentioned women's groups, especially the Korean bishops’ women's committee.

For the first time since its launching, the committee's executive secretary changed from a priest to a woman religious. That is a small but very significant change. We, the Catholic women in the country, should take this small advancement as an opportunity to gradually raise the subcommittee to an independent committee.

As Korean society gradually moves toward sexual equality, especially in governmental policies, the church also needs to raise the proportion of women in its decision-making bodies.

The women's committee has thus asked the Korean bishops to guarantee that 30 percent of parish pastoral council members are women. But, so far, they have ignored this request.

I want to emphasize the importance of developing leadership programs for women. The first step is to have an accurate picture of the present reality by identifying the gender of the various office holders, like catechists and parish district leaders, in the Church's annual statistical report.

Then, the Church needs to develop areas like counseling, social work and education, where professional women can use their talents.

So the Church needs to invest more in the formation of women leaders. While more women are beginning to exercise "their gentle leadership" in society, the church has put much more emphasis on the formation of male leadership such as seminarians and priests.