Hey everybody,
I originally posted about this on Fri., but asked one of the mods to delete the thread because I thought I was overreacting. Now that I've had a few days to think about things, I'm still fuming, but thinking more rationally.
Here's the situation: I'm in the process of applying to become a volunteer chaplain for a local police department. Currently, the department is served
by a team of chaplains (all ordained ministers from various religious denominations and all men.) I'm Catholic and obviously not ordained, but since I have the five years required ministry experience and am professed member of a religious order, am still qualified under the team's guidelines.
Initially, I was strongly encouraged to apply for the team. (This is something I feel very strongly about doing). Things were moving along pretty well until last Fri. when the team leader called to say the executive committee, who will made the final decision, had some concerns. The first is my current fulltime job - writing for a Catholic newspaper. They feel that if the officers learn I'm with the media, they'll feel like they can't trust me because my only concern will be getting a story. I've tried explainig to them that my job is not like that of reporter for a regular newspaper, but haven't been able to convince them so far.
Now, the issue of me not being ordained has also surfaced - something about confidentiality if an officer, or another individua, confesses something to me. Catholic priests (and I'm thinking other ordained ministers) are obliged to keep anything revealed to them in the context of a confession, confidential. I'm not bound by that, so have been told they need to look into the "legalities" of how this might work.
If my application goes through, I'll be the first woman to serve on the team
in many years. I've already spoken to several people about this who seem to think maybe the executive committee doesn't really want a women to join the team and is trying to throw some obstacles my way in the hopes that I'll withdraw my application. I hate to think this way, but the thought has crossed my mind.
At this point, I'm just waiting to see what happens next. I'm ready to fight for this if I have to. Again, this is something I feel very strongly about and I know there is need for female chaplain. Basically, just asking for some good vibes from all of you. Thanks for listening.
I originally posted about this on Fri., but asked one of the mods to delete the thread because I thought I was overreacting. Now that I've had a few days to think about things, I'm still fuming, but thinking more rationally.
Here's the situation: I'm in the process of applying to become a volunteer chaplain for a local police department. Currently, the department is served
by a team of chaplains (all ordained ministers from various religious denominations and all men.) I'm Catholic and obviously not ordained, but since I have the five years required ministry experience and am professed member of a religious order, am still qualified under the team's guidelines.
Initially, I was strongly encouraged to apply for the team. (This is something I feel very strongly about doing). Things were moving along pretty well until last Fri. when the team leader called to say the executive committee, who will made the final decision, had some concerns. The first is my current fulltime job - writing for a Catholic newspaper. They feel that if the officers learn I'm with the media, they'll feel like they can't trust me because my only concern will be getting a story. I've tried explainig to them that my job is not like that of reporter for a regular newspaper, but haven't been able to convince them so far.
Now, the issue of me not being ordained has also surfaced - something about confidentiality if an officer, or another individua, confesses something to me. Catholic priests (and I'm thinking other ordained ministers) are obliged to keep anything revealed to them in the context of a confession, confidential. I'm not bound by that, so have been told they need to look into the "legalities" of how this might work.
If my application goes through, I'll be the first woman to serve on the team
in many years. I've already spoken to several people about this who seem to think maybe the executive committee doesn't really want a women to join the team and is trying to throw some obstacles my way in the hopes that I'll withdraw my application. I hate to think this way, but the thought has crossed my mind.
At this point, I'm just waiting to see what happens next. I'm ready to fight for this if I have to. Again, this is something I feel very strongly about and I know there is need for female chaplain. Basically, just asking for some good vibes from all of you. Thanks for listening.