Sister Mimi Ballard Addresses Clergy
Sister Mimi Ballard addresses clergy
and religious of the Chillán Diocese
The struggles of poor and marginalized women in Chile was the focus of Sister Mimi Ballard’s talk at a meeting of the clergy, deacons, and religious of the Diocese of Chillán on Tuesday, June 3.
Sister Mimi was asked to speak at this meeting by Father Raúl Manríquez, diocesan director of the Office of Social Concern.
In preparing her talk, Sister Mimi discussed the topic with a group of Ursuline Associates . . . women who are deeply involved in the ministry of Casa Ursulina. Their responses were an essential contribution to her presentation.
Her talk covered four areas: 1)the effects of poverty on women and their families; 2)the loss of family values; 3)the ministry of Casa Ursulina; and 4)the challenge to the Church in responding to the needs of women. The following are major points from her presentation.
Economic need. In their desperation to provide for their families, poor women often accept inhuman labor conditions . . . for example, working 12 hours a day for a part-time salary at minimum wage. Many women are forced to raise children alone, even when there is a husband at home, because of problems like alcoholism, addiction, and/or the husband’s refusal to be involved. Many husbands do not share their salaries with their families, and many are violent. Women in these situations experience a profound fatigue, a feeling of aloneness, desperation, and depression. There is never time for them to relax and do something for themselves. Now, as prices for food and heating fuel are rising, there’s an increasing sense of panic. Children at school receive free lunches. When they miss school because of illness, lack of proper clothing, or inability to respond to teachers’ requirements, mothers struggle to provide sufficient food for their families.
Abandonment of family values for the values of consumerism. Personal communication in families is being replaced by media communication. Children get their values from TV commercials, which promise that happiness will come from buying what they advertise. Parents’ work schedules don’t allow for quality time with their children. For young people, following the media model results in involvement with drugs, crime, and violence . . . values of a world that teaches that the only thing that counts is getting and having. In this environment, children and families are experiencing a severe spiritual deficit.
The efforts of Casa Ursulina. Casa Ursulina is a ministry to marginalized women. Workshops teach skills like sewing, embroidery, and weaving, which allow women to work in their homes and to care for their children. (At the present time, with help from several U.S. religious communities, the women are able to sell their crafts to markets in the States.) Volunteer childcare is provided for women while they are in class. Working together gives women time and space to relax, to share experiences, and to explore solutions with other women who experience similar struggles. At Casa Ursulina, women work in an atmosphere of solidarity. They share what they know and what they have. They know their confidences will be kept. Together with craft workshops, Casa Ursulina also offers courses focused on corporal, mental, and spiritual health . . . natural methods of relaxation, dance, exercise, eco-spirituality (which teaches ways of living simply, as opposed to consumerism), biblical reflections and prayer. Courses like these offer time and space for women to relax and to share.
How can the Church respond? Sister Mimi pointed out that Casa Ursulina is one response of the Church to the struggles of poor Chilean women. She challenged her audience . . . priests, deacons, and religious of the diocese of Chillán . . . to be more aware of this great need in their midst.
In the area of social problems, she especially urged them to be closer to the people, “to be good neighbors,” to become more involved in the problems of their neighborhoods. The hierarchy, she pointed out, has a stronger public voice than others in the Church. She challenged them to push for more humane wages and work schedules, and to find ways to respond to crisis situations . . . hunger, the cutting off of light and water when families can’t pay, children who don’t go to school for lack of clothing or required materials. She suggested that the diocese return to its former practice of providing a lawyer without cost to help women to obtain child support and in cases of family violence.
In the area of spiritual need, she pleaded with the clergy to respond with compassion and to realize the situations many women are coming from. For example, if a woman who works 8 to 12 hours a day is required to attend a series of evening meetings so that her child may make First Communion, she is likely not to attend regularly or to fall asleep in the meeting. “Try to be less male chauvinist in your approach,” she said, “in language, and in burdening the consciences of women, who more than anything else need compassion. Let pastors be truly pastors,” she said. “Go out to the great part of your flock who don’t come to you.”
Sister Mimi concluded: “In this, we don’t ask any more of you than we ask of ourselves: to be a good neighbor, to be involved in the life of your neighborhood, and to reach out to those in need.”
by Sister Ruth Gehres, OSU