Standing tall on the intersection of Shakespeare and Woodycrest Avenue, I stood face to face with the mountainous structure of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The architecture and sculptures built around the church, is a sight that captured the eye of every passing pedestrian including me. As I walked up the stairs alongside a crowd of church members, I felt as if I was walking into a strangers home. But when I reached the entrance, a member at the door greeted me with a hug that took my breath away. She scanned me from head to toe, looking at how I was dressed and smiled with approval. Being raised in a Pentecostal Church, I was familiar with the formal dress code which consisted of knee-length skirts, dresses or dress pants. Though, I wasn’t part of Sacred Heart, she greeted me like her religious sister. As I walked further into the temple, I saw many rows of brown benches where men, women and children were settling in. Surrounding these benches, there were white statues which I immediately recognized as important male figures from the bible like Moses or Noah. As I sat down, I couldn’t help but notice that the room was strangely dark for a church. This was caused by the never-ending curtains blocking the light from entering. Within a few seconds, the curtains were opened, revealing sun rays that pierced through the aesthetically pleasing stained glass windows. Immediately, brightening the room and causing my pupils to constrict. I assumed that this was an indication of the commencement of mass. Subtly, a member sitting beside me noticed my fascination and whispered in Spanish “In the darkness, there is always light.”
Pondering about this empowering motto, a male figure with a white robe and cross on his neck, went up to the podium to read bible verses. As he entered, most people stood up in his presence indicating their respect and admiration towards him. This male figure was the priest, named Joseph Franco who would lead mass. He gave an inspiring message about how in times of need, God is the only one who will be there to provide hope and fulfillment. As I heard this, it instantly reminded me of what the member had said to me earlier and it remained imprinted in my mind. At certain times the priest would recite a chant and the people would say it simultaneously. I was amazed at how everyone in the temple even the children would repeat this extensive chant. In these moments, I felt like an outsider because I wasn’t familiar with any of the chants. In General, Catholicism and Pentecostalism are under Christianity, and they may be quite comparable, but they can be distinguished. Growing up in a Pentecostal church, I have become accustomed to a certain service routine which is distinct from the Catholic church. As a result, having this fixed mindset about how a service is suppose to be conducted led to many assumptions and judgments about Sacred Heart. While examining the temple, I noticed that I was surrounded by Adams and no Eves. The pedestals were upholding these male figures in the bible who dealt with challenges and had to overcome them by having faith in God. The stained glass windows had images of identical biblical stories with men as the leaders. The person standing on the stage, in front of the podium and authoritatively speaking to the audience, was a male. These traditional aspects of patriarchy in the Catholic church, greatly differed with my views of leadership in religion. Thus, this realization reassured my position as an outsider but led me to examine in depth the contrast between my position as opposed to a members position in the church.
The traditional mannerisms of Sacred Heart evidently influenced the physical architecture and sculptures of the church. While viewing these aspects, I couldn’t withhold myself from observing the differences between this church and the one I attend. In my church, there is a balance of genders in leadership roles. The involvement of men and women in preaching, singing and bible studies is immense. There is a leading pastor but during the course of the service, there are parts for numerous members to participate and be able to praise God in their own way. The youth groups are divided by gender, the girls are called missionettes and the boys are called royal rangers. Essentially, each equal representation of both genders. The adult groups follow the same accord. Entering Sacred Heart Catholic church with this enforced in my mind, I immediately noticed the overpowering male dominance. The entire duration of the service, I did not see any female participation or female leader involved. Due to this observation, I was inclined to know more about the dynamic between gender roles and leadership in Sacred Heart by interviewing an informant. Her expertise on the church is due to the amount of time she has spent in this church and is now quite familiar with the climate of the church. This member named Diadora Cruz, has been attending this temple for about 8 years and she provided me with further insight about my inquiries. When I posed the question asking her how many times a week she attends Sacred Heart, she responded “usually, once on Sunday’s but sometimes I go during the week, if I am feeling down and seek advisement from God” (Cruz). Though, this church may seem patriarchal to my outsider perspective, I took into account that regardless of this observation, people go to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ms.Cruz attends Sacred Heart to let the light shine through the darkness in her life. At times her life may be covered by these dark curtains, but going to church is the brightness that shines through the stained glass windows. In essence, her perspective as an insider may not acknowledge the sense of male domination in the church because she goes as a member to feel this sense of hope. But, I, as an outsider can immediately see the unseen.
Due to this idea of patriarchy in Sacred Heart, it led me to dig deeper into social issues among the Catholic Church. Throughout Catholicism, it has been seen that males have occupied all of the positions on the hierarchy. From the highest position which is the pope and down the hierarchy, none are occupied by women. This gender inequality in leadership is quite prominent since the early stages and currently to present times. However, having a religious background, I have learned that at church one worships a higher power, a God who loves everyone equally and unconditionally. Taking into account that Catholics and Pentecostals read the same sacred text which is the Holy Bible, I wondered why there is gender inequality in the Catholic Church. Thus, reading Cheryl H. Haskins, “Gender bias in the Roman Catholic Church: Why can’t women be Priests?” it revealed truths about who can enter leadership roles. Haskins explains that “Historically the church has maintained that priestly ordination cannot be validly conferred on women” (Haskins 102). Thus, this surely confirms the gender inequality in that women would not be acknowledged as priests if they were to pursue this endeavor. This is a substantial issue in Catholicism because there is a glass ceiling for religious women who wish to lead a church some day. Being an owner of a bible, I opened it to Deuteronomy 10:17 which states that “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lords of lords, the great god, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” Thus, this bible verse indicates that God shows no favoritism towards any gender, meaning he doesn’t agree with inequality. The Bible emphasized the importance of women and their right to equality in every aspect. Essentially, I began to question this contradiction between the Catholic church and the Bible. Ultimately, through my interview, I discovered that the Bible also indicates how men were enforced to take upon leadership roles and though it may seem unfair, that is what the Catholic Church follows.
All in all, there can be a change within the institution of the church to reach this gender equality. Though the law can not intervene because the Free Exercise Clause grants freedom to practice one’s desired religion, the Catholic Church can make an internal difference. There is always hope for positive change in an unfair world. This change is the light that can shine through the cruelty of inequality. Furthermore, this ethnographic research allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and dive into a distinct subculture. Though, I may see myself as an insider at times, there were many more moments in which I felt like an outsider. Being congregated to a similar subculture, I entered Sacred Heart Catholic Church with many assumptions and judgments. I was fixated on how things were supposed to be but in reality, it was what I was accustomed to. But, throughout my observation, interview and library research, I began to understand why certain things were done a specific way like having prominent male leaders which my informant clarified. When going about this, I was able to apply what the member had said to me at the church through the entirety of the ethnographic research. Which was this common theme of hope and the existence of light in the darkness. Lastly, as an ethnographer I was able to submerge myself into a different world, closely analyze it and make fascinating revelations about this unique subculture.
