By Rita McInerney

An eager group of women turned out Saturday morning, Nov. 5 to examine the first draft of Partners in the Mystery of Redemption, A Pastoral Response to Women's Concerns for Church and Society.

Convened by the task force appointed by Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, they were joined by 13 men among whom were six priests. Thirteen women Religious were among the 132 persons participating.

They gathered around the 22 tables filling the auditorium at St. Jude's School in Sandy Springs. After an opening prayer by Sister Barbara Baker, MHSH; music by Kathy Koporec, St. Joseph's in Athens; and brief remarks by the archbishop, everyone got down to the job of critiquing the document. Each table was led by a facilitator. A recorder condensed the discussion for reporting in the afternoon large group session.

Archbishop Marino moved around to several tables before having to leave shortly before noon.

An air of quiet purpose and energy filled the large room. Table discussions were earnest with careful attention given each individual's comment and view on the tone, length and effectiveness of the paper released by the committee of bishops last April 12.

Everyone attending had been asked to read the document beforehand. Several parishes had conducted sharing sessions and submitted reports to the task force.

At most tables the lunch break provided an opportunity to continue discussing the eagerly-awaited paper between bites of chicken noodle casserole and tossed salad.

The afternoon session which brought the groups together, revealed some of the pain, some of the affirmation surfacing at the tables earlier. There was not enough time, at either session, to cover the introduction and four chapters of the draft in depth. Everyone was urged to continue the discussions with other men and women in their parishes.

Some of the responses of the morning were summarized by the recorders as they reported to the entire group.

"The document spent far too much time on motherhood rather than on womanhood. Our ability to love goes beyond motherhood," one woman said to murmurs of agreement.

Others spoke in the same vein: Motherhood is not the only vocation; there is scant attention given to single women, the elderly, couples without children, no mention of adoption as a family-building tool, or the struggle of women theologians.

A section on Mary as a dynamic model in Chapter 4 was commended. Later, a woman advocated women in science and the arts as other models, "not to negate the importance of baking cakes and cookies." The Church, she continued to applause, should nurture the male and female in everyone.

Women at her table, another said, "all felt the injustice of sisters not being able to be priests." Open dialogue was urged "to better understand" why women can't be priests. Someone else mentioned that the place and contribution of women Religious remain under-valued.

The needs to pursue the study of women deacons and to be compassionate to women who feel called to ordination were expressed.

"Why does the church stop short of really loving us?" was the poignant question asked by one woman.

Another view was forthright. "It's most important we all get the message of Jesus. With the shortage of priests, some people won't be getting His message. To preserve tradition (of the male priesthood) for the sake of that is just terrible."

Equality in the church, another recorder mentioned, means "Women receive six sacraments while men receive seven."

Someone else suggested expanded opportunities of ministry in paragraph 16 be changed to equal opportunities for ministry.

Another plea for equality was at the parish level, in the planning of liturgies.

Women who do not believe in ordination for members of their sex should not be ridiculed, one woman pointed out. "Their opinion should be respected."

Another gave a personal comment. She felt the emphasis on ordaining women "smacks of clericalism. We should look at Jesus. He was not bound by the traditions and customs of His times."

"We need the support of the clergy in learning what we need to give to others," one spokeswoman said in urging that the document get down to grass roots.

Points in the document affirmed in table discussion included:

The process of consulting women in gathering input for the document.

Consulting with women on matters pertaining to birth control.

Insistence that men take seriously their responsibility in the realms of sexuality, procreation and parenting.

New canons opening church positions to women.

Some negative comments were reported on the repetition in the letter, the "condescending, sexist tone." Others found the format difficult to read and the message not clearly set out. One said the language could be franker, "less candy coated, patronizing. There has been a history of sexism in the Church. What's wrong with being honest?"

Two suggestions for the bishops writing the letter were advanced: that they make sure it is implemented and that they set time limits on reaching the goals spelled out in the final document. "Without a time limit, such goals will never come about."

Final reports for participants in Saturday's session and from parish discussions must be received by Sister Joan McCann, OP, by Nov. 12. The task force will meet Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the archbishop's residence.

A final report will be sent to the bishops' committee in Washington, DC, by Dec. 1.

At an earlier stage in the process, 75 women attended a listening session on the concerns of women held in February, 1986, at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta. The session was sponsored by the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and The Atlanta Conference of Sisters.