BY STEPHEN HALL

Special To The Bulletin

ATLANTA--Bringing together an estimated 90 women from 35 parishes, the 41st annual convention of the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women addressed issues of abuse and shelter in relation to the Catholic Church.

The three-day convention, held Sept. 26-28 at the Westin Hotel/Atlanta Airport, adopted the theme "Refuge and Shelter: An Alternative to Abuse" to emphasize the need for Catholics to work together to combat domestic and sexual abuse.

AACCW President Deirdre Holler said the theme was inspired by a resolution passed at last year's convention which stated that the AACCW would encourage members to volunteer help in a safe shelter program.

"A lot of progress was made this year in addressing issues like this," Holler said. "I hope this year's convention gave participants the opportunity to know where to turn when situations (of abuse) arise in their parish. It can be a sensitive situation."

As part of the convention curriculum, each of the AACCW commissions held a workshop to focus on a different issue and to discuss the skills necessary to properly address and act upon that issue.

The Legislation Commission presented "Preventing Abuse," a workshop by Jane Carter, legislative chair of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW), who talked about her commission's role in working to end circumstances that perpetuate abuse.

"When you think of shelter and refuge, you think of those in immediate need," Carter said. "We rush in and answer those needs; it's what we do. But after those immediate needs are met, then what?"

"We're next. We're the second step of social ministry. We must change the structures which hold people in abuse and poverty and we do that by changing public policy. We are the hands that must write the letters and reach out to our brothers and sisters in need. We are the voice for the voiceless...for the citizen and alien alike. We're the voice that needs to be heard by those who make the decisions that create the laws that shape our lives."

Carter mentioned the unborn as being one of the "voiceless," adding that abortion is the number one issue addressed by those in legislative advocacy. She also emphasized that working for change on the legislative level requires no specialized skill, only commitment and compassion. "Citizenship is a right, but participation in the political process is an obligation," Carter said.

On behalf of the Church Concerns Commission, Sharon Stanton hosted a seminar on "The Role of Women in the Church as Well as Home." Stanton serves as a board member of the International Health Ministries Association and as president of the Greater Atlanta Health Ministries Association.

Stanton said the role of women in the church is a journey that began with Eve, continued with Sarah and Mary and still goes on.

"These women are telling you how to take your holiness as women in the likeness of God and how to live in the third millennium," Stanton said. "And our sisters in the future will be looking to us as an example."

Stanton said technology has usurped vital aspects of the Catholic faith in modern life.

"We've put the TV where we used to put the church (in our lives), and we've put the computer where we used to put the Bible," she said. She urged participants to return to the stories of women who have been an inspiration and a role model.

The Community Concerns Commission presented a workshop titled "All Things Are Possible Through His Divine Mercy," featuring Merci Howe, an actress, poet and prison minister. Howe shared her personal experience with sexual abuse and her struggle to find forgiveness and reconciliation.

"I believe the audience's hearts were open and that the Holy Spirit filled them with wisdom from my experiences," Howe said. "Hopefully they will now be able to recognize more readily the suffering of others."

"God carried me through incest, being a battered woman and the death of a daughter," she said, adding she hoped her story would inspire others to find God's presence in their lives. "If we trust in God, he will heal us. If we invite the Holy Spirit in, he will use us. And what greater purpose on earth could there be?"

JoAnn Hillebrand, chair of the NCCW's International Concerns Commission, hosted a workshop in which she discussed the work the organization has done to help fight poverty while increasing the Catholic presence abroad.

Hillebrand described some of her experiences in El Salvador working with Catholic Relief Services and emphasized the need to continue such work internationally, even though poverty exists in the U.S.

"We must realize we're part of this whole world, and as brothers and sisters of those living in developing countries, it's our responsibility to reach out, help them and build peace," she said. "We share the pain in women in developing nations."

One cannot view such work as above and beyond the call of duty as a Catholic, Hillebrand said, adding that by working to alleviate hunger and poor living conditions, she and her colleagues are merely living out the Gospel.

"We're not just talking the talk, we're walking the walk," she said.

In its workshop, the Family Concerns Commission presented "Fear and Love" by Susan Goodman, exploring the two motivating emotions and how one's emotional state affects the ability to make sound decisions.

The general business meeting for this year's convention saw the passage of two new resolutions to combat elderly abuse and neglect and morally objectionable material in the mass media. However, plenty of debate ensued over the second resolution prior to its passage, with motions for three revisions defeated in a vote.

The resolution in its original and approved form reads: "Whereas, the AACCW is opposed to pornography and explicit violence in mass communications and affirms the negative impact they have on families; now therefore be it resolved, that the AACCW calls upon those in responsible positions to vigorously support all laws against indecency.

"Strong efforts should also be made toward the creation of new legislation, as needed, to combat problems in mass media communication; and be it resolved, that the AACCW encourage families in the community to exercise self-regulation and work toward eliminating explicit violence, obscenity and pornography in the media."

Much of the debate surrounding the resolution pointed to "Nothing Sacred," a new ABC drama, as a current example of morally objectionable material. The show depicts a Catholic priest who struggles with self-doubt and ambivalence over church doctrines on abortion, celibacy, homosexuality and other issues.