Inclusion Rider – March 9, 2018

Mildred Hayes is a woman desperate for justice in the film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” The film has earned both praise and criticism for the way it addresses violence against women and racism. Last Sunday the amazing Frances McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Mildred and concluded her acceptance speech by saying, “two words…inclusion rider.”

An inclusion rider, according to civil rights attorney Kalpana Kotagal (who wrote the rider into McDormand’s contract), is “an addendum to a leading actor’s contract that stipulates a process for ensuring minority representation in the audition and interview pools for a film or television project, and establishes objectives and tracking requirements for casting and hiring.”

The goal, of course, is to create opportunities for people from underrepresented groups – women, people of color, and members of the LGTBQ community – to enter the film and television industry.

This past week I’ve thought a lot about inclusion (or the lack thereof) in the Catholic Church – not about who we interview and hire, but about who sits in the pews, who volunteers in the ministries, and who leads at the altar.

I believe that God is all about inclusion and diversity – and the Church should reflect that.

And so I am disappointed and impatient.

One of the “core Jesuit values” of our parish is “unity in diversity.” But. We are pretty white here at SFX.  Our LGTBQ members, while welcomed, loved, accepted and active in ministries, are still called “intrinsically disordered” by the Catechism (CCC #2357).  And women?  We’re not preaching.  We’re not leading the community in prayer.  We’re not the leaders.  I have been blessed the past 24 years to work with good pastors who respect the women on staff and the women in the pews.  And yet, that is not the same as actually having decision-making power.  The male-only priesthood means only men hold that power.

I’m disappointed and impatient. I love the Church and I love St. Francis Xavier.  What can I do to make SFX more like I believe the Kingdom of God is?  I wonder how much it costs to rent billboards?