Introducing…Catherine Pead, Secretary of Concerned Lay Catholics

Introducing….Catherine Pead

We continue our new monthly feature where we introduce you to one of the dedicated and faith-filled individuals who lead Concerned Lay Catholics in Canada. Each month one of our planning group members will share a bit about their faith journey and what inspired them to stay engaged with our Church. This month, meet Catherine (Cathie) Pead who shares her perspective as a lay woman working for change.

I am a cradle Catholic. I was born in the 1950’s into a pre-Vatican II Irish Catholic family where we wore our Catholicism lightly- while being Catholic was fundamental to our cultural identity, we were faithful but not especially devout. We had German Jewish friends, Polish friends, Indian friends- we learned to accept and respect people wherever they came from and whatever their religious beliefs. It was people’s hearts not their labels, we were taught to appreciate. We received without complaint the more obvious changes of Vatican II: turning the altar around and switching mass from Latin to English. But the deeper changes would not impact me until later, when I felt a call to serve in the Church. It was joy for me to learn as I completed my undergraduate degree in (church) history in 1977, that it was possible for me, as a lay woman, to study theology in pursuit of my vocation to ministry. After studying with some very notable and influential theologians, including (Rev) Raymond Brown SS, who was perhaps the foremost Catholic scripture scholar of the day, and (Rev) Gustavo Gutierrez, father of liberation theology, I had the privilege of ministering in the context of Catholic education, both post-secondary and secondary, in the US and Canada. Over the next 13 or so years, I felt the environment in which I was working become less hospitable. So, after much soul-searching, in the early 1990’s, I made the choice to leave formal ministry and continue to serve God through working in government and the not-for-profit sector. During this time, I felt God with me all the time: I was learning how the world worked, how change came about, how human beings exercised leadership, how power was wielded and who wielded it. I learned that God’s spirit was busy at work in the world through efforts to defend human rights, to alleviate poverty, to welcome newcomers, to celebrate diversity, to steward our precious planet, to end war and violence. I was able to apply the analysis I learned in Catholic social teaching to ask who benefitted from structures and who paid for them: critical reflection on praxis. I had a busy, meaningful, and rewarding career employed outside of the Church, but I never left it. I continued to participate in parish life and to support the Church financially and as a volunteer. When I retired in 2018, I was free to take a more active role in the Church once again. Inspired by the leadership of Pope Francis, especially in his efforts to transform the culture of clericalism that he points out is at the root of clergy sexual abuse, I committed myself to doing whatever I could to support this pope. With my CLC colleagues, I have been privileged to help build a growing network of concerned lay Catholics across Canada. With them, I am committed to equipping other lay Catholics, by virtue of their baptism, to take their place of co-responsibility alongside our brothers and sisters in the priesthood and consecrated life. I believe the gospel contains the Truth that transcends divisions and unites us with all of creation as expression of a loving God. Jesus’ high priestly prayer was that we all may be one as He is one with the Father. When I was studying theology, I learned of an inscription found over the entrance to one of the earliest Christian churches. It has stayed with me all these years and is, I believe, more appropriate than ever. I try to live by it.

In sure things, unity; in doubtful things, tolerance; in all things, love.