In 1972 I was invited by an editor of the Brooklyn Tablet, a Roman
Catholic diocesan newspaper, to contribute to their first issue on
women in the church. I had just returned from a workshop on
"Women Exploring Theology," sponsored by the Grail and Church
Women United. It was the first time that I had participated in
the discussions of an interconfessional and interreligious group of
women. Although I had taken courses at the Protestant faculty of
Mfinster, my ecumenical experience had been very limited, largely
restricted to some Lutheran friends. Since I grew up in Franco-
nia, an area of Germany that is almost completely Catholic, this
encounter with women of different faith communities was new, in-
vigorating, and challenging to me. It taught me that the women's
movement in theology shared a common ecumenical vision and
impetus. At the same time I realized that our discussions were,
consciously or not, also determined by our Christian or Jewish con-
fessional differences. The following reflection sought to follow the
imperative of the workshop that women's theologizing must be-
gin with experience, while it also strove to recognize that Catholic
women's experience was shaped differently.

"Saints Alive Yesterday and Today," Brooklyn Tablet, December 7, 1972.

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