Frequently Asked Questions:

What is this "Report Card Project?"

The Report Card Project rated the U.S. bishops' progress on meeting certain measurable benchmarks to hold the bishops accountable for their promise to find alternative ways for women to exercise leadership in the church.

Church leaders pay lip service to the equality of women, while at the same time withholding the possibility of ordination. It is appropriate that the front page of the report card contains a quote from Pope Benedict XVI, who recently said: "It is right to ask . . . if it's not possible to offer more space, more positions of responsibility to women."

The study assesses women’s status in five key areas: inclusion of the history of women’s role in the church in religious education programs, representation on consultative bodies, educating the clergy to improve attitudes toward women, modeling of equality in the liturgy, and workplace equity.

The Report Card Project is a critical first step for our growing movement. It reveals to ourselves, to clergy, and to the media, the type and extent of discrimination women experience today in our diocesan educational, liturgical, and workplace settings.

Who performed the study?

Volunteers from dioceses around the nation studied the practices at their churches and diocesan offices. The Quixote Center's staff member Rea Howarth coordinated the project for the Women's Justice Coalition, and the Center's technology staff established and maintain the Web site, together with downloadable resources. A separate group of researchers collated and analyzed the results from Catholics around the country.