Extended Interview with Amanda Bolaños and Ailie Posillico, the 2022 Joan Chittister Writers-in-Residence by Katie Gordon
“So, what are you doing for women?” When Sister Joan Chittister met one of the Writers-in-Residence this summer, this was her first question.
Sister Joan has addressed many aspects of contemporary spirituality throughout her life, and her advocacy for the oppressed–especially women–is continuing in younger generations of thinkers and activists.
This past summer, we had such two scholars live and work in the monastery for one month each, deepening in their respective fields of study: Amanda Bolaños, a PhD student at Duke Divinity School, and Ailie Posillico, a PhD student at Villanova University. Their projects help us expand our notions of women in the canon and female holiness in contemporary religious life. The following is an interview from October 2022 on their experiences with the community.
1. What drew you to the Writer-in-Residency program, and what did you get out of it?
Amanda:
I found out about it from Duke Divinity Digest, where it was listed as a summer opportunity. I was excited to see a Catholic opportunity, and I felt like a lot of the values aligned with my values. They welcomed any woman of any faith, and I found that really attractive. That they wanted to help women in the academy explore their theological interests. I never felt called to a position more. Still, I didn’t know what to expect, but once I got there I experienced a radical sense of inclusivity and welcome.
Ailie:
I feel like I’ve grown to know the Erie Benedictines as I’ve known Katie over the last few years. Knowing how our values aligned already, it was a sure mark that I would feel comfortable there because my friend feels comfortable there. Then being supported and received by Jacqueline in the coordination was warm and welcoming too.
What I got out of it was this sense of support that I actually haven’t experienced anywhere else from anyone else; an interest and investment in me and my work that was unquestioned. It’s a testament to the openness and sensibility of the sisters to make people feel included. In the photo at right, Sister Jacqueline Sanchez-Small introduces Ailie before she presents her work to sisters and friends.
2. What was your writing project, and how do you hope it will contribute to women in spirituality and theology today? What did it mean to you to do this at the monastery?
Amanda:
I studied Dorothy Day, and aspects of liberation theology, feminist theology, and monasticism related to her life. Through the focused space for one month in that environment, a friendship formed with Dorothy.
Now I'm working on an article for FemCatholic Magazine about how Dorothy has helped me deconstruct female holiness. I was taught and conditioned growing up that “virgin” and “martyr” were the epitome of the female saint. But Dorothy challenges that on all fronts: she was a sexual human being, she was very loud, she took up space. I think drawing attention to her can expand the church's narrative of what female holiness should be, and hopefully challenges it. All saints have been chosen by men in the history of the Catholic Church, and so it's the male gaze of what the female holiness ought to be, which is a narrow narrative. It's been healing to look at Dorothy and analyze her holiness for myself.
This project was so refreshing to do at the monastery, because I felt so comfortable, and it was because I was surrounded by so many women, who were not afraid to use their voice. Like when we had Liturgy of the Word and they were preaching, that was an amazing experience. And how we prayed in the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier. I've just never felt so uplifted. It was the most beautiful witness of church, of what church should be. Being with the sisters, I witnessed their unashamed femininity and how they lived out the Gospel, unapologetically and joyfully.
Ailie:
I translated letters by a 14th century German priest Henry of Nördlingen, who was reading Mechthild of Magdeburg and translating her work for Beguines, nuns, and other priests. I translated about 15 letters, which was really beautiful to do in a rhythmic and almost meditative, contemplative way, because translation does require deep work.
My research is really taking seriously women's writing as historical and theological, and in that way, reshaping the canon. Not by just inserting women into it, but actually by saying that the canon that we have in Christianity has been shaped by women, whether they have been writers, or weavers, or seamstresses.
Now, I’m drawing from these letters for a chapter in my dissertation. And on the side, I'm doing a creative project, responding to Henry in the voice of a nun today. For this, I’m drawing on a lot of my experience from the monastery. I really feel like this creative project is the life that is going to sustain me through the dissertation writing project. This is something that I could only have felt supported to do from the sisters, because from them I saw such a heart of creativity and appreciation for art.
3. What is does it mean to you to be a feminist theologian? What do you think the most important issues or questions in theology are today?
Amanda:
I’m interested in re-centering a woman’s perspective, but also a non-Eurocentric perspective as well. In Mujerista Theology (feminist theology that centers the experiences of Latinas), they say that they are not looking for equality in their feminism, but rather liberation. I think that is what feminist theology is ultimately after: the space and environment for women to use their agency and express themselves freely.
Ailie:
What it means to be a feminist requires actually some kind of aspect of theology, because what you're doing is envisioning a world, and living into a world, that is not yet, and choosing to be in a world that then makes it present. To me, that is a very theological project. It's a very visionary project. It's a very spiritual project that is invested in a lot of hope and faith and love.
In the more practical sense, to be a feminist theologian means to push for certain changes in the church, ones that open up equal access and opportunity for people who identify as women. Doing things like changing the language of liturgy so that people feel more included is an example of this.
I think that both of those things–the visionary and the practical, spiritual and political–need to hang together.
4. What would you encourage people reading the Mount Magazine to consider related to women in the church and/or feminist theologies and spiritualities?
Amanda:
I often struggle with people who call themselves feminists but don’t live that out. In some white liberal circles, I’ve met people who say that they're feminists but won't let women speak in our meetings. So I would just say: listen, ask questions and give women the space to actually take up space.
Ailie:
I would ask: what brings you pleasure? What are women doing in their lives that make them happy? Think about that, and then try to follow that.
The mission of the Joan Chittister Writer-in-Residency program is to provide women writers with the space and means to commit themselves to a meaningful project of their design, building on the foundations laid by Joan Chittister in her writing on women, spirituality, and justice.
