CARDINAL JOSEPH BERNARDIN AWARD 2004

The Catholic Common Ground Initiative gives its annual award to “an individual, group, or institution which has furthered reconciliation and/or dialogue on important issues within the church." This year we proudly present the Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Award to Dolores R. Leckey.

As Executive Director of the USCCB Committee on Family, Laity, Women and Youth for twenty years, Dolores worked closely with the U.S. bishops to promote the role of the laity in the Church, by assisting lay women and men to respond to the universal call to holiness, and to assume their rightful place in the life and mission of the Church. She brought together people with differing perspectives, recognizing their valid insights and legitimate concerns as she tirelessly promoted leadership development, the lay vocation in society and the Church, and an enhanced role for women in the Church and society. At all times, Dolores modeled collaboration and cooperation in her dealings with bishops, priests and laity, thereby promoting unity in ministry while respecting the uniqueness of each vocation and the indispensable contribution each person makes to the building up of the Church.

Dolores’ efforts to create a peaceful climate on behalf of women in the Church and society were not without challenges from both ends of the spectrum. Grounded in a deep faith in Jesus Christ and the providence of God, she took to heart Pope John Paul II’s teaching in Christifidelis laici that the “acknowledgement in theory of the active and responsible presence of women in the Church must be realized in practice” (CL #51). With skill, patience and good humor, the bishops’ Committee on Women in Society and the Church recognized her as working “long and faithfully to promote women’s roles in the family, the Church, the local community, and the world” (FWTD, p.2).

In recent years, Dolores’ work as a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center has focused her efforts once again on church leadership and lay spirituality. She continues to demonstrate a willingness to meet Cardinal Bernardin’s challenge in Called to be Catholic to approach the issues and forces that are shaping our Church and society “with fresh eyes, open minds and changed hearts.”

Grateful for her tireless efforts over the past twenty five years as a bridge-builder bringing together the gifts of lay men and women, bishops, priests, and religious to strengthen the bonds of peace among us, the Catholic Common Ground Initiative proudly bestows its Cardinal Joseph Bernardin 2004 Award on Dolores R. Leckey.

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