From May 26 to June 2, 2024, UISG held the Second Symposium of Women Religious Theologians in Nemi (Rome, Italy).

Designed as a platform for women religious theologians, the symposium aimed to nurture theological reflection on religious life by making it contextual and practical.

We asked some participants to share a personal reflection on the symposium through both video and written interviews. Below, we present the one by Sister Mila Diaz Solano, from the congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield.

My name is Mila Diaz Solano, from the congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. I am Peruvian by birth, but I have lived my discipleship and service in recent years in the general council of my congregation in the United States. My theological discipline is Sacred Scripture. I continue to offer Bible courses in the formation program for permanent deacons and catechetical leaders of the Archdiocese of Chicago. I also teach online courses to lay men and women associates in Peru, to my sisters and to a women's reflection circle.

Because of my leadership experience in a foreign country, I am passionate about interculturality, collaboration and intergenerationality. As humanity and religious life we are experiencing mobility in a unique way in recent years. The causes are multiple and there are encounters and misencounters between cultures. The biblical narratives reflecting the mobility of the people of Israel and the early Christian communities and the encounters with other cultures in these stories offer us insights to reflect on the issues of interculturality, racism and intergenerational relationships in women's religious congregations. 

In this symposium we were moved to listen to the stories of our theological journey. We were able to find similar challenges, sufferings, joys and hopes around various aspects that concern us about the life and mission of the feminine Religious Life in our countries. I was personally touched by the persistence, creativity and daring that characterizes us as women theologians exercising our work in ecclesial contexts still dominated by clericalism. 

The spirit allowed us to agree on common theological concerns such as rethinking the vows and our identity as consecrated women from a synodal perspective and as part of creation. We embrace the possibility of a synod on Consecrated Life that would allow us to reflect on our life and mission, not separated from the rest of the baptized, but in relation to the rest of the charisms and ministries in the Church. We would like to overcome hierarchical perspectives emphasized in the document Perfectae Caritatis. We recognize that our reflection on Consecrated Life needs to include a much more global outlook and this can only happen in collaboration. 

We had the opportunity to rethink theological work in different groups: by continents, by disciplines, by topics of interest. All this has helped us to make connections to work together on common projects. We have the commitment and hope to expand our tent and continue our theological work in collaboration and dialogue with each other, including women theologians from the first group so that together we can encourage and challenge the discipleship and mission of religious life in our countries. In this way our reflection will have a more integrative look. I am convinced that this way of doing theology can contribute to synodality. In such a fragmented and polarized society, the witness of including diverse voices and the collaborative work for a common cause, communion, become a prophetic sign of what the whole church is called to live.