Everyone can admit what quite obvious today: women are the majority in the field of education. And the Lasallian world is no exception. Some insist on the threats they perceive in this new reality. Others prefer to see, here too, a blessing.
The last fifty years have progressively led us to discover difference as a relevant feature of human reality. And through differences, the fascinating nuance of what is fundamentally equal, there is always a gift offered to humanity. This MEL Bulletin that we are presenting today seeks to help us appreciate the progressive and significant path women have played in Lasallian Association in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Heather Ruple has experienced a long Lasallian history in which she has been building leaven-like leadership: from hidden littleness can come a fruitful and abundant creation. This image, so often repeated among us lately, is the one she wanted to use to connect the story of Lasallian women and their contribution towards the creation of a more fraternal world.
Our prayer is that the reading of this Bulletin will lead all to appreciate the differences and complementarity that are at the foundation of the different genders that coexist in Lasallian educational ministries, sign and leaven of a more fraternal world, and, therefore, an effective sacrament of a new creation.
Br. Santiago Rodriguez Mancini
Director of the Office of Lasallian Heritage and Research.