{"id":17318,"date":"2019-03-28T05:26:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T09:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.regnumchristi.org\/en\/?p=17318"},"modified":"2023-11-29T16:25:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T21:25:46","slug":"fiat-girls-encounter-truth-at-the-un-commission-on-the-status-of-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/fiat-girls-encounter-truth-at-the-un-commission-on-the-status-of-women\/","title":{"rendered":"FIAT Girls Encounter Truth at the UN Commission on the Status of Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Her college years made her realize that the top intellectual and philosophical leaders and institutions in our culture were often outspoken in ways contrary to what the Church teaches, and that many young Catholics are simply not prepared to encounter that and come away with their faith intact.<\/p>\n

Years later, after moving to Georgia with her husband and children, Elizabeth encountered and joined Regnum Christi. She discovered Pinecrest Academy, enrolled her children, and became a teacher there.\u00a0\u00a0 As an educator, Elizabeth has a keen appreciation for giving young people a firm foundation in the faith that will allow them to encounter and confront the intellectual and muddy philosophies that secular society presents, and be able to come through it with a solid Catholic faith.<\/p>\n

While she was working at Pinecrest Academy, the very first Fiat<\/em> Girls to attend the 2009 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women were brought by\u00a0a parent, Cathy Swygman, who believed it was important for young women of faith to have a voice at the United Nations. The girls had some advance preparation in terms of understanding that sometimes the solutions that this conference presented to protect and defend women at the international level actually run counter to the Church\u2019s teaching on the sanctity of life. But they were caught completely off guard by how intelligent, logical, and seemingly \u201cgood\u201d these solutions were, as were the people involved. Instead of seeing things as black and white, for the first time the issues discussed seemed more grey than they had realized.<\/p>\n

As Catholic kids in a Catholic school, they hadn\u2019t been challenged by relativism in the classroom yet, or had a chance to develop the critical thinking skills, the knowledge base, and the faith practices that are necessary for stepping into the world without losing their faith. And these were students with the distinct advantage of attending a very authentic, faithful Catholic school that taught more than most, with parents and staff who supported a rich faith life. It rocked their world.<\/p>\n

Seeing this brought Elizabeth back to her own experience in college. She was inspired to prepare the students going to the UN to encounter secular culture in a way that she had not been prepared in her youth\u2014 to make them ready to confront relativism, knowing and understanding their faith, and knowing where to find the answers without giving up when they were obscure or vilified. The UN conference became a perfect vehicle for engaging young women and drawing them into the journey of building a mature Catholic conviction.<\/p>\n

In years following, Elizabeth set the program in motion by solidifying its mission, developing a curriculum, and selecting a name that reflected a willingness to say “fiat<\/em>” (latin for a personal “yes”) to each of our personal faith journeys.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth is still saying yes to Christ’s call to be a missionary. She forms, prepares and accompanies Catholic girls as venture into the epicenter of international thought, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, with the Universal Fiat program.<\/p>\n

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While in New York, the girls encounter questions, and they have the freedom and support to examine them in the light of their faith \u2014 questions about gender identity, divorce, political and economic policy.<\/p>\n

It is an education in critical thinking, a mini-retreat, a professional conference and a mission trip all in one. Each day begins with Mass and rosary at St. Agnes. Then there is a planning meeting over breakfast until 10 am, and after that, girls attend UN\u00a0 conferences the rest of the day\u2014observing, taking notes, and comparing their knowledge of the dignity of the human person, solidarity, and the common good (Catholic Social Teaching) with what they\u2019re seeing and hearing from women around the world. At approximately 4:00 pm, the college and high school tracks split to debrief, which is when much of the real learning and digesting takes place. In facilitated groups, girls discuss what they saw and heard throughout the day, explore the ramifications of the initiatives they\u2019ve encountered, and identify and develop their personal responses to the issues.<\/p>\n

Brigitte, a 16-year-old participant from Georgia who attended this year’s Fiat<\/em> UN trip a few weeks ago, said her eyes were opened to the impact of the Catholic Church on a global scale.\u00a0 As someone who is deeply interested in promoting the true vision of the dignity of women she said that, “hearing from so many different countries who came to the UN to talk about solutions, some that were good, like supporting women’s entrepreneurship, and some that would make things worse, like increased sterilization and legalized prostitution, I saw something different about the delegation from the Holy See.\u00a0 They showed how the Catholic Church was the delegation with concrete solutions to things like human trafficking and poverty. They were the ones doing things on the ground that actually impacted lives, and not just in one country, but around the globe.”<\/p>\n

With God\u2019s grace, the long-term effect of the Fiat<\/em> experience is that these girls continue to feel embraced by Christ and encouraged to seek his truth (and their own \u201cyes\u201d) all their lives. In a practical way, the Fiat<\/em> program has been instrumental in guiding many girls to their college majors and careers\u2014from law and medicine, to public policy and international relations, to education and motherhood.<\/p>\n

The program is designed to form, accompany and launch girls in their God-given mission\u2014 Elizabeth explains that this is the meaning of the word \u201cFiat<\/em>\u201d in their name. One of their taglines is\u00a0 \u201cUniversal Fiat<\/em>–because everyone has a \u201cyes.\u201d What\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fiat Girls agree, this program\u00a0is life-changing: \u00a0Alumnae have chosen colleges, majors and even careers based on their experiences as a Fiat Girl. \u00a0In the last two\u00a0years alone, Fiat Girls have:<\/p>\n

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