As I write this remembrance of Bishop John J. Snyder, I am wearing a pewter pendant, a sculpted image of St. Thomas Becket, martyred in Canterbury cathedral in the 12th century. George Carey, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the pendant to Bishop Snyder in 1994 in gratitude for Bishop Snyder’s enduring commitment to the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue. The bishop, in turn, presented the pendant to me as a remembrance of our collaboration in the preparation of the United States bishops’ statement, Strengthening The Bonds of Peace. That gesture is so in keeping with the character of this extraordinary Christian — and bishop — John J. Snyder: Jack, to his many friends and colleagues who joyfully join him along the Christian way. During the 20 years that I served as the director of the United States Bishops’ Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth I came to know Bishop Snyder through his work on various national committees, including the Family Life Commission. It was clear to everyone that he was a man of great compassion, but I did not comprehend the extent of that compassion until his membership on the Bishops’ Committee on Women in Society and in the Church, and later his chairman-ship of that committee, brought us into a close working relationship. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the concerns of women were largely focused on the development of a bishops’ pastoral letter on women which certainly raised the consciousness of church leaders, but which ultimately was not passed by the assembled bishops. At the same time the Committee on Women, attentive to what the nation had learned through the process of the pastoral, decided to speak to the difficult pastoral issues which women faced every day. A top priority was that of domestic violence. When Bishop Snyder, a member of the Committee on Women, heard the stories of fear and hopelessness from women of various ethnic groups you could tell that he was moved to action. He believed that the church could and should reach out to women who lived in such precarious situations. “We need to let women know that the church hears their cries and cares about them and their children in a truly active way.” He was totally supportive of having the Committee on Women join with the Committee on Marriage and Family in developing a statement on the topic. That is how When I Call For Help came to be. The two committees invited experts to testify: directors of shelters, counselors who specialize in support groups for women and rehabilitation groups for men, and of course, the first-hand stories of women and men. All of us, staff and bishops, wanted this document to go forward at the level of committee sponsorship so that a format that would speak to the people who needed it most would be possible. We wanted it brief, in clear unambiguous language, with a well-defined purpose. Bishop Snyder helped shape that purpose. “We need to say as directly and simply as possible that violence against women is never justified. Neither Scripture nor church tradition can or ought to be used to allow such behavior.” All the while, he and the other bishops insisted that we not write off the perpetrators. I learned a great deal during this project about the belief that bishops like Jack Snyder live by, namely that no one is beyond the arc of God’s grace. When I Call for Help was approved as a committee statement. However, during the November general assembly (where the pastoral letter on women was defeated) one bishop moved that the domestic violence statement receive some kind of general affirmation — which it did unanimously. This small but powerful document, in brochure form, has been translated into several languages and is used by many churches outside the Catholic community. Lawyers keep stacks of them at hand. One civil judge in Cleveland makes them available in the courtroom. They are often available in the backs of churches. Bishop Snyder’s commitment to this cause helped launch the church’s involvement in one of the most critical pastoral problems of our time. In June of 1994, the Bishops’ Committee on Women met in California. Bishop Snyder, who was then chairman of the committee, was in the final months of his term. Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, which forcefully restated the prohibition against women’s ordination, had been issued three weeks earlier. The committee felt that they should make a statement of some kind. To ignore a Vatican document of such significance regarding the role of women in the church would be irresponsible they said. The discussion moved in the direction of identifying all that was possible for women, acknowledging that ordination was off the table. But what about alternative modes of leadership? I remember a candid exchange of ideas and possibilities as the bishops probed the subject. The climate was decidedly one of emerging creativity, and there was excitement in the air. One could almost sense the Holy Spirit stirring the minds and spirits of those present. When the discussion was over, one bishop said he felt a lot better to have had a vehicle (i.e., the meeting) to hash through a maze of complicated thoughts and feelings. “This was an honest quest to understand,” he said. The next step was for the staff to prepare a draft statement, which the committee would discuss during a conference call. I had thought all along that this would be a committee statement (much like When I Call for Help). But one of the staff pointed out that the committee was grateful to be able to think about the subject in some kind of systematic way. Perhaps more bishops would welcome an opportunity to grapple with the complex issues around ordination, and therefore, he argued, it should be a statement of the entire Conference of Bishops. The committee agreed with him, and the chairman eagerly supported that option, knowing full well the difficulties that awaited us. One of the difficulties was the timing. This had to be accomplished quickly; it could not linger on, like the pastoral letter. Another difficulty was our need for an image, a conceit, some controlling metaphor that would give us direction and inspiration. Bishops and staff prayed about it, and two directions emerged from the prayer. The first was the guiding scripture, namely, Ephesians 4:3 which urges unity through the peace that binds us together. The statement’s title, Strengthening The Bonds of Peace was derived from that verse. The second direction was a study of the encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Ecclesiam Suam that lays out the principles of genuine dialogue. From Ephesians 4 and Ecclesiam Suam emerged the essentials of Strengthening The Bonds of Peace: putting away falsehood, speaking the truth, not giving in to anger, striving to be understood, respect for differences, and the recognition of our fundamental equality. Gaining passage of a document like Strengthening the Bonds of Peace was no easy task, but Bishop Snyder was particularly suited to the challenge. His own commitment, plus the respect his fellow bishops had (and have) for him provided the necessary momentum. The entire body of bishops approved the document, which broke some new ground. Feminism was not demonized and sexism was named, once and for all, as sinful. The document asks that the relationship between Holy Orders and jurisdiction be studied. New leadership roles for women are a stated goal. Vowed women religious and laywomen from all over the United States expressed their gratitude to Bishop Snyder for his courage and for his example of collaboration. He has given them hope, they say, that continued progress was possible. In T.S. Eliot’s classic play, Murder in the Cathedral, Thomas Becket (the Archbishop of Canterbury) preaches a Christmas sermon in anticipation of his own death. He says that saints are not made by accident. The saint (and the martyr) is one who has become the instrument of God, says Becket. And so it is with Bishop Snyder, “Jack,” who served as God’s instrument in promoting the role of women in the church. He humbly listened to their needs and responded without counting the cost. To this day, he continues as an advocate for the voiceless. Indeed, saints are not made by accident. Dolores R. Leckey is a Senior Fellow at Woodstock Theological Center, Washington, D.C.