Q&A: A groundbreaker in N.L. health care, Sister Elizabeth Davis is about to make history at the Vatican

Sister Elizabeth Davis has for decades been a principal figure in the Newfoundland and Labrador health-care system. Now, the Roman Catholic nun is about to undertake a new adventure that is close to her original calling.

Davis is set to travel to Rome to participate in October's General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops led by Pope Francis.

Davis is one of just five members of a group called Women Religious who were invited to take part, with this synod marking the first in history that will have women in attendance and voting.

Before her trip, Davis sat down with On The Go host Anthony Germain to discuss the synod, the topics on the agenda and what she hopes will come from it.

While synods are common in other denominations, they have not been regularly held in the Roman Catholic Church. 

"Pope Francis, though, really likes synods because he believes he needs to touch base with people right around the world," Davis said. "He also believes that it should not just be bishops who attend the synod. So for the first time in our history, this synod will have laypeople, including women attending, who will be voting at the synod. So for the Roman Catholic Church, it's quite a historic event."

Here is the rest of their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. 

Q: It's historic that you're going. So how did you end up on the guest list?

A: I have no idea. There are 364 voting participants in the synod, of whom about 90 are not bishops. Fifty-four of them are women, and I'm one of those 54 women. I'm not sure why I am there. Women Religious are part of an international organization called the Union of Superiors General, and that international organization was given the right to name five women religious who would attend the synod. So I was named by them…

[Women Religious is] a religious organization of women. People call us nuns.

I think what's interesting from outsiders, whether one is Catholic or not, are the subjects that are going to be discussed. Women deacons, priestly celibacy, LGBTQ outreach. As someone who grew up in a mixed Catholic environment, this seems quite significant to me. What's your sense of it?

Pope Francis really has dared to name the issues that have marred the face of the Roman Catholic Church for centuries now, and still do in our time. And by naming these issues, he's calling us together to see how we look at these things differently.

The very word "synod," a gathering — Pope Francis has redefined that as walking together. And even the image he chose for the synod shows people of different colours walking together, led by a child and an adolescent, with the Pope in the middle, not at the beginning or at the end. Older people, younger people, and connected with Earth as well. So he's been trying to call us into a more inclusive communion, and he thinks and believes, as I do, that that is the only way that we can help make our world better and more just. More peaceful.

And that image you refer to, Sister, the rainbow motif is already built through it. So it's interesting that something that has been basically broadcast as the LGBTQ tolerance symbol is actually wired into what's going to be happening.