Category: Women’s Ordination

April 25th, 2023

Sermon-Writer’s Block, Artificial Intelligence, and Women’s Ordination (A Satire)

[This post was co-written by Matthew Casey-Pariseault and Bernadette Raspante. Incidentally, no artificial intelligence technology was used in the creation of this post.] Father Tavárez sits staring into the bluish glow of his Macbook Pro. It is half-past midnight and the fact that it is now technically Sunday, April 30 adds to the pressure building…
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April 22nd, 2023

Keep on Talkin’

Sometimes the African American spirituals say it best. Today I think of “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me ’round” because of the lines ending the refrain: “I’m gonna keep on walkin’, keep on talkin’, marching down to freedom land.” There was a whole lot of talkin’ this week about women’s ordination, and I will share…
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April 15th, 2023

Still There: “Ordination” in the North American Synod Document

Kate McElwee’s letter to WOC members commenting on the North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod emphasizes that the use of the word “ordination” is in the context of the co-responsibility of all the faithful because of our baptism. Part of paragraph 19 says: While clarity is still needed around exactly what…
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April 8th, 2023

Back to Basics for Easter

Maybe it happens every year for Easter, but I don’t notice it. Or maybe not. I am moved this year by articles in my usual sources that bring to life the way I understand the liturgical and theological basics of our celebrations. Daniel O’Hanlon’s was the second article I read (the first, by Mary E.…
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April 1st, 2023

“a priesthood that excludes and minimizes women”

The full quotation is not an April fool’s joke. Sometimes we feel like holy fools, but our mission here at The Table is to reassure us all that we are not alone, nor are we the first: “It has sometimes seemed to me that, in the Church today, there are three perishable stones dangerously committed…
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March 21st, 2023

Women Priests- A Missing Link

A few years ago, I registered for the Parliament of the World Religions. At the Parliament, as it turned out, and for reasons I can’t remember now, I was able to come to one session only. I don’t even remember what the session was about. What I remember is that someone there mentioned the Women’s…
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March 11th, 2023

Pope Francis at Ten Years

The actual anniversary is next Monday, March 13, but pundits have been ruminating for a month. Amidst this effusion of commentary, I am going to highlight the articles in which the analysis advances the conversation about Francis and women. First, of course, is Kate McElwee’s in NCR. What McElwee does is document particular changes over…
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March 4th, 2023

International Women’s Day

This week, I’m collecting articles under three headings: Pope Francis, whose tenth anniversary will be March 13; Synod, but I’m waiting for the North American report, which is due March 31; and Women, which I will write about this week for International Women’s Day, March 8. The Synod process has revealed worldwide concern about the…
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February 28th, 2023

Why Stay Catholic? Why Advocate? Why WOC?

As I was preparing to write my last blog post as a guest writer for The Table, I found myself reflecting on what I could offer that was unique to my perspective. In my previous blog posts, I wrote about my letters to the pope, my conversations with a deacon, and for renewed attention the…
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February 21st, 2023

My Case for Renewed Attention On the Diaconate

From the age of nine, I have wanted to be a Catholic deacon. I struggled with the restrictions placed on that role for women and non-binary people, and although I also support the ordination of people of all genders to the priesthood, because of my vocation, I have always focused my advocacy on women deacons…
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