In the News

A report of a study group on women deacons is expected as soon as June, putting the spotlight on the issue of women’s roles in the church once more. Read the full article, quoting Kate McElwee, WOC’s executive director here.

There are about four dozen people, mostly women, who pray, sing, speak, proclaim slogans and throw pink smoke. A few hundred meters away, the next day the white smoke of the Sistine Chapel will come out announcing the election of a new Pope, but they want more: the pink smoke also wants to be “a…
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As the 17 young men preparing to be ordained as Catholic priests entered the sanctuary at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Chicago, they each pinned a tiny light-blue ribbon to their white robes. The gesture was small but explosive: It signified their belief that women, too, should be allowed into the priesthood… …The…
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…Also during the conclave, advocates for women’s ordination set off pink smoke flares over the Vatican to protest their exclusion from the priesthood and the election process. “The discrimination and exclusion of women is a sin, and we’re here to say the next pope will inherit this question and needs to work quickly to correct…
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Amid calls for a more inclusive Church, women religious and reform advocates find themselves detained outside the Vatican, raising fresh questions about the Church’s openness to the voices of its female faithful. Read the full article here.

Leo XIV, born in Southside Chicago, was elected as the first American pope last week by a conclave of 133 cardinal electors. After three rounds of inconclusive votes marked by black smoke, white smoke arose in St. Peter’s Square, signaling the election of the 267th pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Chaotic excitement…
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Executive Director Kate McElwee joined Anita Rani at BBC Women’s Hour on May 9 to discuss Pope Leo XIV and his stance on women in the church: Listen here.

Associated Press: ‘Ahead of a men-only conclave, activists will release pink smoke near the Vatican DNA India: Amid Papal conclave, ‘pink smoke’ signals in Rome, how does it affect Pope’s election? France 24: Habemus protestatio: Pink smoke over Rome denounces male-dominated Church The Guardian: Black smoke signals Vatican conclave has failed to elect new pope…
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Adista: Women’s Ordination Conference: Francesco, grande presenza pastorale ma porte chiuse al ministero ordinato per le donne America Media: How Pope Francis Changed the Place of Women in the Church Associated Press (AP): Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88 Associated Press (AP): Global tributes pour…
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Cosa farebbe la Chiesa cattolica senza le donne? Cosa accadrebbe se le donne dicessero no al loro lavoro “invisibile” nelle parrocchie e in tutti i contesti legati alla Chiesa? Mentre Papa Francesco inaugura la convalescenza nel suo appartamento a Santa Marta, le donne cattoliche fanno seguito alla sua parola – «Per stare vicino a Dio,…
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