Join us for “Discerning Women: Voices Outside the Synod”

Join us for “Discerning Women: Voices Outside the Synod”

UPDATE: 

Watch the video of our panel discussion:

Read the opening remarks from Paola Lazzarini, founder of Donne per la Chiesa (“Women for the Church”), here. 

****

This October, the Synod of Bishops will meet for nearly a month in Rome to discuss “Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment,” behind closed doors.

But a group of men gathered behind closed doors is no way to talk about the next generation of our Church and their faith and vocations.  Women’s Ordination Conference will be on the ground in Rome, demonstrating through an alternative event that there is another, better way to dream a future for Catholics.

We resist the Vatican’s attempts to silence the voices of women in decision-making and sacramental roles by lifting up all women who are called to priesthood and all people who call for equality in Church structures. The pain of this closed door is felt deeply around the world and perpetuates discrimination and injustices against women and girls in society.

WOC’s parallel event will directly challenge the closed door sessions of the Synod, where women’s voices and vocations will be marginalized or silenced.

Our roundtable discussion, “Discerning Women: Voices Outside the Synod,” will be just a short 5-minute walk from the Synod Hall in Rome, and feature the voices, witness and testimony of women called to priesthood, international feminist theologians, and activists calling for a Church that works for justice and inclusion in the world.

What: Public witness & roundtable: Discerning Women: Voices Outside the Synod
Where: Piazza Santa Maria alle Fornaci, 27 – 00165 Rome
When: October 4, 2018 @ 3 p.m. — reception to follow

Featuring…
Jacqueline Straub:
Young German theologian, called to priesthood
Paola Lazzarini:
Italian, co-founder of Donne Per La Chiesa
Zuzanna Radzik:
Young Polish theologian, author, feminist leader
Jamie Manson:
American columnist and books editor for the National Catholic Reporter, and Yale Divinity School graduate with a focus on Christian sexual ethics.

Join us and other re-sisters of the Vatican’s exclusionary policies, to raise our voices against those who would deny the gifts and vocations of women and girls worldwide. We are so much stronger, together.

  • Make a solidarity donation supporting the “Discerning Women” calling out for sacramental equality to Rome this October and throughout our season of activism. 

  • Share our video series, “Catholic Women Called,” to amplify the prophetic witness of women called to serve as priests.

  • Follow the events on social media (@OrdainWomen) and add your voice using #Synod2018 and #OrdainWomen. Sample tweets:

A “dialogue” on youth and vocations without the voices of women is no dialogue at all. Join WOC in Rome in October for “Discerning Women,” a panel of women’s voices outside the Synod. #OrdainWomen #Synod2018

The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment = the Catholic world’s biggest “manel.”