Women’s Ordination Advocates call on the church to “Walk with Women”
Media Advisory: June 1, 2022
Members of the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) will gather outside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on Pentecost Sunday, June 5th 2022, at 2 pm, calling the church to “journey together” with women who long to be embraced as equals in Christ.
The witness is in response to the Pope Francis’ two-year “Synod on Synodality,” or global process of listening and collective discernment about the path forward for the Catholic Church.
In the spirit of encounter, WOC has invited male clergy to join the witness as a visible sign of their commitment to listening to the experiences of women and ensuring marginalized voices carry throughout the synod.
“We take seriously Pope Francis’ invitation to “journey together,” and have embraced the opportunities of the synod to join in the collective discernment of the church,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of WOC. “The integrity and impact of the synod depends on the inclusion of courageous conversations about women’s equality. We are committed to ensuring that women’s voices carry throughout the synodal process, and are calling male clergy to join us.”
“The underlying mandate of the synod is to listen to all voices, go to the margins, and be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit. We’ve done the hard work of encouraging women to participate in a process that ultimately rests largely in the hands and votes of an all-male clergy; now we need our brothers in Christ to listen.”
###
Contact: Kate McElwee, Executive Director, kmcelwee@womensordination.org
What: Walk With Women: A Pentecost Witness
Who: Women’s Ordination Conference members of Chicago and allies
Where: Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654
When: June 5th, 2022 @ 2 p.m. CT (Pentecost Sunday)
Why: Pope Francis has invited all Catholics to “journey together” as part of the ongoing synodal process. We ask the male clergy to walk in solidarity with women and those who long for equality in the church as a celebration of Pentecost and the ways the Holy Spirit graces all people.