Global Sisters Report: Nuns gather in support of 50th anniversary of Women’s Ordination Conference
It was a time to look back at a 50-year journey, but also a time to look forward to the next 50 years.
More than 200 attendees at the Women’s Ordination Conference’s 50th anniversary celebration May 22-24 mourned the members who have died since the first gathering in 1975, examined the first flourishing of the movement in its early years, shook their heads — and sometimes their fists — at the backlash against their efforts that followed, and dared to celebrate the Catholic Church’s more recent commitment to synodality and the bit of hope it brings them that women could someday be ordained priests.
Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, said in an interview that while there is a long way to go, there is also much to celebrate.
“Women are certainly more visible and empowered,” she said. “But we’re not just looking backward, we’re looking forward.”