What’s the current “state of the question” on women’s ordination?
The grassroots movement for gender equality in all ministries of the church has more strength and energy than ever. After years of silencing any dissent on the church’s official stance, the institution is moving *slowly* towards increased willingness to dialogue, and greater representation of women in leadership. And the fact that they have to keep addressing the question means it isn’t going away any time soon.
From “the door is closed” to “discernment must continue”
While the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI were marked by suppression and strict crackdowns, the movement of Popes Francis and Leo XIV towards a more “synodal” church has meant that the ordination of women remains a living and open question. Not to mention that for Catholics globally, this question never went away.
VOTES FOR WOMEN
After a decade-long “Votes for Catholic Women” effort spearheaded by WOC in coordination with international partners, women participated as voting members of the 2021-24 Synod on Synodality—a first. This meant that more than 50 women helped draft and voted on a document that is officially part of church teaching.
WOMEN LEADING at the VATICAN
Pope Francis officially opened positions that were once reserved only for Cardinals or ordained men to be held by lay people, including women. He and Pope Leo XIV have appointed serveral women to high-level positions in the Vatican, including:
• Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops
• Sr. Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
• Maria Montserrat Alvarado, Prefect of the Dicastery of Communications
• Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State
• Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
SYNODAL CONVERSATIONS
Throughout the 2021-24 Synod on Synodality, calls for women’s ordination were heard from all corners of the globe. The once-taboo subject was openly debated at the synod, and despite repeated attempts to suggest that the question is “not yet ripe” for a decision, the Vatican finds itself constantly having to address the issue.
A Call of the Heart
Read a history of the movement for women’s ordination by Heidi Schlumpf in Commonweal Magazine.
Read the article
Vatican Commission Says “No” To Women Deacons
But, importantly, they stated that the evidence they reviewed “does not as of today allow a definitive judgment to be formulated.” Read the article in Reuters:
Read the Article
WOC50
The movement for women’s ordination gathered for its 50th anniversary in Detroit May 2026. This summit sent a strong message that the movement is vibrant, focused, and growing.
learn morePope Francis
Pope Francis was asked by journalists about women’s ordination nearly every year of his papacy; in papal press conferences or interviews in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 he repeated his “no,” often relying Marian and Petrine principles to attempt to defend the indefensible.
Yet his otherwise pastoral nature inspired Catholics to be more open and open to dialogue, particularlly through his Synod on Synodality.
Implementation Phase of the Synod on Synodality
While some of the bigger headlines around the Synod on Synodality have faded, we are very much in the midst of this process of moving the church to be more collaborative, responsive, and participatory for all of the People of God. Local churches are engaged in ongoing conversations and changes. We anticipate gatherings in 2027 and 2028 in Rome.
The Synod on SynodalityPope Leo
Pope Leo affirmed his support of a synodal church in his first address as pope in 2025. We see this openness to collaboration with women continue in his Vatican appointments and ongong engagement with the Synod office/process. We still have much to learn about Pope Leo’s understanding of women’s vocations to ordained ministry and we continue to reach out to him for opportunities to dialogue.
On the Feast of Mary Magdalene, we sent him letters of women, “descendants of Mary Magdalene” calling for his courage to enter into this question more deeply, for the good of the church.
What comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.
The Final Document on the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality was made magesterial teaching by Pope Francis. That document included a section, “Paragraph 60” that states: “There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the church: What comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.”
Therefore, we must work as a church to remove all barriers to women’s ministerial leadership with urgency.
*Notable* quotes about women in the church
While the majority of lay Catholics support women’s ordination, when members of the. male clergy speak out it sends a powerful message. The issue of women’s ordination is growing ever more mainstream. And there simply is NOT a consistently held belief among the world’s cardinals on this issue.
One of the surest ways to know the question is still open is that the Vatican keeps saying that it is closed.”
Fr. Luigi Gioia
Professor of Systematic Theology, Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Rome (October 2018)
I am in favor of opening any ministry we have in the church to women which is not clearly precluded doctrinally.”
Cardinal Robert W. McElroy
Archdiocese of
Washington, D.C.
(Catholic News Service, October 27, 2019)
In the long run, I cannot imagine how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffer because they have no access to the ordained ministry.”
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich
Archdiocese of Luxembourg (April 2026)
When the Church speaks of the ordained acting in persona Christi, or in the person of Christ, the head of His body, the Church, this must be understood in its fullness. The ordained do not have a monopoly on acting in persona Christi.”
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” Siongco David
Filipino Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kalookan since 2016, and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 2021 to 2025. (January 2026)
Women have to be a very major part of the future of ministry in the church. When you look around the church on a Sunday, who are doing most of the roles? Women.”
Fr. Father Sean McDonagh
Seán McDonagh SSC is an Irish Columban missionary priest. (2014)
WOC in the Wind
One of our great strengths is leveraging the media to amplify our message. More and more the advocacy for women’s ordination is growing stronger and the media is paying attention. You find the latest articles on women’s ordination and where WOC and our leadership are highlighted in the media below.
Read WOC’s Press ReleasesFall into WOC! Register for our Autumn 2026 events
WOC has a busy season of programming planned for our favorite season – the fall (of the patriarchy). Join us for the events below! Women’s Ordination Foundations – A Two-Part[…]
Read moreRNS: Vatican blocks women’s homilies, testing Leo’s view of women in church
The executive director of the U.S.-based advocacy group for women’s ordination and gender equality in the church, Kate McElwee, called the Vatican’s decision “shameful” and “insulting” in a text message[…]
Read more“Women’s Ordination: The Long View” by Mary E. Hunt for WOC50
Catholic Women’s Ordination: The Long View by Mary E. Huntfor Women’s Ordination Conference 50th Anniversary, Detroit, MIMay 23, 2026 Introduction Good evening and thank you for a very generous introduction.[…]
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