Author: Kate McElwee

The movement for women’s equality in the church cannot be stopped

As Catholic feminists and leaders of organizations committed to justice for women within our church as well as throughout society, we have followed Voices of Faith’s efforts to crack open the Vatican walls by sponsoring an annual forum about women inside one of the last remaining bastions of male domination in the western world. Since 2014, Voices…
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Francis After Five: a Feminist Review (New Date!)

The Women’s Ordination Conference and Dignity NY invite you to join women theologians, journalists, ministers, and activists in conversation as we survey Pope Francis’ progress on poverty, ecology, sexuality, racism, inclusion of women, and young adults — and his overall impact on 51% of the human population.   Our speakers include:  Anne Barrett Doyle, Bishop Accountability Teresa Cariño, St. Ignatius Parish NYC…
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BBC Radio Ulster: Kate McElwee on “Sunday Sequence”

With BBC Radio’s Audrey Carville, WOC executive director, Kate McElwee and Paula McKeown from Down & Conor Diocese discuss Mary McAleese’s address at Voices of Faith 2018 and the question: are women valued in the Catholic Church?  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p060sfyc

Mary McAleese: The time is now for change in the Catholic Church

The time is now for change in the Catholic Church Mary McAleese, President of Ireland 1997-2011 8 March 2018 PDF Version Here The Israelites under Joshua’s command circled Jericho’s walls for seven days, blew trumpets and shouted to make the walls fall down. (cf. Joshua 6:1-20). We don’t have trumpets but we have voices, voices…
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Every Day is International Women’s Day

DignityUSA, Women’s Ordination Conference, and the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) sponsored a teleconference on March 9, 2018: “Every Day is International Women’s Day: A Discussion of Voices of Faith’s 2018 “Why Women Matter” event and the Work of Feminist Ministries.  You can listen to the audio of the discussion here. Remarks from…
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Women’s Ordination Advocates call for Progress, not ‘Process,’ on International Women’s Day

The exploitation of women in the Vatican and the Church must end. March 8, 2018 This International Women’s Day, Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) joins the global community in the #PressForProgress for women’s equality by calling for an end to sexism and abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. The theme of International Women’s Day, “Press for…
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“Reasonably Catholic” Kate McElwee discusses Voices of Faith 2018

Rome-based Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, praises the previously deferential-to-cardinals organization Voices of Faith for taking its annual International Women’s Day conference outside the Vatican walls after three planned speakers were rejected from the program. One of them is former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, an outspoken proponent of women’s ordination and…
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WOW responds to Voices of Faith event speakers

For Immediate Release: 2 February 2018 Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) notes with disappointment the news that organizers for a fifth annual event at the Vatican for International Women’s Day were told they could not feature former Irish president Mary McAleese and Ugandan activist Ssenfuka Joanita Warry. Pope Francis has called repeatedly for fearless dialogue in the church. Yet, within…
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Feminism and Faith in Union

As weavers of feminism and faith, the Women’s Ordination Conference is excited to share a project called Feminism & Faith in Union, a collaboration between Call To Action, FutureChurch, The Women Who Stayed, and WOC on the anniversary weekend of the global Women’s Marches (January 20-21). This “Weekend of Women” is expected to be a global…
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Catholics launch initiative to celebrate feminism, activism, faith (Windy City Times)

New York, NY and global locations: Inspired by the global women’s marches one year ago, and aware that the Roman Catholic Church and religious institutions around the world are in dire need of an infusion of feminist energy and truth, The Women Who Stayed, FutureChurch, Women’s Ordination Conference, and Call To Action announce the launch…
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