For nearly a decade, two successive commissions of church experts studiously examined if women could serve as deacons, an ordained ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. Their grinding deliberations, which began under Pope Francis, raised hopes that women might be allowed, after being excluded from leadership roles for nearly two millenniums, to join Catholicism’s all-male…
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For Immediate Release: 4 December 2025 Today, the Vatican released a long-awaited report from the latest commission studying the possibility of women deacons in the Roman Catholic Church. The commission, meeting in secrecy since its establishment under Pope Francis, voted 7–1 against restoring women to the diaconate, urging that this position be “strongly maintained,” even…
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The U.S. feminist movement’s perpetual quest for gender equality has suffered notable setbacks during President Donald Trump’s second term — including the dismantling of various nondiscrimination programs and the ouster of several high-ranking women in the military. …. The largest U.S. organization working to open the priesthood to women is the Women’s Ordination Conference, which…
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A report of a study group on women deacons is expected as soon as June, putting the spotlight on the issue of women’s roles in the church once more. Read the full article, quoting Kate McElwee, WOC’s executive director here.
For Immediate Release: 7 May 2025 As a group of 133 ordained men gather behind closed doors to make a consequential decision about the future of the Catholic church, advocates for women’s ordination released pink smoke over the Vatican to call for women’s full equality in the Catholic church. Echoing the iconic white and black…
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Adista: Women’s Ordination Conference: Francesco, grande presenza pastorale ma porte chiuse al ministero ordinato per le donne America Media: How Pope Francis Changed the Place of Women in the Church Associated Press (AP): Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88 Associated Press (AP): Global tributes pour…
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 21, 2025 The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) joins Catholics around the world in mourning the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, as reported by the Vatican early this morning. We extend our heartfelt condolences and hold in prayer the global church during this time of grief and transition. His…
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We are the generation, the community, and the leaders who get to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Ordination Conference. That’s right, it is time! How will you get involved? The Women’s Ordination ConferenceMay 22-24, 2026Marygrove ConservancyDetroit, Michigan Together we will embark on a pilgrimage to Detroit, Michigan to honor the feminist thought-leadership of our 1975…
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Cosa farebbe la Chiesa cattolica senza le donne? Cosa accadrebbe se le donne dicessero no al loro lavoro “invisibile” nelle parrocchie e in tutti i contesti legati alla Chiesa? Mentre Papa Francesco inaugura la convalescenza nel suo appartamento a Santa Marta, le donne cattoliche fanno seguito alla sua parola – «Per stare vicino a Dio,…
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“Women see through the Catholic church’s lip service on equality” and their “second-class treatment”, according to an organiser of a Dublin protest calling for the ordination of women as priests.
