Ruth Fitzpatrick, who felt she was called to the Roman Catholic priesthood beginning as a teenager and later helped lead a movement to press the church to stop barring women like her from being ordained, died on June 15 in Fairfax, Va. She was 90. The cause was cerebral arteriosclerosis, her son John Fitzpatrick said.…
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Kate McElwee contributed this piece to the National Catholic Reporter on the Instrumentum Laboris for the upcoming Synod on Synodality. And while I will not discount the value and affirmation that comes from a Vatican process or document capturing the experiences of women with a semblance of depth, we simply must journey together beyond words.…
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“And while I will not discount the value and affirmation that comes from a Vatican process or document capturing the experiences of women with a semblance of depth, we simply must journey together beyond words. If we are to take up the challenge of “missionary urgency” the synod must listen to and walk with those…
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For Immediate Release: June 20, 2023 The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) finds hope in the Vatican’s document released June 20 that will guide discussions for the Synod of Bishops this October. Known as the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, the text invites discernment on the urgent needs of the church today, including ways to recognize…
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Pope Francis says women will be allowed to vote on a Vatican panel that had been exclusively male. NPR’s Scott Simon asks Kate McElwee of the Women’s Ordination Conference about it.
On May 31, WOC hosted an evening of contemplation with a Pentecost-themed virtual Taizé service. With song, scripture, silence, and inspired preaching by Sister of Charity Louise Lears, we celebrated (and will continue to celebrate!) when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles, of all genders, empowering them to prophesy and do the work…
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WOC will be in Rome throughout the month of October for the Synod of Bishops! Our witness is essential to ensure women’s voices, experiences, stories, and vocations are not erased or silenced in the synodal process. We will work for accountability to the grassroots, and be an uncompromising voice for equitable inclusion of women at…
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For Immediate Release: April 26, 2023 Today, in a historic move, the Vatican’s synod office expanded participation in the Synod of Bishops, granting non-ordained lay persons—including women—the right to vote as full members of the body. In an April 26 press conference, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general…
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On “Vocations Sunday,” or the annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the institutional church prays for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. Women are standing on the “prophetic edge” of the church, denied the opportunity to stand in roles of meaningful leadership or ordained ministry. They have worn out their shoes walking the…
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Job Description Position Title: Development Associate Reports to: Executive Director Organizational Description: Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) is a feminist non-profit organization that advocates and prays for the ordination and the full equality of women in an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church. Position Summary: WOC seeks a highly motivated and organized individual to support the…
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