Author: katie

By Aili Winstanley Channer A study group established during the Synod on Synodality denounced “machismo clericalism” and said that “much remains to be done” to enable women to embrace their vocations, both within and beyond formal ministries and institutional positions. … …The Women’s Ordination Conference said: “The authors of this report are frustratingly close to,…
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…Kate McElwee, executive director of Women’s Ordination Conference, recalled how during the recent papal conclave, while the male cardinals gathered behind closed doors, “we raised pink smoke outside the Vatican. It was a protest, yes, but also a signal: a Church that excludes women is in crisis”. She said the message of the protest was…
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There are about four dozen people, mostly women, who pray, sing, speak, proclaim slogans and throw pink smoke. A few hundred meters away, the next day the white smoke of the Sistine Chapel will come out announcing the election of a new Pope, but they want more: the pink smoke also wants to be “a…
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As the 17 young men preparing to be ordained as Catholic priests entered the sanctuary at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Chicago, they each pinned a tiny light-blue ribbon to their white robes. The gesture was small but explosive: It signified their belief that women, too, should be allowed into the priesthood… …The…
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…Also during the conclave, advocates for women’s ordination set off pink smoke flares over the Vatican to protest their exclusion from the priesthood and the election process. “The discrimination and exclusion of women is a sin, and we’re here to say the next pope will inherit this question and needs to work quickly to correct…
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Amid calls for a more inclusive Church, women religious and reform advocates find themselves detained outside the Vatican, raising fresh questions about the Church’s openness to the voices of its female faithful. Read the full article here.

Leo XIV, born in Southside Chicago, was elected as the first American pope last week by a conclave of 133 cardinal electors. After three rounds of inconclusive votes marked by black smoke, white smoke arose in St. Peter’s Square, signaling the election of the 267th pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Chaotic excitement…
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Executive Director Kate McElwee joined Anita Rani at BBC Women’s Hour on May 9 to discuss Pope Leo XIV and his stance on women in the church: Listen here.