On the occasion of the upcoming synod on Amazonia, a clear message comes from religious sisters from across the world: Why is there still such resistance to women’s participation when it comes to leadership and decision making in our Church? Why are sisters, who have dedicated their whole lives to prayer and devotion to the…
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By Katie Lacz, Program Associate In the America magazine article “Should Women Preach at Mass? Here’s a Better Question” (Pia de Solenni, Sept. 9), the question referred to in the title comes at the end: “Does being a woman or man affect what I do?” As is true for many deceptively simple questions, the answer…
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MEDIA ADVISORYAugust 21, 2019Marie Collins, the foremost advocate for justice for survivors of clergy sexual abuse and accountability in the Roman Catholic Church, will speak in 6 U.S. cities from September 9-20, 2019, stopping in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. Collins, a survivor of clergy abuse as a child in…
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We are pleased to announce today that for the first time the Women’s Ordination Conference has been granted consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We spent several years sharing our work and mission with committees of the United Nations as part of their extensive application process, and consider this decision a very significant achievement for WOC. Having…
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The Women’s Ordination Conference is thrilled to announce our fall event, Radicals and The Rule, a conversation between Benedictine sisters Joan Chittister and Teresa Forcades in Washington, D.C. on the evening of October 11th. This will be the first encounter between these Catholic feminist sheroes — you won’t want to miss it! These radical sisters follow the Rule of Benedict –…
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By Lara PinheiroGlobo (Brazil) (Translated from Portuguese) The hope, says Kate McElwee of Women’s Ordination Worldwide, who advocates for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church, is that the October discussion will further deepen the recognition of women’s presence in the institution. “Women are ministering to their communities on the margins in order to meet the…
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By Sarah Mac DonaldThe Tablet “Groups supporting the ordination of women deacons have expressed “disappointment” and “astonishment” at Pope Francis’ suggestion that the Church is not ready to take this step…. …Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW), an international network of groups campaigning for the inclusion of women in all ordained ministries in the Church, said it…
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On May 10, Pope Francis handed a copy of the report from the study commission on women deacons to the 850 religious of the UISG with the comment: “I cannot make a sacramental decree [on women deacons] without a theological, historical foundation.” The “theological, historical foundation” exists in abundance, thanks to the work of scholars like Dr.…
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May 7, 2019 For Immediate Release WOC’s response to Pope Francis’ remarks on May 7 indicating that the Vatican study commission on the history of women deacons in the Catholic Church has been unable to reach consensus: For centuries, women have served in the tradition of Phoebe (Rm 16:1) and our parishes and communities are…
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On May 12, Vocations Sunday, supporters of women’s ordination in 9 cities (and counting!) in the U.S. and UK gathered to proclaim, “Where are the women? The women are here!” We made sure our voices were loud and clear in the wake of Pope Francis’ statements last week that he cannot yet make a sacramental…
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