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(RNS) — The Vatican released a document Thursday (Dec. 4) stating that current church teaching does not permit women to be ordained as deacons, while emphasizing that the opinion is not a final ruling. … “Our sacramentality isn’t up for debate,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, a grassroots organization that…
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ROME (AP) — A second Vatican study commission has determined that women should not be ordained as deacons, dealing another setback to Catholic women who hope one day to be able to preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals. The Vatican on Thursday took the unusual step of publishing a synthesis of the commission’s findings, including the members’…
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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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…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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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.

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV, who greeted the people of Rome and the world with a message of peace. His clear emphasis on bridge-building and dialogue offer WOC hope that Pope Leo XIV might be a leader who will also build bridges to Catholic women,…
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Associated Press: ‘Ahead of a men-only conclave, activists will release pink smoke near the Vatican DNA India: Amid Papal conclave, ‘pink smoke’ signals in Rome, how does it affect Pope’s election? France 24: Habemus protestatio: Pink smoke over Rome denounces male-dominated Church The Guardian: Black smoke signals Vatican conclave has failed to elect new pope…
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