In the News

VATICAN CITY, June 1 (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Tuesday issued the most extensive revision to Catholic Church law in four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who abuse minors and vulnerable adults, commit fraud or attempt to ordain women. …. The revised code specifically warns that both the person who attempts to…
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Pope Francis has formally created a new lay ministry to encourage greater participation of secular women and men in the teaching of the Catholic faith, especially in places where priests are in short supply. WOC’s statement on the change was quoted in this AP article by Nicole Winfield. Read the full article here. The Women’s…
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Women of faith celebrated International Women’s day on Monday with discussions on women’s future in the Catholic Church and by exploring if women have been written out of scripture. “We are talking about the survival of the Church,” said Joanna Moorhead, The Tablet’s Arts editor, who has written widely on the subject of women in the…
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Pope Francis recently announced that he would remove the phrase “lay men” from Canon 230 and replace it with “lay persons”. This change to the church’s legal code means that women can now be permanently installed as lectors or acolytes – essentially, readers, distributors of Communion and assistants at Mass and the sacraments. Although not a…
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AP’s Nicole Winfield’s report on the appointment of Sr. Nathalie Becquart to the Synod of Bishops, and quotes WOC Executive Director, Kate McElwee: ROME (AP) — A French nun who has become the first woman to hold a voting position at the Vatican said Wednesday that her appointment is evidence the “patriarchal mindset is changing”…
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WOC Executive Director Kate McElwee appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition to discuss the appointment of Sr. Nathalie Becquart as one of two new undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops: “You know, all of these steps are important to greater inclusion of women in the decision-making and leadership of the Vatican, and so if it takes…
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Pope John Paul II released an apostolic letter in 1994 saying priestly ordination is reserved for men alone. In this letter, he said the presence and roles of women in the church are “absolutely necessary and irreplaceable,” even when not linked to the ministerial priesthood. Since then, many Catholic women have fought for the ability to receive…
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In the wake of Pope Francis’ announcement Jan. 11 that officially opened altar serving, lectoring and eucharistic ministries to all “lay persons,” rather than just men, Catholic organizations and individuals expressed a mix of emotions, including joy, disappointment and a bit of wry humor — or just plain surprise. Some saw the move as a positive step…
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A Vatican women’s magazine has gently criticized recent remarks by Pope Francis on naming women to positions of authority in the Catholic Church, saying the pontiff touched a “sore point” by again warning against the so-called clericalization of women. “Women Church World,” a monthly supplement to the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper, offers a commentary in…
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Spanish-language news outlet Religión Digital quoted WOC Executive Director Kate McElwee in its article on the Pope’s change to canon law regarding women as acolytes and lectors: “La WOC ‘da la bienvenida’ al texto papal, que ‘lleva a la Iglesia institucional a una mejor alineación con las realidades pastorales de todo el mundo,’ al tiempo que…
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