In the News

The lay-led Root and Branch Synod, which is taking place online and in Bristol until Sunday 12 September, began last night with a panel discussion on feminism in the Church and clerical reform. “To suggest that God is incapable of ordaining women is inconsistent with our conception of an omniscient, omnipotent God,” said Kate McElwee,…
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A network of church-reform organizations around the world have been pushing for women’s ordination for decades, and in recent years they have become feistier. The Women’s Ordination Conference, which was founded in the mid-seventies, has been headed since 2017 by an energetic thirty-five-year-old American, Kate McElwee, who is based in Rome. She has organized protests…
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(CNN Español) — El papa Francisco emitió el martes la revisión más extensa de la ley de la Iglesia católica en cuatro décadas, insistiendo en que los obispos tomen medidas contra los clérigos que abusan de menores y adultos vulnerables, que cometen fraude o intentan ordenar mujeres. … El código revisado advierte específicamente que tanto la…
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ROME — Pope Francis on Tuesday issued a major revision of Catholic Church laws regulating clerical sex abuse, fraud and the attempt to ordain women. It is known as an apostolic constitution with the title, Pascite Gregem Dei, or “Tend the Flock.” … Penalties are established for attempting to ordain women as priests While the church…
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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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