In the News

While many lay organizations are voicing disdain directly to Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, over his recent decree denying church services to Catholics in same-sex marriages, the feminist coalition Women-Church Convergence is reaching out to the people of the diocese. Women-Church Convergence, which “is a coalition of autonomous Catholic-rooted groups working to build just social and ecclesial structures…
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In this episode of the Religious Feminism interview series, Kate McElwee and Erin Saiz Hanna, co-Executive Directors of Women’s Ordination Conference, tell us about feminists’  holy mischief within the Roman Catholic church; that Pope Francis isn’t as progressive as he may seem to outsiders, at least, not with regards to women; and why they love to…
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Read the full article on the Daily Beast  … Kate McElwee, co-executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, says that while she supports the idea of married priests, she thinks it takes away from the discussion of women’s roles in the Church. “A married priesthood would be a great step for heterosexual men, and another…
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Read the full report by Sr. Jeannine Gramick on Global Sisters Report It was a remarkable collection of forty individuals, most of whom had labored for decades in church reform under two papacies that looked upon reform as anathema. Many carried bruises and battle scars quietly in their hearts. They met in Chicago last October,…
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Guardian: Pope Francis says women will never be Roman Catholic priests International Business Times: Pope Francis says ban on female priesthood in Roman Catholic church likely to stay forever International Business Times of India: Women can never be Catholic priests, says Pope Francis New York Post: Pope Francis has bad news for aspiring female priests New York Times: Pope…
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It was the unlikeliest of press conferences and a sign of times that are changing with unprecedented momentum even from within one of the world’s oldest religious institutions. On Oct 20, in Arlington Heights, representatives from Catholic priest movements and lay reform organizations based across the world gathered to lay out a series of direct…
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Women in the Catholic church have long been their own advocates, pushing the hierarchy and those within their faith communities to grant them the same ecclesial leadership roles as their male counterparts. The door, however, has remained closed — but the fight has continued. … NCR has reported on women who have faced similar scrutiny…
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Read the full story here Kate McElwee, the co-executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, said: “During this time of unity, I pray that our shared Gospel value of justice deepens to equally include ordained ministers of all genders and traditions.”

AFP: Pope ‘opens door’ to female deacons with new panel America Magazine: Pope Francis’ Commission on Women Deacons Involves “High Stakes,” Member Says AP: Pope Sets Up Vatican Panel to Study Female Deacons Issue AP: Vatican panel to ponder if women can be deacons: The U.S.-based Women’s Ordination Conference cautiously hails the pope’s move. Baltimore Sun: For Catholic women, pope’s panel…
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Crux: Scenes from World Youth Day in Krakow