What’s our strategy?
The Women’s Ordination Conference is committed to a visible, theological, dialogical, and prophetic approach to holistic grassroots change in the Catholic church.
We educate.
The case for ordaining women has grounding in Catholic history, tradition and theology. We offer accessible resources and host engaging conversations that lift up that history; and we bring feminist theology to new mediums: social media, videos, and virtual liturgies and retreats.
Women’s Ordination 101
Learn the basics and empower yourself to be a voice for ordination justice.
Start (or keep) learning!
Young Feminist Network Living Library
Explore a power-building, skills-sharing, soul-feeding, movement-tending series of videos from our Spring 2022 Young Feminist Network workshop series.
Watch the videos
Why Ordain Women?
It’s one of the simplest, and most profound, questions we are asked as a movement.
Learn MoreWe dialogue.
We believe in engaging with the hierarchy in courageous conversations about women’s equality and broader gender equity in the Church. We speak with courage and parrhesia (boldness) so that the voices of ordination justice advocates may carry from the grassroots, to the halls of their parish and the halls of the Vatican.
Our Synod Resources
We believe in the inclusive promise of synodality, and actively encouraged our members to engage in authentic ways, both in their parishes and through WOC events. The integrity and impact of the ongoing synodal journey will depend on the radical inclusion and welcome of often marginalized voices, like ours, into courageous conversations.
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2025 Bingen Declaration
Women’s Ordination Worldwide, of which WOC is a member, wrote an open letter of welcome to Pope Leo XIV in September 2025.
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United Nations
WOC is an NGO in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2019. Each year, we participate in the annual Commission on the Status of Women, acting as a voice to counter the influence of the Holy See in denying women’s rights.
learn moreWe support vocations.
We walk with those women and nonbinary people who are called to ordination, and who answer their call to ordained ministry. We encourage and support them as they model a renewed priesthood, meeting the diverse needs of the People of God.
Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship
This unique scholarship awards $2,200 to
women and non-binary people on their academic and spiritual paths, discerning ordination.
Diakonia and Determination
Hear the stories of women called to the diaconate in this prayer service from 2024.
Watch the video
Inclusive Lectionary
A renewed priesthood requires renewed resources for ministry. The Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary (CCL) lifts up stories of women in the Bible not included in the traditional lectionary, and uses inclusive and expansive language for God.
learn moreWe witness and advocate.
The heartbeat of our work is to develop creative, engaging, and effective ways to witness for women’s ordination. We train and support local activists and make sure our message is heard from the grassroots to the Vatican.
Ministry of Irritation
Some of our most effective work happens through our “Ministry of Irritation,” our ministry of creative witness and prayerful protest. We proudly and prayerfully knock on “closed doors” to call for the inclusion of women.
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Wildflowers of the Grassroots
We believe that real transformation in the church will come from Catholics organizing in their local communities. The Wildflowers of the Grassroots is our network of committed and passionate advocates of ordination justice whose diverse gifts and efforts create a beautiful field in which our dreams of a renewed church can flourish.
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WOC in the News
WOC has become a leading voice in the media for the ordination of all genders in the Catholic church.
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