Month: March 2014

The Beginning of Lent, 2014 Dear Cardinal O’ Malley I am writing to you and to all the ordinaries of the dioceses in the United States to ask you and your fellow bishops in your role as teachers to provide a clear and credible theological explanation of why women are not being ordained to the…
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Guided by Dr. Carolyn Osiek and Sr. Christine Scheck, executive director emerita of FutureChurch, a pilgrimage of about 20 people traveled to Rome to experience and study the archeological sites of women “officeholders” in the early Church.  On our first night of introductions together, it was obvious that the room could start a small faculty:…
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Today I met with one of the contributors to Leggendaria #103, Matilde Passa, a long-time journalist and feminist based in Rome. Her article, “Rinnovamento o mutazione?” begins: Valorizzare il genio femminile? Guardarsi dal machismo in gonnella? Ferve il dibattito, con una quantità e qualità di interventi che sollecitano ad allargare l’orizzonte In February I was…
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May 22, 2014 will mark the 20th anniversary of John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis in which he attempted to officially ban discussion about the ordination of women. In a now infamous July 28, 2013 interview with reporters at the end of World Youth Day, Pope Francis referenced this document when he said, “On the ordination of women, the church has…
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One year ago today, Erin and I were rushing from Fiumicino airport to a convent in Rome to gather our coalition and drive to Piazza Garibaldi to raise pink smoke over the Vatican. It seemed poetic at the time, to cross an ocean to light something on fire, but it was an precedented and powerful…
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Still revved up from International Women’s Day? Good!   For the next eleven days the UN Commission on the Status of Women is meeting in New York.  Governments, the United Nations and NGOs from around the world will meet over the next two weeks to evaluate the progress and remaining challenges towards meeting the Millennium Development…
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Happy International Women’s Day! Here are a few ideas from the Women’s Ordination Conference to celebrate the women and girls of the world (today, and everyday!): Listen to the women and girls in your life. Show and tell them that you love them, you support them, and you respect their human rights. Celebrate them (and…
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  Another interview with Pope Francis published in Italy and Argentina by the daily Corriere della Sera, made headlines yesterday, covering topics such as contraception, civil unions, Humanae Vitae, “Papal fame,” and the role of women in the church. What did Pope Francis say about women in the Church? Come verrà promosso il ruolo della donna nella Chiesa? «È vero…
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  Over the weekend I attended a planning meeting with international partners to clarify the goals of an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the closing of Vatican II, to be held in the fall of 2015 in Rome. A dozen or so organizers from around the world united under the theme of “making…
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March 2014 marks the one year anniversary of the election of Pope Francis.  It has been a year of remarkable activity, media attention and excitement.  “Man of the Year” for Time Magazine, on the cover of Rolling Stone, quoted by people of all denominations, Francis has made a significant mark on the world community.  As Catholics interested in working…
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