WOC responds to Pope’s Encyclical

For Immediate Release

Contact: WOC Co-Executive Directors

Erin Saiz Hanna, (USA) +1 401.588.0457

Kate McElwee, (Italy) +39 393.692.2100

The Women’s Ordination Conference applauds Pope Francis for awakening global consciousness about the exploitation and suffering of our natural and spiritual world in his encyclical Laudato Si’.

Integral ecology has long been the study of feminist theologians.  We fear the lack of women’s scholarship in this document exposes its shortcomings in addressing reproductive health care and the risks particular to women in environmental poverty around the world.

We share Pope Francis’ message of interconnectivity, co-responsibility, dialogue and transparency in decision-making. We pray for our common home as well as our Church, as places where these values are not yet fully realized.

We ask that our church leaders take seriously the experiences and voices of Catholic women who have proclaimed the message of earth justice, including: Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard of Bingen, Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, Dr. Ilia Delio, OSF, and Sr. Ivone Gebara, Ph.D.

WOC also asks Pope Francis to consider the effects of patriarchal “Father” language, as a limiting of our understanding and experience of God.