Women’s Ordination Advocates to March from United Nations to St. Patrick’s Cathedral on International Women’s Day
New York: As women unite worldwide for International Women’s Day (March 8), Catholic women’s ordination advocates will march from the United Nations to the steps of New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral to demonstrate that women’s rights should not end at the steps of our churches.
Singing a revised version of the classic labor rights song “Bread and Roses” to address women’s vocations to ministry, global activists will symbolically “break the chains that bind” in a prayerful ritual in front of the Cathedral, calling for gender equality in the Church and society.
“When a woman walks through the doors of a Catholic Church, the institution denies her the rights she has in civil society, all in the name of ‘God’s will’,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference. “We must not sacralize gender discrimination. It is not God’s will to marginalize, silence, and disempower women — it is the work of a powerful patriarchy.”
As the Commission on the Status of Women meetings begin at the United Nations (March 9 – 20), the Women’s Ordination Conference will continue their campaign by hosting two parallel events with theologians, canon lawyers, legal experts, and activists to underline that the exclusion of women from Catholic leadership threatens human rights.
“The Holy See, which enjoys a permanent observer seat at the United Nations and acts as a powerful lobby against gender-inclusive policies, could be far more credible and effective in their global missions if the Vatican itself practiced gender equity,” McElwee continued. “As Catholic women, we march for equal rights and rites, and refuse to accept any exceptions to equality.”
Sunday, March 8: International Women’s Day March for Equal Rights and Rites
Women’s ordination supporters will meet at 9:15 a.m. at the Church Center for the United Nations (777 United Nations Plaza). March to St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 9:30. At the Cathedral, a prayerful witness for women’s equality and ordination will begin.
Tuesday, March 10: Challenging Institutional Catholicism through Latinx Listening Sessions and Empowerment – parallel event hosted by the Women’s Ordination Conference during the Commission on the Status of Women meetings. Panelists include: Lilian Medina Romero (Women’s Ordination Conference); Dr. Teresa Delgado (Iona College); Lorena Gallego (Colombian human rights lawyer).
8:30 – 10:00 a.m. @ Church Center for the United Nations, 8th Floor (777 United Nations Plaza)
Wednesday, March 11: Women’s Exclusion from Catholic Leadership Threatens Human Rights – parallel event hosted by the Women’s Ordination Conference during the Commission on the Status of Women meetings. Panelists include: Miriam Duignan (Wijngaards Institute); Sonja Spoo (Ultra Violet); Marian Ronan (NY Seminary); Taylor Ott (Fordham); Therese Koturbash (Women’s Ordination Worldwide).
4:30 – 6:00 p.m. @ Armenian Convention Center, Guild Hall, 630 2nd Ave.
Contact:
Kate McElwee, Executive Director, Women’s Ordination Conference