Italian, Vatican police stop and apprehend passports of Catholic representatives delivering petition

ROME, Italy – Yesterday, at 6:00 o’clock, the Italian police stopped representatives of Catholic organizations from around the world as they walked into St. Peter’s Square to deliver a petition calling for the restoration of women’s ordination to the diaconate.  The group was holding a banner saying "Ordain Catholic Women" and handing out educational materials.  A total of thirteen members of the Italian and Vatican police gathered to question the eleven representatives.  After taking their materials, the Italian police demanded their passports and called the Vatican police, who sent their chief.  According to a member of the Italian police, this was the first time in 15 years the chief came to question demonstrators.  He did not allow them to deliver the petition to the Portone di Bronzo but said he would deliver it to the pope himself.  Earlier in the day, the group brought the same banner and materials into the Square without getting stopped by the police. The representatives are in Rome during the Synod of Bishops on the Bible, calling for the full and equal participation of women in the Roman Catholic Church, including ordination as deacons, priests and bishops.

"Our peaceful action did not merit the extreme reaction of the police-sending the chief down to interrogate us while seizing our passports," stated Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference. "However, I was not surprised.  Time and again, when it comes to women’s role in the Church, the Vatican overreacts and demonstrates just how fearful they are about the growing support for women’s ordination. " 

The Pontifical Biblical Commission determined in 1976 that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit the ordination of women.  The Bible describes how women were prominent leaders in Jesus’ ministry and early Christianity.  In all four gospels, Mary Magdalene was the primary witness to the central event of Christianity-Christ’s resurrection.  The Scriptures also mention women who led small house churches, including Lydia, Phoebe, Priscilla, and Prisca.

The representatives are from Britain, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United States. They represent the millions of Catholics from around the world who support women’s ordination.

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Founded in 1975 and based in Washington, D.C., the Women’s Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest national organization working solely for the ordination of women as priests, deacons, and bishops into an inclusive Catholic Church. WOC also promotes new perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity.