Author: Kate McElwee

Mary McAleese: The time is now for change in the Catholic Church

The time is now for change in the Catholic Church Mary McAleese, President of Ireland 1997-2011 8 March 2018 PDF Version Here The Israelites under Joshua’s command circled Jericho’s walls for seven days, blew trumpets and shouted to make the walls fall down. (cf. Joshua 6:1-20). We don’t have trumpets but we have voices, voices…
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Every Day is International Women’s Day

DignityUSA, Women’s Ordination Conference, and the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) sponsored a teleconference on March 9, 2018: “Every Day is International Women’s Day: A Discussion of Voices of Faith’s 2018 “Why Women Matter” event and the Work of Feminist Ministries.  You can listen to the audio of the discussion here. Remarks from…
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Women’s Ordination Advocates call for Progress, not ‘Process,’ on International Women’s Day

The exploitation of women in the Vatican and the Church must end. March 8, 2018 This International Women’s Day, Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) joins the global community in the #PressForProgress for women’s equality by calling for an end to sexism and abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. The theme of International Women’s Day, “Press for…
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“Reasonably Catholic” Kate McElwee discusses Voices of Faith 2018

Rome-based Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, praises the previously deferential-to-cardinals organization Voices of Faith for taking its annual International Women’s Day conference outside the Vatican walls after three planned speakers were rejected from the program. One of them is former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, an outspoken proponent of women’s ordination and…
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WOW responds to Voices of Faith event speakers

For Immediate Release: 2 February 2018 Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) notes with disappointment the news that organizers for a fifth annual event at the Vatican for International Women’s Day were told they could not feature former Irish president Mary McAleese and Ugandan activist Ssenfuka Joanita Warry. Pope Francis has called repeatedly for fearless dialogue in the church. Yet, within…
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Feminism and Faith in Union

As weavers of feminism and faith, the Women’s Ordination Conference is excited to share a project called Feminism & Faith in Union, a collaboration between Call To Action, FutureChurch, The Women Who Stayed, and WOC on the anniversary weekend of the global Women’s Marches (January 20-21). This “Weekend of Women” is expected to be a global…
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Catholics launch initiative to celebrate feminism, activism, faith (Windy City Times)

New York, NY and global locations: Inspired by the global women’s marches one year ago, and aware that the Roman Catholic Church and religious institutions around the world are in dire need of an infusion of feminist energy and truth, The Women Who Stayed, FutureChurch, Women’s Ordination Conference, and Call To Action announce the launch…
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Catholics Launch “Feminism & Faith in Union” Initiative to Celebrate Feminism, Activism and Faith.

January 9, 2018 Contact: Deborah Rose-Milavec, Executive Director of FutureChurch debrose@futurechurch.org Lizzie Berne DeGear, The Women Who Stayed, a Ministry of The Church of St. Francis Xavier thewomenwhostayed@gmail.com Kate McElwee, Executive Director of the Women’s Ordination Conference kmcelwee@womensordination.org Zach Johnson, Executive Director of Call To Action zach@cta-usa.org New York, NY and global locations: Inspired by the…
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Catholic organizations announce new initiative, #CatholicToo

Release date: December 21, 2017 Catholic organizations announce new initiative, #CatholicToo, to create space for women to share their stories about the effects of sexism and misogyny within the Church and to take action to end it. Contact: Zachary Johnson, Executive Director, Call To Action 773-988-2352, zach@cta-usa.org Kate McElwee, Executive Director, Women’s Ordination Conference 607.725.1364,…
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Catholics and #MeToo

Tarana Burke created the phrase “Me Too” in 2006 as part of a grassroots campaign to promote “empowerment through empathy” among women of color who have experienced sexual abuse.  Now in a watershed moment, #MeToo has inspired a cultural reckoning that is just beginning to shed light on our deeply rooted systems of oppression. Heartbreaking, inspiring and familiar:…
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