Author: Kate McElwee

Women’s Ordination Advocates Welcome Pope Francis’ Creation of the Ministry of Catechist

For Immediate Release 11 May, 2021  The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) sincerely welcomes Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Antiquum Ministerium, instituting the Ministry of Catechist for all laypeople. This formalization both affirms the authentic vocational calls many women experience, and the unique ways women enrich the church.  “The institutional church’s expanding vision of the ways women…
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Job Opening: Office Manager

Position Title: Office Manager Reports to: Executive Director Organizational Description: Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) is a feminist non-profit organization that advocates and prays for the ordination and the full equality of women in an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church. Position Summary: The part-time office manager works to ensure financial stability, strengthen membership relations, and…
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AP: Nun named to voting position at Vatican praises ‘brave’ pope

AP’s Nicole Winfield’s report on the appointment of Sr. Nathalie Becquart to the Synod of Bishops, and quotes WOC Executive Director, Kate McElwee: ROME (AP) — A French nun who has become the first woman to hold a voting position at the Vatican said Wednesday that her appointment is evidence the “patriarchal mindset is changing”…
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WOC Responds to Canon Law Development Permitting All Laity in Roles of Acolyte and Lector

For Immediate Release: 11 January, 2021  The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) welcomes Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, “Spiritus Domini,” that expands Canon Law 230, regarding the ministries of lector and acolyte, to include all laypeople. This shift brings the institutional Church in better alignment with pastoral realities around the world, and eliminates the ability of an…
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The real “clericalism and disrespect” is in Pope Francis’ understanding of women

For Immediate Release: 24 November 2020 In a soon-to-be released book,  Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, Pope Francis criticizes those who believe women must be priests to be leaders in the Catholic Church, claiming it is “clericalist and disrespectful.” The Women’s Ordination Conference rejects this mischaracterization of the global movement working…
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Celebrate WOC’s 45th by becoming a sponsor

Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) welcomes and appreciates your support as a sponsor of our 45th anniversary gala, Breaking Bread at the Table of Justice: A Celebration of Prophetic Persistence, November 27-30, 2020.  Support the mission of WOC and spread the word about your organization, business, or community by becoming a sponsor at one of the…
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Vocations Awareness Week 2020

From November 1-9, 2020, supporters of ordination justice gathered (virtually) for a parallel “Vocations Awareness Week” to call for the inclusion of women and non-binary people in all ordained ministries. We should not wait to be perfect in order to respond with our generous “yes,” nor be fearful of our limitations and sins, but instead…
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New Christian Feminism?

This past July, the Latin American Academy of Catholic Leaders and various scholars offered a certificate program: “Women in public life: feminism and Catholic identity in the 21st century.” The topic, requested by Pope Francis, attempted to reflect on “authentic feminism” and the promotion of women in public life.  WOC’s Lilian Medina Romero enrolled in…
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U.S. Catholic Reform Organizations Stand in Solidarity with Fr. Tony Flannery

September 23, 2020 As Catholics working together for a renewed Church, we stand proudly in solidarity with Irish Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery in the face of continued threats and bullying from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) over his support for women’s ordination and the full dignity of LGBT+ persons. The Inquisition-era…
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Women’s Ordination Worldwide Stands in Solidarity with Tony Flannery

For Immediate Release: September 17, 2020 Fr. Tony Flannery is long-time friend and ally of Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) and today we stand in solidarity with him as he resists the Vatican’s attempts to punish him for his advocacy for women’s equality and ordination in the Catholic Church.     In drawing attention to the tragic…
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