Author: Kate McElwee

In it’s third year, the “Voices of Faith” project, hosted at the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV on International Women’s Day, brought together men and women in this Jubilee year, under the theme “Mercy Requires Courage.” I was honored to be included as a guest for the second time, and am continually grateful for the powerful…
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Recently I had the opportunity to speak with an incredible community in San Diego, the Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community (MMACC). This is a community that I continually refer to when asked about the variety of women priests’ communities and ministries. MMACC is a thriving parish of around one hundred families, celebrating more than a…
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For the past few weeks in Rome there have been countless celebrations of “50 years since” Vatican II created commissions, congregations, documents, you name it. A group called “Council 50” is joining the party this weekend with their own international conference. The effort will bring 100 delegates and participants from around the world: Burkina-Faso, Cameroon,…
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Last week two colleagues and I went to the Pontifical Council for Culture to meet with a top secretary to share about our working group in Rome and to learn more about the “Women’s Consultation Group” of the Council. Our 1.5 hour meeting, in Italian, was very friendly and open. The official we met with…
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Sr. Carmen Sammut, a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa originally from Malta and president of the International Union of Superior Generals (UISG) shared her experience as a non-voting auditor of the recent Synod on the Family this morning in Rome. Nearly 125 attended the public event to hear Sr. Carmen’s perspective on the…
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Following the Catholic Women Speak launch, WOC board member Sheila Peiffer, posed the apt question: Catholic women are speaking, but “are Catholic men listening? Sheila was a key volunteer during the WOW conference and was one of several early editor-readers of the Catholic Women Speak book. She was able to attend the launch in Rome with me: The mission…
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The contributors and supporters of a collection of essays called, “Catholic Women Speak: Bringing Our Gifts to the Table,” gathered yesterday at the Pontifical University, Antonianum for the landmark launch of their book. The full day affair involved support from several embassies to the Holy See, and special guests Mary McAleese, Sr. Mary Melone, and Lucetta…
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So many of the successes of WOW 2015 are still sinking in for me. With 500 extraordinary people in one space, your conversations, encouragement, and questions are still buzzing in my mind. I have immense gratitude for all of you who supported the conference in your own way, and for the time and talent shared for…
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Several Catholic reform groups hosted a gathering at the Chicago Theological Seminary on Saturday for a full day of topics on “What Pope Francis Needs to Know” about women in the Church. Panelists and speakers discussed topics ranging from Catholic church governance to contraception, culminating in a declaration on women. On account of time differences and location, I…
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Along with individual speakers, we have assembled three robust panels for the WOW 2015 Conference on the themes: “Break the Silence” – male priests who speak out for women’s equality in the Church, including a priest in good standing who will “break his silence” on the panel; “Survivor Justice” – a panel focused on the abuse crisis…
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