Author: Sheila Peiffer

[Editor’s Note: As an NGO in consultative status with the UN, WOC can submit written statements to ECOSOC meetings. The following statement is being submitted to the ECOSOC High-level segment on the theme “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: Building an inclusive…
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Christopher White  reports in the Brooklyn Tablet of March 11, 2020 that “United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will receive the annual top prize from the Path to Peace Foundation – the major charitable organization established to support the work of the Holy See Mission to the U.N.” This article briefly describes the qualifications of…
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[Editors’ note: In this time when the need for connection is greater than ever, we are increasing the frequency of our blog posts to three times a week.] Sometimes a victory is measured in something as small as two words. After obtaining our official status as a recognized Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in the United…
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The following book review originally appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of New Women, New Church. Forty years ago, Theresa Kane stood up in the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, to greet Pope John Paul II on behalf of the sisters of the United States and spoke the truth in love,…
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The recent papal letter “Querida Amazonia” has left many of us puzzled, disappointed and frustrated in varying degrees as we try to understand what this response – or lack of response – means in both the short and long term. Much has already been written about this and I don’t want to belabor the issue: …
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Today, December 17, we begin the O Antiphons that lead us for the next seven days to the brink of the nativity.  Seven days contemplating different aspects of the Redeemer soon to be celebrated.  Seven different titles, beginning with perhaps the most ancient of all:  Wisdom, Sophia, Sapientia. The traditional Advent hymn, O Come O…
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I confess that I was more than a little thrilled to grasp the bright blue United Nations ID badge in my hands, for this official recognition of Women’s Ordination Conference into the “Economic and Social Council” (ECOSOC) of the international organization has been a long time coming.  Although WOC has been present at the United…
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What do you think of when you hear the word, “Vatican”?  An imposing basilica dome? A white cloaked man in a funny car?  A sea of red-capped heads? A plaza of milling people and towering pillars?  As I have been finding out these past months, it’s hard to decipher just exactly what “the Vatican” or…
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Publicity surrounding the Synod on Youth and Vocational Discernment this past October highlighted the very slight role that laity have in decision-making in the Church and the growing awareness that change is sorely needed. As part of the reaction, Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, wrote an article in Commonweal…
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On Tuesday, September 20, 2016 I was honored to be present at a special forum at the United Nations entitled, “Keeping the Faith in Development: Gender, Religion & Health”. As President of the Women’s Ordination Conference Board, I went to support the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, as their director, Dr. Luca Badini Confalonieri, participated…
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