Category: Ministry of Irritation

[Editors’ note: Learn more about Walk with Women actions in various cities around the globe, and learn how to plan your own, here.] Activism sometimes precludes writing, and it just snuck up this week. So instead of a blog post, I’ll share with you what we sent to the members of SEPA WOC in the…
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Aren’t we all bursting with pride in the undaunted intrepidness, the unwavering dignity, and the unfailing spirit of our WOC and WOW representatives and witnesses at the cardinals’ gathering in Rome last week? We salute you inspiring women, and we shower you with praise! As it turned out, our women had come perfectly prepared for…
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This week I will take a break from my Synod series and rejoice in some CARDINAL actions.First, of course, is Women’s Ordination Worldwide’s terrific nighttime witness. Despite all the problems the Vatican presents for us, evening in St. Peter’s Square is magical, and our creative leaders added to the magic with their message. Second is…
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Saturday a week ago was “Ordination Day,” for males only, of course, in our archdiocese. A group of us supporting women’s ordination in the Catholic Church always attend these yearly ordinations – oh, not inside the basilica where we are patently not welcome (by the Archbishop and his minions at least) but outside, always outside.…
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The only two books with broken bindings in my Catholic bookcase are my sister’s Baltimore Catechism and On Being a Christian by Hans Küng. Much used, the books reflect an ideological transition in the lifetime of the Vatican II generation. Küng’s was a gift from my late friend Mary Ellen Anderson; the binding is broken…
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How could we ignore the current kerfuffle about Dr. Jill Biden’s use of “Dr.,” which was prompted by a Wall Street Journal Op-ed by Joseph Epstein last weekend?  For 45 years, WOC has worked for priestly ministry by women to be recognized, validated, honored. What Mr. Epstein has done to Dr. Biden is done to…
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There was no way I could not weave women’s suffrage into this narrative today, for tomorrow, August 26, 2020, is the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. What a journey they undertook, what a victory they earned. And what a reminder that to truly realize equality, we…
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Having just called my 95 year-old cousin with COVID-19 in a rehab facility in New Jersey, I am especially appalled by this comment from Cardinal Timothy Dolan to President Donald Trump, described in Crux: The New York cardinal said he was “honored to be the lead-off batter, and the feelings are mutual sir,” noting that…
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Just when we are all settled in, safe and snug, resting, complacent even, BOOM another change? challenge? blow? comes our way…and I don’t even write about politics! We’ve had many such blows, or perhaps said more charitably – challenges, in our relationship with our Church and its unending repression of some genders over others. At…
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If you are reading this and are female, you will know exactly what the “likability trap” is and probably have been at some point been at its mercy. I sure have and sometimes, I shudder to think, may still be. It’s a snare that entraps women who want to use their power to effect change…
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