Category: Rome

For the fourth time, the women of Voices of Faith gathered at the Vatican on International Women’s Day (March 8) for a storytelling and conversation series highlighting women’s resilience and courage. This year’s theme focused on peace-building and women’s unique role as first responders and negotiators in crisis, conflict regions and communities in need. Expectations for this year’s conversation…
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Spanish theologian, Emma Martínez Ocaña was welcomed by the Rome-based, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation working group on the “Collaboration of Women and Men in Ministry,” last week. Well-known amongst Spanish-speaking religious communities, Ocaña’s work is poetic and deceptively simple, engaging deep spiritual questions of gender, Jesus, and the cosmos. Ocaña crafted a dreamscape…
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At la Casa Internazionale delle Donne in Rome, Benedictine sister, Teresa Forcades spoke with Italian feminist theologian Marinella Perroni about a new interview-book, Siamo Tutti Diversi! Per una teologia queer (We are all different! For a queer theology), featuring Forcades.  For those keeping close notes, these two powerhouses are a convergence of WOC’s recent programming: Teresa Forcades,…
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In its 19th year, the Religion Today Film Festival is set to launch in Trento from 7-17 October under the title, “We all loved each other so much. Religions and gender issues.” According to the festival website, the title is an homage to Ettore Scola, and “explores the portrayal of women and the female condition…
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 Yesterday, Pope Francis made headlines when he agreed  to set up a commission to study opening the diaconate to women. The unexpected news brought much joy to the many women who are called to serve as deacons in the Church.  Maria Angelika Fromm is one of those women. Upon hearing the news, Angelika wrote to WOC: My first…
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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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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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