October 8th, 2014
Over the weekend I attended the meetings for a group called, “Council 50” – which is hoping to host a gathering in Rome in November 2015 to bring together representatives from all over the world to share their particular political and social contexts, and their positive experiences of being church. It sounds exciting but the…
Read more
October 5th, 2014
By all accounts, the theme of these Synod sessions should have been collegiality. Pope Francis, instead, has chosen a topic that interests and affects almost all Catholics, in some way: family. Every day, home-grown collegiality. Undoubtedly a populist, Francis has engaged the world’s Catholics in discussions of family life, the Sacraments, divorced and remarriage, family…
Read more
May 27th, 2014
On the 20th anniversary of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, we were welcomed at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. More than 700 letters calling for discussion on women’s ordination were received by a top Vatican official, who accepted the letters and said: “This is amazing.” The stories and voices of those calling for women priests…
Read more
April 7th, 2014
On the recommendation of a WOC member, Sr. Beth, I had the opportunity to sit down to tea with two Italian members of her congregation, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor here in Rome. “Why did Sr. Beth tell you to contact me?” Spunky didn’t quite translate as we both grabbed words and charades between…
Read more
March 24th, 2014
Guided by Dr. Carolyn Osiek and Sr. Christine Scheck, executive director emerita of FutureChurch, a pilgrimage of about 20 people traveled to Rome to experience and study the archeological sites of women “officeholders” in the early Church. On our first night of introductions together, it was obvious that the room could start a small faculty:…
Read more
March 21st, 2014
Today I met with one of the contributors to Leggendaria #103, Matilde Passa, a long-time journalist and feminist based in Rome. Her article, “Rinnovamento o mutazione?” begins: Valorizzare il genio femminile? Guardarsi dal machismo in gonnella? Ferve il dibattito, con una quantità e qualità di interventi che sollecitano ad allargare l’orizzonte In February I was…
Read more
March 12th, 2014
One year ago today, Erin and I were rushing from Fiumicino airport to a convent in Rome to gather our coalition and drive to Piazza Garibaldi to raise pink smoke over the Vatican. It seemed poetic at the time, to cross an ocean to light something on fire, but it was an precedented and powerful…
Read more
March 6th, 2014
Another interview with Pope Francis published in Italy and Argentina by the daily Corriere della Sera, made headlines yesterday, covering topics such as contraception, civil unions, Humanae Vitae, “Papal fame,” and the role of women in the church. What did Pope Francis say about women in the Church? Come verrà promosso il ruolo della donna nella Chiesa? «È vero…
Read more
March 5th, 2014
Over the weekend I attended a planning meeting with international partners to clarify the goals of an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the closing of Vatican II, to be held in the fall of 2015 in Rome. A dozen or so organizers from around the world united under the theme of “making…
Read more
February 26th, 2014
Leggendaria, an Italian literary magazine, described as “a showcase of intelligent women,” was founded as an independent magazine in 1997, after having existed as a supplement to the monthly Noidonne since 1986. Leggendaria claims to be a tool for critical thinking: “taking the knowledge and experience of women as a privileged point of view.” Their…
Read more
