This is about the beauty and boldness of Eucharistic communities.  On the margins of the institutional church, my experience has been that women priests are more courageous and more willing to infuse their liturgies with issues of social and racial justice.   Not to say that male priests in Eucharistic communities don’t, but in my experience,…
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As a young woman who wishes to become a deacon when I am of age, I decided to interview a deacon I know about women’s ordination. He requested anonymity for this interview, and I have summarized our conversation. We have talked about this topic many times before, but I found it helpful to ask directly:…
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Moral theology has always made a great deal of sense to me. As a well-educated but non-specialist lay person, I like thinking seriously about issues in a way that is not simply political. Again this week, America has provided us with a continuing conversation about gender theory, with essays by two theologians: Abigail Favale of…
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[Editors Note: Alyssa is our Spring 2023 intern at WOC, and she will also be joining “The Table” as a Tuesday guest blogger for the month of February.] My name is Alyssa and I would like to share with you my past and present journey with advocacy for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church. I…
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You probably know a lot about how two of Pope Francis’ deepest concerns are peace and mercy. Maybe if you’re Irish, you might know Roger Casement, at least as the nationalist who went to Germany during World War I to get military aid for the Easter Uprising. There’s a lot more to Roger Casement. Our…
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In my final piece on discernment and vocation, I want to address the “who” in the process. When discerning our calling in life, it is important to remember we don’t have to go through the process alone. There are so many people ready and willing to assist in exploring where our greatest gifts meet the…
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Thursday, I learned that the cancer that killed my mother was not going to kill me, at least not yet. That made it hard to concentrate. In the month since the diagnosis and even surrounding the surgery, I could exist in denial and happily churn out blogs. But Wednesday this week, when there was so…
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As a woman in the Church, Mary has been both a source of challenge and a source of peace for me throughout my discernment and growth as a minister. In a faith that holds Jesus as the perfect example of love and personhood, it has been hard for me to understand the need to hold…
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Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday that she was resigning as New Zealand’s prime minister. Admired worldwide for courageous moral stands as well as frank speaking, she admitted, “You cannot and should not do it unless you have a full tank plus a bit in reserve for those unexpected challenges.” Personally popular but politically losing ground, she…
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Vocation can be a tough subject in the patriarchy dominated hierarchical structures of the Church. Going to Catholic schools as a child, vocation was explained to me in a few very specific ways. Men could be called to a vocation of the priesthood, religious life, the diaconate, single life, or married life. Women could be…
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