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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The contributors and supporters of a collection of essays called, “Catholic Women Speak: Bringing Our Gifts to the Table,” gathered yesterday at the Pontifical University, Antonianum for the landmark launch of their book. The full day affair involved support from several embassies to the Holy See, and special guests Mary McAleese, Sr. Mary Melone, and Lucetta…
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So many of the successes of WOW 2015 are still sinking in for me. With 500 extraordinary people in one space, your conversations, encouragement, and questions are still buzzing in my mind. I have immense gratitude for all of you who supported the conference in your own way, and for the time and talent shared for…
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In his debut novel Red Sash of Thorns, Thomas Munoz takes his readers on a suspenseful journey from the Eternal City to Israel’s Negev Desert to the American Southwest, as Robert Susio, an American archeologist and devout Catholic, battles Rome over a discovery that, if revealed, will shake Christianity to its very core. When the…
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Several Catholic reform groups hosted a gathering at the Chicago Theological Seminary on Saturday for a full day of topics on “What Pope Francis Needs to Know” about women in the Church. Panelists and speakers discussed topics ranging from Catholic church governance to contraception, culminating in a declaration on women. On account of time differences and location, I…
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Along with individual speakers, we have assembled three robust panels for the WOW 2015 Conference on the themes: “Break the Silence” – male priests who speak out for women’s equality in the Church, including a priest in good standing who will “break his silence” on the panel; “Survivor Justice” – a panel focused on the abuse crisis…
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As we get closer to the Women’s Ordination Worldwide conference, I’d like to highlight some of our speakers’ work and voices over a series of posts on the WOC blog. The roster of speakers continues to grow with familiar and some less familiar names, all bringing incredible research and unique insight to the Catholic Church and its reform movements.…
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A few weeks ago I was invited to speak at the 5th annual symposium of “Donne e Religioni” called, “Sottomissione o libero arbitrio: La condizione femminile come indicatore di progresso e crescita culturale e sociale.” (Submission or free will: the status of women as an indicator of progress and cultural and social growth.)  The two-day event…
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