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WOME N’S ORDINATION CONFERENCE Vol. 41, No. 1 $2.00 Spring 2018 A Voice for Women’s Equality in the Catholic Church Teresa Forcades i Vila reflects on Medieval Feminist Monasticism: Did it exist and is it relevant today? Excerpts from a WATER teleconference December 6, 2017 Mary E. Hunt: We are delighted to have all So she combines four elements—medi - of you with us on the Feast of St. Nicholas! cine, theology, monasticism, and poli - Like all of WATER’s efforts, our purpose is tics—into a busy and fruitful life that she not simply theoretical. Rather, we are fo - outlines in her new book Faith and Free - cused on changing the cultural and intellec - dom that I highly recommend, published tual assumptions that ground by Polity Books. discrimination, exclusion, and destruction. Here is what we at WATER said about it Just this week in the U.S. we have wit - in our “What We’re Reading” publication: nessed the shrinking of national parks, a “The daily prayer schedule of her Bene - tax plan that will disproportionately disad - dictine community provides Teresa For - vantage those who are poor while reward - cades with a fitting framework for her ing the rich, and a continued wave of insights. Medicine, politics, feminism, sexual violence perpetrators exposing just and spirituality are grounded in deep ap - how widespread that problem is in a coars - preciation of human freedom and divine ening culture, not to mention presidential love. Courageous, relentless explorations meddling in the Middle East with regard to of basic human experiences, especially Jerusalem. Let me introduce Teresa Forcades i Vila continued on page 11 who is a Benedictine nun from the monastery of Montserrat in Catalonia. She is a uniquely qualified colleague who Teresa Forcades INSIDE brings a contemplative’s heart and a femi - nist activist’s feet to her work. She studied medicine at the University of From the Executive Director . Page 2 Teresa grew up in a family that was not reli - Barcelona with a residency at University of gious, but went to a Catholic school where Buffalo where she learned to deal with Some Herstory . P ages 3-5 she encountered the Christian Gospels. snow! She went on to earn a Master of Di - Walking with Women Called . Page 6 vinity degree at Harvard Divinity School, a Ph.D. in Public Health from University of Prophetic Obedience . Pages 7 & 9 When discrimination is justified Barcelona, and later a doctorate in theology in the name of God and theology, from the School of Theology of Catalonia. Ministry of Irritation . Pages 8-9 Her amazing career, both as a medical doc - News & Notes . Page 10 then those who argue against it tor, which has brought her into conflict can be called not only feminists, with Big Pharma which make enormous Diversity & Inclusion . Page 12 profits off vaccines, and her practice of fem - Book Reviews . Pages 13 and 14 even though the name didn’t exist inist theology, which has raised some eye - until the end of the 19th brows in Catholic circles, would be more Movie Review . Page 15 than enough for any one person. On top of Century, but feminist all that, she is also a dedicated activist for WOC Merchandise . Page 16 theologians. democracy and Catalonian independence. From the Executive Director NewWomen, NewChurch is published two times a year by the Women’s Ordination Conference ( WOC ). WOC works for the ordination of women as deacons, priests, and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church. nesses outside of cathedrals, “From Bristol, to Baltimore, to Brussels” with vigils also Editors taking place in London and Rochester, New Kate McElwee Diana Wear York. Vocations Sunday also marked the launch of a new video storytelling cam - Associate Editor paign, “Catholic Women Called.” We will be Sheila Peiffer collecting stories of women called to a re - Send address corrections and all newing priesthood, similar to Mary Ryan’s correspondence to: story of prophetic obedience (p. 7), and WOC Kate McElwee National Office Lizzie Berne DeGear’s story, “I am A P.O. Box 15057 Catholic Priest” (p. 6), as well as the women Washington, DC 20003 of RAPPORT (pp. 3-5). Specifically we ask 202.675.1006 Dear WOC Member, women to complete the sentence: “What I [email protected] I recently had the opportunity to sit down want the world to know about my call to priest - with Sr. Joan Chittister and have extended hood.” (See our launch video at National Board of Directors conversations together over two days. We www.youtube.com/ordainwomen) Sheila Peiffer Tracy Garrison-Feinberg spoke about our movement, the spiritual President And not to bury the lead on this issue, but Beth Longo and physical violence the institutional the collaborative article from Mary E. Hunt, Bob Shine Jennifer O’Malley Church perpetuates against women, and Marianne Duddy-Burke and me, “The Vice President Kate McElwee most importantly: our work of holding the Movement for Women’s Equality in the Kelly Doss Executive Director light. She thanked me — WOC and mem - Church Cannot Be Stopped” (p. 9), is a fem - Treasurer bers like you — for this vital (“too often, inist dive into Mary McAleese’s landmark Marion Flynn thankless”) task of shining justice and truth International Women’s Day keynote ad - Secretary through our works. So today, I am passing dress. Intersectionality, prophetic witness, on Joan’s thanks and my thanks to you, the and feminist ministries are our guiding resplendent WOC community. lights as we commit to dismantling patriar - Indeed there has been a glow at WOC this chal structures that oppress and suppress season, particularly as well welcomed our the Holy Spirit. National Advisers new staff member, Katie Lacz, and had a Enjoy this issue and the updates from the fabulous intern, Caroline Condon (p. 12). unstoppable movement for women’s equal - Regina Bannan, PhD. Mary E. Hunt We hosted a conversation, “Francis After ity. Whether in these pages, in front of a Elisabeth Schüssler Andrea Johnson Fiorenza Five: A Feminist Review” in Manhattan at a cathedral, or in your prayers, thank you for Theresa Kane, RSM Jesuit high school, offering a panel conver - Sr. Teresa Forcades, holding a light to gender justice in our Jamie Manson, M.Div sation on topics of climate change, pastoral Church. MD, PhD, OSB Anthony Padovano care, clergy sex abuse, and LGBT and Jeannine Gramick, SL women’s equality in the Church. Two of the Donna Quinn, OP Celine Goessl, SCSC speakers at the event were our own Jamie Gratefully, Rosemary Radford Harry R. Halloran, Jr. Manson, a new WOC Advisory Board Ruether member and Marian Ronan, who con - tributed a book review of Elizabeth John - son’s latest book (p. 13). In principle and practice WOC values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers We collaborated on Vocations Sunday to full participation in this organization on the (April 29th) with WOW to organize wit - Kate McElwee basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orienta - tion, national origin, or disability. A subscription to NewWomen, NewChurch is in - cluded in the WOC membership fee of $45. WOC is incorporated under 501(c)(3) as a nonprofit or - “The same misogyny that excludes women ganization. Contributions are tax deductible ac - cordingly. from ministerial and decision-making roles within WOC archives, including microfilms of NewWomen, NewChurch , are held at Marquette the Roman Catholic Church is at the root of University. For more information, contact Philip Runkel at the Department of Special Collections & University Archives, Marquette University, injustice around the world.” Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141, 414.288.5903, or [email protected]. - Marianne Duddy-Burke, Kate McElwee, Mary E. Hunt Copyright 2018 Women’s Ordination Conference All rights reserved 2 New Women, New Church • Spring 2018 Some Herstory RAPPORT’s Meetings with Bishops, 1986-2001 By Member Who Must Remain Anonymous to Keep Her Church Job he RAPPORT group met with U.S. and final draft of the women’s pastoral bishops as often as twice a year from Key to our meetings was a gracious finally came back it had deleted 1986 through 2001. A few of us had informality, a profound prayer women’s voices altogether and T replaced them with voices from the been meeting with bishops for years before we founded RAPPORT . Bishop Frank experience and honest dialogue; we Vatican. Rather than making room to Murphy was our initial contact and he encouraged one another. discuss the future of women’s suggested we meet with many of his ministries in the church, U.S. bishops bishop friends. RAP PORT invited the would now be obliged to teach women bishops Frank recommended and we church’s notion of gender complementarity that Jesus deliberately chose to exclude eventually developed with us a sense of (see http://www.uscatholic.org/church/ them by selecting only males to be community with those who accepted our 2008/06/redesigning-women). apostles which flies in the face of the invitation. Key to our meetings was a Eastern church who has for centuries RAPPORT recalls several benchmarks with gracious informality, a profound prayer called Mary Magdalen, “apostle to the bishops: experience and honest dialogue; we apostles,” a title the Western church did encouraged one another. We grieve as most • Episcopalian Bishops Bob De Witt and not officially acclaim until 2016. of those friendly bishops have since died. George Barrett who ordained the first • To their everlasting credit, on November We cherish fond memories of collegiality, of two groups of Episcopalian women 19, 1992 by a substantial majority and easy conversation, and work tackling issues priests gave us their compelling for the first time in its history, the U.S.

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