| Dear friends, |
| What a week it has been for WOW and our supporters in Rome this week! With events designed to coincide with the opening days of the Synod,* we have been joy filled as supporters from around the world came to join our global advocacy campaign calling for the full and equal inclusion of women in all realms of ministry and governance in the Church. |
| The Week with WOW! |
| Monday, October 3, 2023: Synod Eve |
| On the eve of Synod, historic St Praxedes Basilica welcomed us in. There we gathered in vigil. Our woman led liturgy Let Her Voice Carry featured stories and testimonies of women worldwide praying for the courageous inclusion of women’s voices during the Synod. The video of the liturgy (link above) is a must see. It is not lost on women’s ordination supporters as to why the Basilica was such a special and mystical place to begin our week. The first segment of the video explains why. |
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| Wednesday: The Synod Opens:On opening day, we led supporters in actively generating a visual display of the synodal tent. Via international media who came to see, our message amplified to the world the Synod’s official mission statement: Enlarge the space of your tent. (Isaiah 54:2). We then processed to the Office of the Synod where with supporters we delivered more than 1000 squares of colourful fabric. Each piece of fabric symbolizes a person from the grassroots calling for a larger, colourful, wide open tent where all are included.The fabric was our symbolic offering to help the Vatican enlarge the space of their tent. Our action was to encourage inclusion and listening to the voices who support opening all ordained ministries to all genders.Friday, Walk with Women:Our Walk With Us Women’s March drew support from around the world. In the spirit of conversion, we began by assembling on the steps of the church that houses a relic of Saint Mary Magdalene’s foot. The inscription by the reliquary reminds us that her’s was the first foot to be entered into the tomb of the risen Christ.Recognised by the Vatican as the Apostle to the Apostles, Mary Magdalene is the model of a priesthood that includes women empowered by Jesus to go and tell his followers the Good News of his Resurrection. Inspired by suffragist movements, we carried banners and signs with messages such as: Pope Francis, How Long Must Women Wait for Equality? and Resistance to Patriarchy is Obedience to God. Silently processing, we urged all of the church to be unafraid of pursuing new paths that empower women as equals. Be not afraid are the words of Jesus.While our vigil was registered and officially ‘permitted’ by the City of Rome, once we concluded, those bearing women’s ordination buttons or even simply wearing purple were largely stopped by police from walking toward St. Peter’s. This unnecessary targeting of women is a reminder that our message and embodied presence remains a threat to the status quo.Walk With Woman Prayer:Walk with us.In the spirit of conversion called for by the synod, we urge all members of the church to be unafraid of pursuing new paths that empower women as equals.Walk with us.If you recognise our equal dignity, Walk with us.If our church is welcoming ‘todos, todos, todos,’Walk with us.If you believe in the promise of the synod, Walk with us.If you trust the Holy Spirit to create something new,Walk with us.Our Time in Rome Continues:Our time in Rome continues throughout the synod! Please support our work and witness by sending your prayers, making a gift to WOW, and following us on social media.Please also share this eNews to share the word about our work.In the heart of solidarity for women’s equality in a healthier Church, we keep going… Women’s Ordination Worldwide             |
| WOW in global media this week: |
| CBC Women’s Voices Loom Large Both Inside and Out Of A Major Meeting on Church’s FutureNBC Women Call for Ordination at Historic Vatican MeetingNCR On Eve of Synod, Women’s Ordination Advocates Hold Vigil at Rome’s Basilica of St. PraxedesCTV Canadian Catholic Women Call for Change at Synod Around Priesthood, ParticipationAfricaNews Women Advocate for Ordination in Groundbreaking Vatican GatheringQuotidiano Nazionale: Protesta fuori dal Vaticano: Chiesa apra a sacerdoti e vescovi donneLa Repubblica: Il Sinodo ombra: a Roma si danno appuntamento femministe cattoliche, gruppi riformisti, vittime di abusiRNS: Vatican Synod on Synodality signals hope for women’s ordination advocates |
| Synod Basics: |
| *What is the Synod on Synodality? |
| Thank you to our member group from Canada, Catholic Network for Women’s Equalityfor contributing this snapshot summary of the synod. Pope Francis initiated the Synod on Synodality to invite Catholics to listen to each other and to discern what the Church is called to be in our time. The three-year process began with surveys and consultation at local and diocesan or regional levels …with varying degrees of support by clergy. |
| These reports have been synthesized by clergy-selected writing teams at national and continental levels. Vatican-selected voting delegates will assemble in Rome for the month of October in 2023 and 2024 to discuss what has arisen. |
| Why This Synod is Historic |
| For the first time at a Catholic synod, women and non clerical men have voting rights. However, despite the fact that women make up more than half of the global Church, only 15% of delegates are women. Their participation in the Synod is by invitation only of the all-male hierarchy. It is also unprecedented that a Synod working document is comprised of questions for discussion, rather than statements for review and ratification |
| The three-week, closed-door synod will see hundreds of delegates delve into some of the most pressing issues facing the church, from the role of women to priestly celibacy and the blessing of same sex couples. The meetings will end with a vote on specific proposals that are then put to the pope for his consideration in the coming years. |
| Emphasis has been put into incorporating the views of rank-and-file Catholics around the world into the synod with an unprecedented two years spent canvassing the faithful before the summit. |
| Rather than focus on a single topic as is usual, this synod’s agenda will address the broad question of how the Catholic church can be more inclusive. The change is reflected in the voting structure, with lay people also being allowed to vote for the first time. |
| The Synod agenda calls for concrete steps to promote women to decision-making roles and the radical inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics and others who have been marginalised by the church |
