Catholic Women’s Event Persists Despite Vatican’s Rejection Of Progressive Participants

For the past four years, the Voices of Faith conference has brought prominent Catholic women from around the world to the Vatican to highlight women’s voices and their contributions. But this year, the Vatican’s approach to the International Women’s Day event has caused a great deal of controversy ― even prompting one prominent Catholic leader to call her church an “an empire of misogyny.”

Unlike in past years, this year’s conference had to be held outside the Vatican’s walls. Conference organizers claim a Vatican organization rejected some women on their list of proposed speakers ― including a lesbian Catholic activist and other women who have been vocal about challenging the church’s stance on homosexuality.

Instead of letting go of these speakers, organizers moved the International Women’s Day event outside of the Vatican to the auditorium of the Jesuit headquarters.

At a time when women around the world are speaking up against abuse and demanding greater gender equality, the Vatican’s actions to silence these women speakers have prompted some Catholics to reflect on whether the church really values women’s voices.


Source : huffingtonpost