Sexism is the Original Sin: WOW Statement on The Pontifical Council for Culture’s Plenary Assembly About Women’s Cultures

Women's Ordination Conference
Sexism is the Original Sin: WOW Statement on The Pontifical Council for Culture’s Plenary Assembly About Women’s Cultures
For Immediate Release
February 2, 2015
Pat Brown, (UK) +44 (0) 113 268 2887
Miriam Duignan (USA) +1 510 984 8678
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Kate McElwee, (Italy) +39 393 6922100
Sexism is the Original Sin: WOW Statement on The Pontifical Council for Culture’s Plenary Assembly About Women’s Cultures
The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture’s Plenary Assembly about Women’s Cultures has released its Working Document for the Assembly set to begin on February 4, 2015. The document yet again shows that the Vatican refuses to read the signs of the times to an unacceptable degree. The international umbrella network, Women’s Ordination Worldwide (founded in 1996 at the First European Women’s Synod), observes several glaring aspects about the document:
The document claims that there will be no discussion on women’s ordination because “according to statistics, [ordination] is not something that women want.” This undeniable falsehood and the Vatican’s refusal to open dialogue shows contempt for the faithful and demonstrates that as a leadership, the male hierarchy is out of touch with the people it is called to serve. Many qualified women, with the support of their communities, discern vocations to priesthood, and yet the hierarchy is comfortable in rejecting the obvious: God does not discriminate.
The document divides humanity into socially-constructed stereotypes and attempts to say they are “natural,” with corresponding gender-defined roles. This thinking and language have been challenged and rejected in scholarship for decades, and are wildly culturally and spiritually unacceptable. Human beings exist on multiple continuums, with intersectional identities: without including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, this document denies the full humanity of God’s people.
Sexism is the original sin of Church leadership. It is long past due for the Church to rid itself of this sin and to welcome women as equal partners in all realms of ministry and leadership.