Urging Justice for Women, Women’s Ordination Worldwide Congratulates Pope Leo XIV Press Release For Immediate Release Women’s Ordination Worldwide 09 May 2025 Rome Italy Women’s Ordination Worldwide congratulates Pope Leo on his election as pope. We take hope that like his successor Pope Francis,  Leo  expresses solidarity with the poor and marginalized.  We welcome his call for bridge building, and peace in the Church and the world.  His message brings to memory the wisdom of Pope Paul VI who taught that without justice there can be no peace.   We express concern for the emergence of a possible abuse cover up or inaction.  This is now a familiar story for Catholics and we hope that the claims will be fully investigated. In the Synod on Synodality, clear and unequivocal cries from every corner of the earth were made pleading  for justice for women in the Church.   We take hope that like his successor Pope Francis,  Leo  expresses solidarity with the poor  and marginalized.  We welcome his call for bridge building, and peace in the Church and the world.  His message brings to memory the wisdom of Pope Paul VI who taught that without justice there can be no peace.   In his conviction for peace, we hope that his leadership will include work for  justice for women in both the Church and the world. This will mean more than extending  charitable hands of compassion to women.   Justice will involve dialogue, encounter, listening, bridge building, courage, and the work to lift boulders of discrimination that continue to block the way for inclusion of women as full, unquestioned equals  and protagonists in their own right in all realms of the Church.  It is the same baptism, the same Spirit, and the same God who calls for us all.  Justice in the Church will mean ending centuries old indefensible discrimination against women in both sacrament and  leadership. Justice for women in the world will include many things including  acknowledgement that the Church’s male domination signals to the world endorsement of women’s second class status for women all over the world whether they are Catholic or not. If our Church follows Christ, it is both a sin and a scandal that discrimination against women persists. We pray that his leadership will be a beacon for peace and justice for women in the Church and around the world. Habeumus papum~ # # # Contacts: Kate McElwee +39 393 692 2100 kmcelwee@womensordination.org Miriam Duignan +44 7970 926910 miriam.duignan@wijngaardsinstitute.com