The mission of the Ordination Justice Initiative is to bring the Roman Catholic Church into alignment with God’s dream of a priesthood where every vocation is recognized, regardless of gender.​​

The Roman Catholic Church is out of alignment with God on its doctrine of a male-only priesthood. Women experience the call to priesthood just as men do, yet they are prevented from following their God given call. This exclusion from the sacrament of Holy Orders is justified and perpetuated by (1) hypocritical interpretations of scripture that violate the Church's own teaching on biblical interpretation, (2) erasure of a complicated Church history that includes the participation of women in sacramental ministries even in the midst of oppressive cultural powers and overt theologized sexism, and (3) a problematic theology of the human person that violates the central teachings of the Gospels by making women a second order of creation that is destined to be dominated. The work of the Ordination Justice Initiative is to clarify these misalignments to help the Church embrace its transition to the fullness of life that God desires by welcoming every vocation to priesthood, regardless of gender.

At stake in ordination justice is not just who stands at the altar, but the very ways humanity understands itself.

Learn why ordination justice matters to the Church and world.