The struggle for ordination justice in the Roman Catholic Church has been ongoing since the 1970s. The Ordination Justice Initiative was founded in 2026 to continue and build on the work of those that have come before. Read Our Values to learn more about us.  

Here is a simplified overview of key groups within the movement. There are additional Church reform non-profits, such as Call to Action and FutureChurch, that have worked over the years with Women's Ordination Conference in the struggle for ordination justice.  

Women's Ordination Conference

In 1975, nearly 1,200 people gathered in Detroit, Michigan, for the first Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC). This three-day event launched what would become the oldest and largest grassroots organization advocating for the ordination of women as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church. Early efforts included high-profile public actions—such as demonstrations timed with papal visits—alongside conferences and direct engagement with U.S. bishops. Over the decades, WOC has continued to organize national gatherings, sustain public attention on ordination justice, and expand its work to include education about the roots of exclusion and advocacy for structural change within the Catholic Church.     LEARN MORE
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Women's Ordination Worldwide

Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) was founded as an alliance of international organizations committed to the full inclusion of Roman Catholic women in ordained ministries. By the mid-1990s, the movement for women’s ordination had spread far beyond the United States, creating momentum for a global coalition. With the leadership and initiative of the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), WOW emerged in 1996 from the First European Women’s Synod in Austria, uniting organizations and activists from multiple continents in a shared commitment to advancing women’s ordination in the Roman Catholic Church.  LEARN MORE
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Roman Catholic Women Priests

Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP) traces its origin to June 29, 2002, when seven women — later known as the Danube Seven — were ordained to the priesthood on the Danube River in Europe by a male bishop. The Vatican declared the ordinations invalid and imposed excommunications, but the new priests and their supporters asserted the sacramental validity of the ordinations. The next year several women were ordained as bishops by male bishops. These female bishops went forward to continue ordaining women as priests and bishops. Over the last two decades RCWP  has built a small international network of 260 ordained deacons, priests, and bishops across the United States, Europe, Colombia, the Philippines, Canada, and beyond. RCWP has developed formation programs, ethics standards, and models of inclusive ministry.  While RCWP collaborates with WOC, the primary focus of their work is on preparing and ordaining women as deacons and priests. There is some diversity of expression within the organization,  but the RCWP charism is generally progressive with many priests offering liturgical forms with inclusive language, different images of God, and rewritten Eucharist Prayers.  In addition, many priests are married with children and grandchildren.  LEARN MORE 
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Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

By 2010 internal disagreements within RCWP led to significant division. Out of this conflict, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) was formed. ARCWP articulated a commitment to a more decentralized, democratic structure. Since the split, RCWP and ARCWP have continued as distinct but related organizations, each ordaining women and modeling inclusive ministry. Like RCWP, ARCWP's primary focus is on preparing and ordaining women as deacons and priests.  While their structure is slightly different, their charism is similarly progressive. While there is diversity of expression within the organization, priests offer liturgy with inclusive language, different images of God, and rewritten Eucharist Prayers.  In addition, many priests are married with children and grandchildren.   LEARN MORE
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Discerning Deacons

Discerning Deacons began in 2020 when a group of Catholic leaders and laypeople came together to create a space where people could engage actively and openly with the Church’s ongoing discernment about women and the diaconate. This organization has supported educational opportunities, parish conversations, witness stories, and broader engagement in the global conversation about ordaining women as deacons. It emphasizes synodality and communal listening, and highlights personal call stories and the historical ministry of women in the Church. Discerning Deacons approaches ordination as two separate issues and does not enter into dialogue about priesthood for women.  LEARN MORE
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