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PROJECT: ORDINATION JUSTICE explores the scripture, tradition, and history related to ordination justice in the Roman Catholic Church. The project includes a curriculum that can be used in parishes, by high schools and college campus ministries, as well as any individual or interested group. In addition, age-appropriate educational materials are being developed for parents and catechists to guide children in exploring some of the core concepts in the curriculum. As you work through the course, you are invited to pray with the information you learn to discern for yourself under the light of the Holy Spirit whether the teaching of a male-only priesthood is coming from God.
Oral History ArchiveThe project is building an oral history archive that features the voices of women called to be ordained as Roman Catholic priests. The purpose is not only to put a literal face on the women affected by the doctrine of exclusion, but to also make clear in a compelling and concrete way the gifts unjustly denied to the People of God.
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PROJECT: ORDINATION JUSTICE is was launched alongside the Vatican's study on the role of women in the Church. This study was commissioned in March 2024 by Pope Francis as part of the Synod on Synodality, which unfolded from October 2021 to October 2024. While all other study groups were assigned to a group of experts, this topic was assigned to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). The focus of the study is to essentially investigate how lay women come to lead within a Church structure that is run by an all male hierarchy. Rather than address the root causes of sexism, the study seems to be interested in learning from the female exception in hopes of being able to duplicate the success these particular women have. The DDF will carry out its work and make recommendations to the Pope in June 2025.
In addition to the study on lay women, Pope Francis also restarted the 2020 Commission studying whether to ordain women to the diaconate. However, though priesthood for women continued to surface throughout the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis continually excluded it as an official topic of discussion or study. This behavior violated the values and process of the Synod that he himself approved, determining the outcome of the discernment before it was given the space to take place. While Pope Francis displays remarkable inner freedom on most things, he has demonstrated time and again that he lacks this grace when it comes the topic ordaining women. He does not recognize his spiritual attachment and is doing a disservice to women, to the Church and to the Synod process. In an effort to hold the Synod leadership and Pope accountable, PROJECT: ORDINATION JUSTICE picks up where the Synod leaves off, studying all aspects of ordination justice. The goal is to educate: to make accessible and digestible the full range of information needed for the Church to honestly and freely discern God's invitation regarding the full participation of God's people in Church ministries. Why nowPriesthood has been emerging as an open question that requires discernment for decades. At this point in history, Catholics at every level of the Church--including religious, deacons, priests, bishops, and cardinals--around the world believe that women should be ordained as priests. This divergence is only increasing with time. Further, because the bishops are not universally in communion on this issue, the doctrine cannot be definitively held. The Church continues to be invited by the Holy Spirit to stop denying reality and to turn toward the question and engage it in an honest discernment. PROJECT: ORDINATION JUSTICE is designed to help the Church with this task.
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