Dear Pope Leo,

In the tradition of St. Catherine of Siena, we endeavor to share our message with you on this World Day of Prayer for Vocations: Be not afraid! 

We are heartened by your fearless defense of the Gospel message of peace. You have shown prophetic courage at a time when our world longs for moral leadership. Your vocation as a servant leader is a gift to so many. 

We pray that you will approach the need to recognize women’s vocations with the same fearlessness. Your Good Shepherd Sunday letter states: “A vocation entails an intimate dialogue with the One who calls and invites us to respond, despite the deafening noise of the world, with true joy and generosity.” 

We urge you—as it is written the angels said—“be not afraid” of the sincere, faithfully discerned, and diverse vocations of the women of your church. Catholic women long to respond with faithful courage to the intimate dialogue with the One, so that they may serve their church with the fullness of their gift. Theologian Dr. Katie Cannon once called vocation “the work your soul must have.” For some women, that work, that vocation, is priesthood.

With true joy and generosity, God calls women to ordained ministry. With hope and a closeness to Jesus’ example, the People of God call women to ordained ministry. 

Be not afraid of responding to the needs of the church today, a church that needs not prayers for vocations but audacious truth-telling about the equality of women. The church must do what is right and set the standard for moral courage, even if every member of the people of God does not feel “ready.” As Catherine of Siena wrote, “Proclaim the truth, and do not be silent through fear.” 

The truth is, God calls women to ordained ministry, and the church prays for the injustice of women’s exclusion to be righted. Do not be silent through fear: Courageously welcome women into ordained ministry. Take the prophetic risk to trust in God’s wisdom and generosity, and do not be afraid. The women who long held up the church with their service—and their hope—will support you. 

With hope and courage, 
Your siblings in Christ

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Founded in 1975, the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) is the oldest and largest organization working to ordain women as priests, deacons, and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church.

A feminist voice for women in the Roman Catholic Church, WOC is a grassroots-driven movement that promotes activism, dialogue, and prayerful witness to call for women’s full equality in the Church.

["Be Not Afraid" Art by "Culturally Catholic," @culturallycatholic]