Theresa Kane - radical equality is sacred responsibility

From NCR - A legacy beyond Catholicism by Kate Stoltzfus

To hear Sr. Theresa Kane speak is to be struck with an urge to act.

When the Sister of Mercy welcomed Pope John Paul II in October 1979 as the spokeswoman for U.S. women religious, she chose those brief moments to ask for equality and ordination on behalf of Catholic women everywhere. Her words, though met with fierce negation by the pope and Vatican officials, were broadcast around the world.

There are few who dare to speak their truths aloud under such powerful opposition and public eye, but Kane didn't shy away from truth in 1979. She encouraged the end of oppression for women in the church, setting alight a spark of change. She continues to be a leading voice in the feminist religious movement decades later.  continue reading