Abstract
Catholic feminism is getting increasing scholarly attention (Giorgi & Palmisano, 2020). Against the backdrop of Catholic groups forming alliances with far-right parties in anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ efforts (Lavizzari & Prearo, 2018), some Catholics engage in activism to promote gender equality. Specifically, this paper focuses on Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), an organization of women who are ordained priests in opposition to the Vatican (Peterfeso, 2020). Through 24 interviews with members of RCWP and sister organizations Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) and Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW), as well as a qualitative and quantitative analysis of WOC’s Instagram account, I explore the following questions: How do women priests conceptualize their religiosity and their relationship with the Vatican? What kind of activism do they engage with? What is the role of digital media? Engaging with literature on digital religion, communities, and authorities (Campbell & Tsuria, 2021), this study illustrates three main findings: 1) The formation of alternative religious communities is crucial to the interviewees’ experience, especially because many are excommunicated by the Vatican; 2) For these women, religion acts as inspiration for social justice and for creating safe spaces for the vulnerable, such LGBTQ+ people 3) While these groups’ social media pages do not have great outreach, they are essential to organize transnational actions and constitute a venue to discuss feminist theologies and challenge religious authorities. In conclusion, the online and offline activism of RCWP, WOC and, WOW is political in both criticizing Catholic authority and promoting social justice for the vulnerable within society.
Presenters
Giulia EvolviMarie Skłodowska Curie Global Fellow, Social and Political Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Digital Media; Gender; Feminism; Catholicism; Activism; Digital Media
