WOW 2015 Speakers
Teresa Forcades, nicknamed "Europe's most radical nun" is a Catalan physician, a Benedictine sister and social activist. Her international reputation includes her politics on Catalan independence, her criticism of the pharmaceutical industry, and her writings on misogyny in the Roman Catholic Church.
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, feminist theologian, writer, and Stendahl Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. She is credited for coining the word "kyriarchy" in her book But She Said: Feminist Practices of Biblical Interpretation.
Mary Hunt, feminist theologian, author, co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, MD. She is the editor of A Guide for Women in Religion: Making Your Way from A to Z.
Shannen Dee Williams, Ph.D., historian of black Catholic nuns and an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where she teaches courses in teaches courses in U.S., African-American, women's, religious, and civil rights histories. In December of 2014, Dr. Williams, in a guest blog on Patheos, publicly criticized the U.S. Catholic theologians’ statement on racial injustice that initially excluded black women and girls as victims and opponents of state and vigilante violence.
Theresa Kane, Mercy sister, professor, and former president of the LCWR who issued a public plea to Pope John Paul II calling on him to include women in all ministries of the church.
Tina Beattie, British theologian, writer, and broadcaster. She is the Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Roehampton in London and Director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Religion, Society and Human Flourishing.
Patricia Fresen, South African writer and Roman Catholic theologian. Dr. Fresen was excommunicated and expelled from her Dominican order following her ordination with Roman Catholic Womenpriests.
Roy Bourgeois, social justice advocate, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of the School of the Americas (SOA) Watch. He served as a Roman Catholic priest for forty years until he was expelled for refusing to recant his support for women's ordination
Jamie Manson, writer and nationally recognized media commentator on issues related to LGBT Catholics, young adult Catholics, and women in the church.’
Phyllis Zagano, Catholic scholar and lecturer on contemporary spirituality and women's issues in the church. She is the author of Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church.
Kate Kelly, Mormon feminist and human rights lawyer who was excommunicated for starting the LDS Ordain Women Movement.
Asra Nomani, feminist activist and former reporter for the Wall Street Journal for fifteen years, is the author of Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam. Nomani's story is surveyed in the documentary, The Mosque in Morgantown.
Maureen Fiedler, Ph.D, Sister of Loretto and host of Interfaith Voices, a public radio show. She has been involved in interfaith activities for more than three decades as an active participant in coalitions working for social justice, racial and gender equality, and peace.
Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Religion, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University.
Barbara Blaine, founder and president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a national advocacy group for survivors of clerical sexual abuse.
Kristina Keneally, liberation theologian, Catholic feminist, and former Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of New South Wales.
Christina Rees, well-known writer, broadcaster, and public speaker. She is a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and chair of Women and the Church (WATCH) from its founding until 2010, which recently won their campaign for Anglican women bishops.
Tony Flannery, Irish Redemptorist priest and writer threatened by the Vatican with excommunication for his support of the discussion on women's ordination.
Mari Steed's life story is similar to the subject of the movie "Philomena." Her Irish birth mother was sent to live and work in one of the Magdalene Laundries where she was forced to give up her 18-month-old daughter, Mari. Mari was adopted by a suburban Philadelphia couple and when she became an adult she launched a search to find her birth mother.
Ursula King, internationally renowned scholar on spirituality, interfaith dialogue, women, and religion.
Gary Macy, Gary Macy is the John Nobili, SJ, Professor of Theology and chair of the Religious Studies Department of Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif, and author of several essays and books, including The Hidden History of the Ordination of Women: Female Clergy in the Medieval West, (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Genny Dumay, Filippino Good Shepherd Sister and grassroots activist, who advocates for indigenous people and marginalized women.
Christine Fernando, Sri Lankan sister and tireless advocate working to end violence against women.
Paul Collins, Australian historian, broadcaster, and religious writer. In March 2001 he resigned from his role as a Catholic priest due to a dispute with the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over his book, Papal Power.
AND MORE!
