Minister Madigan Delivers Address on Women in the Church Despite Antichoice Protests

Minister Josepha Madigan spoke to the displaced We Are Church Forum about the need for women’s ordination, saying that “[I]t is not that women need church leadership positions; it is that church leadership needs women! A church that discriminates against hearing 50 percent of its wisdom is not as smart as it could be. That is a disservice to Catholic men and women around the world. It is not a church that is truly representative of the world we live in.” The February meeting of We Are Church Ireland convened at Dublin’s Talbot Stillorgan Hotel, after the antiabortion Lumen Fidei Institute threatened to picket the Mercy International Centre, leading the convent to withdraw the venue. Lumen Fidei claimed that featured speaker Madigan’s successful “Yes” campaign placed Catholic healthcare organizations, like those overseen by the Mercy Congregation, under pressure to perform abortions. Minister Madigan expressed her disappointment in the congregation’s decision and, while she noted that the topic of her address to We Are Church was unrelated to the abortion controversy, was quick to remind Lumen Fidei that the Health Bill 2018 is now settled law.