For centuries, Catholics around the world have been taught that women cannot be ordained because Jesus chose only male apostles. But what happens when historical research, scripture scholarship, and lived experience begin to challenge that narrative?
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In this episode of Your Radical Truth, host Deacon Margaret Mary O’Connor welcomes Father Anne for a candid and deeply thoughtful discussion about ordination justice, women in church leadership, and the growing movement calling for change within the Catholic Church.
As part of the monthly feature with Father Anne and Deacon Margaret Mary, the conversation explores hidden history, institutional power, biblical interpretation, and why younger generations are increasingly asking difficult questions about equality and leadership in the church.
The Question the Church Refuses to Ask
One of the most powerful moments in the conversation centers around the way the issue itself is framed.
According to Father Anne, the Catholic Church often asks the question: Can the church ordain women? But she argues that this is the wrong discernment question entirely because it places the institution at the center rather than God.
Instead, Father Anne believes the real question should be:
Is God calling women to ordained ministry?
That shift changes everything.
By placing the focus on vocation and the movement of the Holy Spirit rather than institutional tradition alone, the discussion opens the door to a much broader understanding of leadership, service, and justice within the church.
Hidden History of Women Leaders in the Early Church
Margaret Mary shares how many Catholics are unaware of the historical evidence pointing to women serving in significant leadership roles in early Christianity.
The discussion highlights figures such as:
- Mary Magdalene, often called the Apostle to the Apostles
- Phoebe, a deacon in the early church
- Junia, recognized by many biblical scholars as a woman apostle
- Historical references to women deacons, abbesses, and church leaders throughout the centuries
The conversation also explores how certain historical narratives surrounding women were minimized, altered, or hidden over time within church structures.
For many listeners, these revelations may challenge long-held assumptions about women’s roles in Catholic history.
Ordination Justice Is About More Than Women
Father Anne explains why she no longer uses the phrase “women’s ordination” and instead refers to the issue as ordination justice.
Why? Because she believes this impacts every person in the church, not just women.
According to Father Anne, excluding women from full participation in sacramental leadership affects the spiritual health of the entire institution. She argues that it creates an imbalance of power and reinforces a theology that harms both women and men.
The conversation moves beyond theology into broader questions of justice, equality, leadership, and accountability.
Patriarchy, Power, and the Sexual Abuse Crisis
Another significant part of the episode addresses the role patriarchy has played within church systems.
Father Anne speaks candidly about how concentrated male power contributed to decades of silence surrounding sexual abuse scandals within the church. She argues that if women had been fully included in leadership positions throughout church history, the abuse crisis may not have reached such devastating levels.
Margaret Mary and Father Anne also discuss:
- Clerical privilege and hierarchy
- The culture of obedience within Catholicism
- Fear surrounding questioning church authority
- The silencing of theologians and reformers
- The importance of critical thinking and dialogue within the faith tradition
Despite the difficult topics, both women remain hopeful about the future.
A Growing Shift Within the Church
One hopeful theme throughout the episode is the response of younger Catholics.
Father Anne shares moving experiences of young women encountering female clergy for the first time and realizing that leadership within the church may be broader than they were taught to believe.
Margaret Mary also reflects on how biblical scholarship and access to information through the internet are helping more Catholics explore perspectives that were once difficult to access.
Both agree that the conversation around ordination justice is no longer something that can simply be silenced or ignored.
Looking Ahead
As the episode concludes, Margaret Mary announces that she herself will soon be ordained a priest, marking another milestone in her own spiritual journey and commitment to reform and inclusion within the church.
This episode is not simply about doctrine. It is about courage, truth, history, faith, and the ongoing search for justice within one of the world’s most influential religious institutions.
For listeners willing to ask difficult questions and explore perspectives often left out of mainstream conversations, this discussion offers a powerful and thought-provoking experience.
About Father Anne
Father Anne is the author of The Shepherd Within: Following God’s Incarnational Initiative to Fullness of Life Beyond Institutional Control, a work that invites readers to rediscover God’s living presence not as distant or hierarchical, but moving through human conscience, relationship, and justice.
She was ordained on October 16, 2021, in Albuquerque, New Mexico through the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and now serves as an
independent Roman Catholic priest. Her priesthood is rooted in a profound love for the Society of Jesus and Ignatian spirituality, formed over twelve years of ministry alongside Jesuits.
Father Anne earned a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and has served in multiple Jesuit parishes. In addition to her theological formation, she holds a master’s degree in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from San Diego State University and brings more than twenty-five years of experience in strategic communications.
Deeply grounded in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, Father Anne is especially drawn to the work of discernment and to exploring what the next era of the Church may become. While many have understandably walked away from the Roman Catholic Church, she continues to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit, collaborating with God in the ongoing work of equality, truth, and transformation within one of the most powerful institutions in the world.
About Deacon Margaret Mary O’Connor
Deacon Margaret Mary O’Connor, a member of the Catholic laity, once believed she understood her Church and its teachings. Everything changed the day she uncovered a centuries old scandal of lies and institutional cover up surrounding the history of women in ordained ministry. Realizing that her own Church had hidden the truth about women priests, women deacons, and even women bishops, she felt a deep and unforgettable sense of betrayal.
That moment became the catalyst for her mission. Margaret Mary now travels what she calls the Highway of Radical Truth, exposing the layers of deception that
have kept millions of Catholics unaware of the prominent roles women held in early Church history. Her work challenges long held assumptions, confronts the
complicity of the hierarchy, and calls Catholics to learn the real history for themselves.
For Margaret Mary, every Catholic deserves the truth. She believes transparency is not optional, especially when the suppression of women’s vocations continues to harm the Church today. Her research shines a spotlight on hidden historical records that may even hold answers to the modern priest shortage.
Often described as a “Modern Day David,” Margaret Mary is relentless in her commitment to revealing what has been intentionally concealed. Through her well researched writings, public advocacy, and ministry within the Celtic Christian Church, she brings these buried truths to light.
She is the author of Scandal in the Shadows and Journey of a Celiac’s Soul, and remains a force for honesty, courage, and reform within the broader Catholic conversation.
