We Are Church Intl.

Three theology students want to become Catholic presbyters.  
Why this is not possible.

Lisa Baumeister applied to the seminary. And was rejected because she is a woman. 
Consecration for women is not possible in the Catholic Church. Why does Lisa stay in a church she doesn't want? 
The video sheds light on the desire of three female students of Catholic theology to become priests. They are at the end of their studies and have submitted an application folder to the seminary, but it has been rejected. 
Canon law only allows men to become priests because Jesus was a man. The students discuss vocation and church structures with the head of the seminary. 
Despite the rejection, they feel called and want to help shape the church. 
An article by Jona Gebhard. Bayerischer Rundfunk

Women resisting patriarchy

On 14 March 2026 Soline Humbert was invited to speak to the Catholic Women's Council about her life-long work to gain justice for women in the Roman Catholic Church.

Soline's story

We Are Church greets the new Archbishop of Canterbury

We Are Church International warmly congratulates Dame Sarah Mullally on her appointment as the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury! She is a prophetic witness to women everywhere that God calls whom God wants to call, regardless of gender!

The Anglican Church has courageously addressed the same questions that the Roman Catholic Church continues to deny time and time again. Change is never easy. The status quo is seen as a safe haven again and again. Our world needs more prophetic and courageous women to confirm that all genders are equal not just in heaven but in our world today. Jesus treated women as equals and so should the Roman Catholic Church.

We Are Church International wishes Dame Sarah well in the important leadership role to which she has been elected. We thank her for being a great example of Christian leadership which we hope will soon be found in our church as well!

Wh​ere next for ecumenical relations?

Some global, local and feminist reflections

Revd Jane Stranz worked at the World Council of Churches in Geneva and then served as the national ecumenical officer for the Protestant Churches in France. Ordained into the United Reformed Church, she has worked as a pastor in Reformed and Lutheran parishes of the United Protestant Church of France, as well as in former East Germany.

Watch the video

Equality for Women in the Church: 
Time for Action

with Anne Soupa

Anne Soupa is a French Theologian and Journalist. She has actively campaigned for the equality of women in the Catholic Church for more than 3 decades. She was a co-founder of “The Committee of the Skirt” and in 2020 she campaigned to be elected Archbishop of Lyon to highlight the invisibility of women.

Important Note:  The presentation is in French but in the description on YouTube there are links to both the English and French original paper.  

Texts of Presentation

FAITH AND pOWER: THE THEOLOGY OF THE TECH BROS

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Palaver, as the former Head of the Research Platform “ World Order – Religion – Violence ” at the University of Innsbruck, was invited to carry out research at Stanford University (California, USA) where he met the billionaire Peter Thiel with whom he remains in contact to this day. He is very aware of the radical right tendencies in US politics and the manner in which Christianity is misused.  Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Palaver will set out how this undermines the core Christian message. He is an expert on the relationship between violence and religion. For many years, he has also been engaged in interreligious dialogue at both local and international levels. He is the president of the Austrian section of Pax Christi and he is a Personal Representative to the OSCE to fight against intolerance, racism and discrimination, including against Christians and Members of other religions.

In Germany the Bishops and Laity have agreed to set up a SYNODAL CONFERENCE which will deal with and adopt decisions on important issues of the Catholic Church. Clergy and Laity will have equal representation. Dr. Martin Schockenhoff will explain how it is structured and how it might be adapted in other countries. 

Presentation  Prayers used during seminar

A CONCRETE EXAMPLE OF SYNODALITY: The german synodal conference

"People like me are gestating something new in the Church"

Soline Humbert talks with Tommy Tiernan on Irish TV 

We Are Church 
at the
 Jubilee of Synodal Teams
and Participating Organisations

Hopes for Hot Topics with Synodality

Five members of We Are Church talk about the hopes they have for synodality in their country and for all across the world..

Transcripts
More information and pictures

Celebrating

30 Years We A​re Church

Martha Heizer's
talk Christian Weisner's
talk Valerie Stroud's  
slideshow at  36:38

Book launch: 
"A Divine Calling - One Woman's Life-Long Battle for Equality in the Catholic Church"

"A Divine Calling" is a Memoir written by Soline Humbert and published by The Liffey Press. https://theliffeypress.com/a-divine-c... 
Soline's Memoir was launched in the School of Religion, Theology & Peace Studies, Trinity College Dublin on 1.October 2025. 
Speakers at the launch were: 
1. Dr Michael Kirwan SJ 
2. Phil Dunne from 2'30", 19'41" and 35'41
3. Ursula Halligan from 4'20" 
4. Gerry O'Hanlon SJ from 21'40"
7. Soline Humbert from 38'44"

SYNODALITY:
 "Electing Bishops and Lay Leaders"

Dr Avril Baigent speaks about Synodality, Dr Martin Schockenhoff talks about the situation regarding the election of Bishops in Germany and Dr Harald Prinz tells us about being a lay leader of two parishes in Austria.

We Are Church Companions 
speak about their 
hopes and expectations 
for Pope Francis' Successor.  

Flourishing? 
Women's bodies and the history of Christianity

A lecture by Professor Emerita Helen King from St Paul's Cathedral, London

Over the course of Western history, how have religion and medicine worked together to tell women how their bodies work, and what they should do with them? How have Eve and Mary been used to convey these messages, and how has their role been challenged? Helen King explores the potential of both Christianity and medicine to work towards a healthier approach to the body.


Equality in Our Church 
with Dr Birgit Weiler MMS

 Dr. Birgit Weiler, MMS, is a German missionary and theology professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. A scholar of synodality and the Catholic Church in Latin America and in the Amazon region, Professor Weiler is a member of the Congregation of the Medical Missionary Sisters. She has lived for more than 35 years in Peru, where she works with the Episcopal Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) and the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM).

We are delighted to present hopes for Synod 2024 expressed by voices from six continents: 
Philomena Mwaura - Africa
Kevin Liston - Oceania 
Kate McElwee - North America 
Lula Ramirez - South America 
Virginia Saldanha - Asia 
Martin Schockenhoff - Europe

The Five Goals of We Are Church

Video recorded in Rome on Sunday 13 October 2024: 

Introduction: Martha Heizer (Austria) 
Goal #1: Renate Holmes (Germany) 
Goal #2: Colm Holmes (Ireland) 
Goal #3: Gemma Lamarra (Scotland) 
Goal #4: Christian Weisner (Germany) 
Goal #5: Marlies Prinz (Austria)

Vaticanelle

Attention Parody! 

We reproduce Vatican statements on women's issues - but in reverse. 

The parodic reversal of Vatican deliberations and announcements on the full equality of women makes makes their absurdity clear