As this issue of The Way is being prepared for publication, the legislation to allow women to be ordained to the episcopacy is slowly making its way through the structures of the Church of England, in the face of vocal opposition from some. At the same time, the leadership of Roman Catholic women religious in the United States is being called to account by the Vatican on a number of issues, including the promotion of ‘radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith’. Plus ça change …. The articles in this Special Issue of our journal illustrate how the desire of some women to exercise ministry of one kind or another within the Church has for centuries been a source of controversy; but also that this desire is not easily quashed, and if suppressed shows a remarkable tendency to resurface later and often ultimately to win through. At the heart of the issue is a series of articles presented last year to a conference marking the fourth centenary of a significant event in the life of a Yorkshire woman, Mary Ward. After searching for some time, in 1609 she gathered a few companions around her, and eventually in 1611 she came to understand, through prayer, that the new congregation she was to found should be governed by the same Constitutions as the Society of Jesus—the Jesuits—and it is the anniversary of this insight that is marked here.
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