A Voice to the Culture, A Resource for the Church
Pope Francis called for women to be a more “effective presence” in the Church and in the world. The Catholic Women’s Forum, directed by EPPC Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow Mary Rice Hasson, responds to this call, amplifying the voice of Catholic women—leading female Catholic professionals, scholars, and other experts—on crucial issues of today.
The Catholic Women’s Forum helps shape conversations in the Church and in the culture—about marriage and family, gender and sexuality, the role of women, religious liberty, and the dignity of human life—through expert commentary, presentations, scholarly articles, and in national and international conferences.
Our experts speak out in support of Catholic teaching and, more broadly, in support of an authentic vision of the human person and the values on which thriving families and a free society are built.
EPPC Fellow Mary Rice Hasson speaks at a September 2016 panel discussion at the University of Notre Dame exploring the role of women in the Church.

In Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church (Our Sunday Visitor, 2015), based on presentations from the 2014 Catholic Women’s Symposium, ten diverse women offer new insights into the meaning of womanhood and the role of women in the Church.
- The Pontifical Council for the Laity recently highlighted Promise and Challenge and included an excerpt from the book on its website.
- This Catholic News Agency article discusses Promise and Challenge and explores the work of the Catholic Women’s Forum.
- Mary Rice Hasson discusses Promise and Challenge on Salt and Light TV’s “Subject Matters”
“the Church has a wide reservoir of intellectually and spiritually well-formed women with hearts on fire for the Lord and the Church and her authoritative teachings.” – interview with Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online
Support Our Work:
To learn more about our work, please contact Madeline Pelletier at [email protected].
Our work is possible because of the generous donors who share our vision. We welcome your interest and support.To make an online donation, please click here. (Please designate your gift for the Catholic Women’s Forum.)