Today I bow to women who are taking strides to make traditionally patriarchal religions more compassionate and welcoming for all by working for equality and inclusion. I want to give a shout-out to the Women’s Ordination Conference - a grassroots movement promoting activism, women priests, and gender equity in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church, if a woman is ordained as a priest, she will be excommunicated by the Vatican, forbidden from receiving communion or a Catholic funeral. And yet, some courageous trailblazers are putting their lives, reputations, and permission to participate fully in their religions on the line. They are heroes, breaking old rules so that future generations can benefit from the wisdom of all genders and people who were formerly rejected can feel welcome in church, just as they are. 20 years ago, a group of pioneers were ordained as priests on international waters. And since then, over 200 women have been ordained. They remind me of the heroic Theravada Buddhist women taking full ordination as nuns without the approval of traditional Buddhist monks, like my friend Venerable Dhammananda in Thailand. May we walk with these women in their vocation and cheer them on! #womensordination #womensrights #humanrights #heroicwork #spirituality #courage