Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, puts the controversy over the title of Pope Francis’ new encyclical Fratelli tutti, or Brothers all, into the wider context of the debate on women’s ordination.

Even in Italy, where “fratelli” can arguably be taken to mean both brothers and sisters, women are feeling upset and excluded by the title of the Pope's new encyclical, Fratelli tutti. A coaliton of Catholic women's groups from around the world have put together an open letter to the Pope asking him to include “sorelle”, or sisters, in the title. In this podcast, Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, where she has worked since 2011, explains why it matters so much. And she puts this latest misstep by Pope Francis into the context of the wider debate over women's ordination, and the ongoing attempts by Rome to suppress its advocates.

Kate, pictured on The Tablet website, moderating a conversation with Joan Chittister and Teresa Foracdes, attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts earning her BA in religion and later attended SOAS in London, earning an masters in international human rights law. Kate serves on the leadership circle of Women's Ordination Worldwide and the parish council of Caravita Catholic Community in Rome, where she and her husband have lived since 2014.