Pink Smoke Rises Over Rome as Activists Demand Women’s Ordination
Rome, Italy – May 8, 2025
On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, feminist activists gathered in a park overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, releasing pink smoke from flares to protest the Catholic Church’s male-only conclave and demand the ordination of women priests. The demonstration, timed just hours before cardinals began their male-only meeting to elect a successor to Pope Francis, served as a bold call for gender equality in the Church’s leadership, according to Reuters and Deccan Chronicle.
The pink smoke, a symbolic nod to the traditional black and white smoke used to signal papal election outcomes, was meant to highlight the exclusion of women, who make up half of the Catholic population, from the priesthood and the conclave. “While the world may wait for white smoke or black smoke, we send up pink smoke as our hope that the Church may someday welcome women as equals,” said activist Kate Duignan, who was briefly detained in 2011 for attempting to deliver a petition supporting women’s ordination to the Vatican. French campaigner Gabrielle Fidelin called the exclusion of women from the priesthood “a sin and a scandal,” emphasizing the urgency of reform.
Organized by groups advocating for women’s ordination, the protest also showcased a list of potential female “papabile,” including former Irish President Mary McAleese, as a provocative challenge to the Church’s male-dominated hierarchy, per a post by @BarryLenihan on X. The activists argue that barring women from ordination is not only discriminatory but also unsustainable, given the Church’s global reach and the increasing roles women have taken in lay leadership under Pope Francis’s papacy. However, the priesthood and senior leadership roles remain exclusively male, with the only women present during the conclave being nuns serving at the Santa Marta guesthouse.
The protest drew significant attention, with outlets like France 24 and ABS-CBN News covering the event, framing it as a critique of the Church’s patriarchal structure. Some activists expressed frustration that their demonstration, held outside Vatican City to avoid detention, might not directly reach the cardinals, but they remained committed to raising global awareness. “You cannot go into a locked room and discuss the future of the Church without half of the Church,” one campaigner told ANC Alerts.
The Catholic Church’s stance on women’s ordination remains unchanged, rooted in theological arguments about tradition and apostolic succession. Pope Francis, while open to expanding lay roles for women, has upheld the ban on female priests, a position that continues to spark debate among Catholics worldwide. Critics of the protest argue that such demonstrations oversimplify complex doctrinal issues, while supporters see them as a necessary push against systemic exclusion.
As the conclave proceeds, the pink smoke protest has ignited fresh discussions about the Church’s future and the role of women within it, with activists vowing to continue their campaign until their voices are heard within the Vatican’s walls.
Sources: Deccan Chronicle, Reuters, France 24, ABS-CBN News, ANC Alerts, X posts (@BarryLenihan, @RT_com, @ImMeme0)