Sister Joan Chittister addressed a global audience at Spirit Unbounded: Human Rights in the Emerging Catholic Church, a lay-led synodal assembly that took place along side the Vatican Synod on Synodality October 8-14 with live presentations streaming from Rome October 13 and 14. Sister Joan's Friday keynote in Rome was titled, "Living the Discipleship of Equals." As part of the program, Sister Joan and Dr. Mary McAleese, former president of Ireland, streamed a Saturday conversation on "The Women of Faith Keep Going." Sister Joan also lead the closing of the conference with Shawna Bluestar Newcomb.

"The world into which Jesus was born called the blind and diseased sinful, a female child useless, a menstruating woman unclean, and so all of them marginal to the system, condemned to the fringes of life, barred from the heart of the temple," Sister Joan said in her presentation.

"But Jesus takes each of them to himself, despite the laws, regardless of the culture, notwithstanding the disapproval of the spiritual notables of the area and fills them with himself and sends them as himself out to the highways and byways of the entire world.

"To be disciples of Jesus means that we must do the same. Discipleship infers—requires—no less than the confirming, ordaining, love of Jesus for everyone, everywhere."

Spirit Unbounded was a worldwide offering from more than 40 international reform groups and more than 115 voices offered parallel to the XVI Synod of Bishops in Rome, called by Pope Francis, as part of a lay-led Synodal Assembly whose content and discussion was open to the global community.

Photo credit: Susie Triffitt for Spirit Unbounded