I'm not surprised that support for women is coming from bishops in India--nor am I surprised that the 2012 Delhi gang rape was cited as a catalyst. If you have ever had the opportunity to listen to one of the rapists . . . soft-spoken but quietly unrepentant because, after all, the woman asked for it by being out and about with a man who was not her husband or brother. Absolutely horrifying. There is one region in the country as well where tribal leaders refuse to allow "their women" to have any rights; they are literally barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

The bishops of India see firsthand what patriarchy has done to the women of India and have the moral courage to become agents of change. There are also some pro-women's-ordination advocates among them. May they continue to speak out!