Maureen Fiedler, SL is an American progressive activist, radio host, and a member of the

Sisters of Loretto The Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institute that strives "to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world." Founded in the United States in 1812 and based in the rural community of Nerinx, Kentucky, the o ...

. She has a long history working with interfaith coalitions on a variety of issues including:

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

, peace,

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

work,

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and female ordination in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She holds a doctorate in Government from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. She is the executive producer and host of the radio show ''

Interfaith Voices ''Interfaith Voices'' is a radio newsmagazine that is Radio syndication, syndicated on 69 public and community radio stations in North America. The show features interviews and produced segments covering the world of religion, spirituality, and ...

'', which she originated.

Political work

Fiedler finished a doctoral dissertation in 1976 titled "Sex and Political Participation in the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Masses and Elites" which was published by

in 1977. In the 1980s, Fiedler was active in movements for peace in Central America, especially in Nicaragua and El Salvador. In the 1990s, she was active in movements to reform the Catholic Church, both in the United States and internationally.

Support for the Equal Rights Amendment

Fiedler is a long time supporter of the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

. In 1982, Fiedler participated in the Women Hunger for Justice event in support of the ERA alongside seven other women including

Sonia Johnson Sonia Ann Johnson, (''née'' Harris; born February 27, 1936) is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of the Chur ...

and

Zoe Nicholson Zoe Nicholson is a feminist activist, author, and a longtime member of the National Organization for Women. Openly lesbian, she is known for her work as an independent historian of Alice Paul as well as her role in the campaign for the Equal Righ ...

A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion

In 1984 Fiedler was one of 97 theologians and religious persons who signed A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion, calling for

religious pluralism Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religion, religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following: * Recognizing and Religious tolerance, tolerating the religio ...

and discussion within the Church regarding its position on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. The

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

later reported that she had disavowed the statement, but she responded, "I have never retracted or recanted one syllable... I continue to stand behind every word of it without the slightest reservation."

Women's ordination

When Fiedler was involved in an "uncertain venture" regarding

women's ordination The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination was traditionally res ...

, Sister Mary Luke Tobin sent her a note saying: "Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."

Publications

1990s

With Linda Rabben, Fiedler co-authored and co-edited the book ''Rome Has Spoken: A Guide to Forgotten Papal Statements, and How They Have Changed Through the Centuries'', published in 1998.

2006

In 2006, Fiedler provided a chapter in the book, ''Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America''; the chapter title was "The Women's Ordination Movement in the Roman Catholic Church".

2010

In 2010, Fiedler published ''Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words'', a collection of interviews with women who experienced discrimination in religion. The same year, Fiedler wrote an obituary for William R. Callahan, a priest who advocated greater leadership roles for women in the Catholic Church.

2011

In 2011, Fiedler wrote an obituary for

Iris Müller Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

, one of the

Danube Seven The Danube Seven are a group of seven women from Germany, Austria and the United States who were ordained as priests on a ship cruising the Danube river on 29 June 2002 by Rómulo Antonio Braschi, Ferdinand Regelsberger, and a third unknown bishop ...

who were ordained as women priests by

Rómulo Antonio Braschi Rómulo Antonio Braschi (born December 25, 1941) is an Argentine independent Catholic bishop, not in communion with the Catholic Church. Braschi was labeled as being an ''episcopus vagans'' in the early 2000s. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, and ...

in 2002. Both of Fiedler's memorial pieces ran in the ''National Catholic Reporter''.

Catholics Act for ERA

In the late 1970s and early 1980s Fiedler was actively involved in the struggle to ratify the

(ERA). From 1978-1982 she served as head of the organization

Catholics Act for ERA The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She founded and directed this organization, and in 1982, was one of eight women who fasted for 37 days in Springfield, IL for ERA ratification. This event was known as the Women's Fast for Justice. Zoe Nicolson, then known as Zoe Ann Ananda, and

also participated in this fast.

''Interfaith Voices''

Fiedler has hosted the

newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

and

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

program ''Interfaith Voices'' since it debuted in 2002. Starting with just one station, the show has grown to 63 stations in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The program began as a project of The Quixote Center, a

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Many North American universities identify themselves as being nonsectarian, such as B ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

collective in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Mary ...

. It later became a separately incorporated non-profit for tax reasons. The program's mission is the promotion of interfaith understanding and religious dialog in the public square. ''Interfaith Voices'' was previously called ''Faith Matters''. However, due to a trademark dispute, the name was changed. ''Faith Matters'' was the name of a program produced by Reverend Dr. Leith Anderson. ''Interfaith Voices'' has had six producers since it began. Among them are Peter B. Collins, who now owns KRXA-AM in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

; Paul Woodhull, executive producer of The

Bill Press William H. Press (born April 8, 1940) is an American talk radio host, podcaster, liberal pundit and author. He was chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996, and is a senior political contributor on CNN. He hosts ''The Bil ...

Show; Linda Rabben, University of Maryland; Josephine Reed, host of WPFW-FM radio show On The Margin and a vice president for programming for

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable ...

; John E. Parman; and Laura Kwerel.

References

External links

"An historic day for women in the Church"
Fiedler reports on a 2002 ordination ceremony for seven women

televised interview with the Australian Broadcast Corporation {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiedler, Maureen American activists 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns American radio journalists American talk radio hosts American women radio hosts Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni Writers from New York (state) Roman Catholic activists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Sisters of Loretto 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns Catholic feminists Equal Rights Amendment activists Second wave feminists