Is door opening for women in the Catholic Church? Miami woman leading the call has new hope

For more than a decade, Ellie Hidalgo has been campaigning to expand the role of women in the Catholic Church. The Miami woman is co-director of a nonprofit, Discerning Deacons, which invites other Catholics to consider ordaining women as deacons — a clergy role that has already been opened to married men. That would allow women for the first time in centuries to preach the Gospel, preside at baptisms, direct charitable services and perform other duties long confined to males. From her past work, she knows the value women can add to the church. As a pastoral associate at a Jesuit parish near d...