Women send up pink smoke to protest male-only conclave to elect pope CHICAGO (CNS) -- Before the cardinals locked into the Sistine Chapel had a chance to cast their first ballot April 18, a group protesting the lack of women's voices in the conclave gathered outside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago to send up billows of bright pink smoke along with prayers for women to be heard. The event featured statements from several organizations supporting the ordination of women that called on the church to open its doors fully to women's participation. "At a time when young women are sold into slavery around the world, when war brings the rape of women, when it is women and children who suffer in poverty on earth and organized religions keep women in bondage celebrating the language of a male God, we know we cannot keep the silence demanded by male leadership in a church that claims to speak out for human rights," said Dominican Sister Donna Quinn, a member of the National Coalition of American Nuns.
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