About Us

True Feminism For Real Women

The California Catholic Women’s Forum to explore truth and beauty in our culture in ongoing series

The California Catholic Women’s Forum (CCWF) originally known as the “Thursday Club” was formed in 2003 by a group of Silicon Valley women who met twice a month. We are a group of women who are educated, employed wives and mothers fully immersed in the age of the so-called women’s movement. We all know women who have used contraception, had abortions, been divorced, burned out in the “real world” only to ask the question, “Is this all there is?” Ultimately, the question is asked, “Who am I and why am I here?” CCWF is turning to John Paul II’s teachings, including his Apostolic Letter, On the Dignity and Vocation of Women (Mulieris Dignitatem) for a better way to answer these fundamental feminine questions in the popular culture.

The Holy Father emphasizes the “feminine genius” - that woman can only find herself by giving love to others. He points out that in the spirit of Christ women can discover the entire meaning of their femininity and thus be disposed to making a “sincere gift of self” to others. Through this sharing, women help shape society and structure the interaction between all persons, man and woman. We have the most wonderful role model in Mary, our mother. John Paul states, “After all, was it not in and through her that the greatest event in human history - the incarnation of God himself - was accomplished?”

The women’s movement deserves respect for promoting social justice in the civil and workplace settings. Yet we and our families wither (and sometimes die) under the constant messages of the so-called women’s movement and the sexual revolution that say we must separate ourselves from our femininity through sexual liberation, by climbing corporate and governmental ladders after the (failed) “male” pattern of domination, by participating politically in “women’s issues,” and by acting in an androgynous manner by way of fashion, etiquette and social behavior. We have bought the commonly held belief that “quality time” with our children and spouses will fill their needs and “free” us for “more vital” activities outside the home. Without the love of God within our families, our accomplishments and victories are bitter and hollow. We know from the heroic lives of the faithful that there is a better way, and with God’s grace, we mean to follow it... to follow Jesus in imitation of Mary.

CCWF continues to carefully study Mulieris Dignitatem as our guiding document. We ask the Holy Spirit for guidance to explore new and creative ways to introduce women to the “gift of self” and its truly liberating message. It is time to put the whole woman back together in order to repair our lives, our families, and our society. With the commitment of dedicated and committed women of varied backgrounds and levels of experience, we hope to spearhead a movement that will advance the Good News especially as it relates to women.

In 2005, CCWF held its first conference in Santa Clara, California, where the ideas of authentic feminism found in Mulieris Dignitatem were introduced. The CDs of our inaugural conference are available from our website's store. They are:

1) Teasing the Document Apart -- Rebecca Teti
2) From Betty Friedan to JP II: A Reformed Feminist tells Her Story -- Marjorie Campbell

In Depth
MULIERIS DIGNITATEM Of Pope John Paul II On the Dignity and Vocation of Women On the Occasion of the Marian Year On the Vatican's website.