Forbidden Call

The film follows three determined women in their quest to change Church doctrine. Jacqueline Straub, a Swiss theologian with a deep calling to the priesthood, has been writing to successive popes for fifteen years, pleading for gender equality in the Church and permission for women’s ordination. Christina Moreira, a Franco-Spanish rebel, was ordained in a catacomb, following the path of the “secret ordinations” on the Danube, which since 2002 have created over 300 women priests worldwide. Despite being excommunicated, she continues to serve her Spanish parish. Across the Atlantic, Myra Brown, a Black priest, leads a congregation of 1,500, steadfastly defying the bans.

Together, these women undertake a probing investigation at the very heart of the Vatican, the last bastion of institutional misogyny, challenging centuries-old tradition, reinterpreting sacred texts, and dismantling the theological, political, and cultural arguments behind the unjust prohibition. For them, the ordination of women is only the first step toward broader change: allowing priests to marry, combating gender discrimination, and recognizing same-sex unions.

After the screening there will be a meeting with the film director Marie Mandy.