This post is a bit belated. I’ve been intending to write about the New Eve Vision Dinner for nearly a month now, but it has been an especially full season. As some of you know, we are expecting twins in just a matter of weeks and preparing for a move later this summer, so life has felt more frenetic than usual. In the midst of the chaos, many tasks have lingered as open tabs in my mind. But at last, here we are — one month later.
I’ve written about New Eve on the blog before. It is a beautiful non-profit organization that I am deeply grateful to have encountered here in Cincinnati. One of its founders, Emily Vork Young, is a friend of mine, and it has been such a joy to get to know her. She is passionately committed to expanding access to feminine identity and body literacy in a time marked by so much confusion surrounding both.
Given how immersed I currently am in the medical system and in women’s reproductive health — with doctor’s appointments twice a week these days — I have become even more aware of the mixed messages women receive. It can be exhausting trying to navigate a medical model that often seems disconnected from the realities of the female body.
And yet, I know I am among the fortunate ones. I have access to a NaPro physician, a dear friend who is a naturopathic doctor specializing in women’s health, and a largely Catholic hospital system that at least refrains from practices such as routine tubal ligations.
On April 16, I had the privilege of serving as emcee for the New Eve Foundation’s Vision Dinner, and I was honored to support Emily’s work in this small way. Through New Eve, she has led a number of retreats that have inspired countless young women to learn more about their bodies and what it truly means to be a woman — addressing health concerns that otherwise might have gone unnoticed and discovering new possibilities for understanding womanhood.
The testimonies shared by three past retreat participants were both moving and inspiring.
One of the highlights of the evening for me was hearing from the guest speaker, Christina Valenzuela, founder of Thistle and Pearl. Christina gave an engaging and thoughtful talk on Theology of the Body and Pope John Paul II’s vision of womanhood that truly drew me in. It was wonderful to be in a room full of people learning about New Eve or in support of the ministry, who were really there in support of women. Events like this remind me why I love being Catholic. The vision shared at the New Eve Foundation Dinner reflected something I believe deeply: the Catholic Church’s understanding of women is far richer, more dignified, and more life-giving than many people realize. It always saddens me a bit when the Church is dismissed as merely patriarchal or oppressive, because throughout history women have been at the very heart of preserving the faith, nurturing families, serving the vulnerable, and sustaining the life of the Church itself.
I often think of St. John Paul II’s words in Mulieris Dignitatem, which speak so beautifully about the unique dignity and vocation of women. His reflections are a powerful reminder that the Church does not see women as secondary, but as essential witnesses to human dignity, sacrificial love, and the flourishing of society. Women continue to shape the Church through their courage, compassion, intellect, and faithfulness. Nights like this renew my gratitude for that witness and for the beauty of a faith that continues to call both women and men to lives of profound purpose and service.