Mary John Mananzan

Mary John Mananzan (born November 6, 1937, in Dagupan, Pangasinan) is a Missionary Benedictine nun, activist, educator, theologian, and author. She helped develop an Asian feminist theology of liberation. She currently ministers as superior of the Manila community and member of the Priory Council.

On March 8, 2011, she was cited as one of the 100 Most Inspiring Persons in the World, at the centennial of International Women's Day.

Background
She is co-convenor of the Movement Against Tyranny.

She has served as president of Saint Scholastica's College for six years and dean for 18 years, prioress of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in the Manila Priory, and national chairperson of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines.

She also co-founded GABRIELA, federation of women's organizations and served as its national chairperson for 18 years.

Education
Mananzan has a doctorate degree in Philosophy major in Linguistic Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. She also has a degree in Missiology at the Wilhelmsuniversitaet in Munster, Germany.

Mananzan studied at St. Scholastica's College in Manila from high school through college, graduating with an AB-BSE degree, major in history.

Stances
Mananzan is known for being feminist. She was one of the Catholics who supported the RH Bill, which guarantees access to contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care. The bill was signed by President Benigno Aquino III.

"I am a nun but I am for the reproductive health law, because I'm a woman. And I think the bishops overreacted. A lot of things they say that [are] in the bill is not true, it is not for abortion. There are 3 places in the law that say abortion is illegal in the Philippines so you cannot say that bill is for abortion. It is not. They are deprived of participation in the major decision-making processes and are denied full ministry in the Church. I am very sorry that I will never see in my lifetime the full ministry given to women in the Catholic Church."

- Sr. Mary John Mananzan on forum, March 16, 2017

She was also known for her support for SOGIE Equality Bill, known as Equality Bill or Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB).

"I don't see that this bill is giving any special right to this group. They are just saying that the rights of everybody should also be applied to them, as a religious woman I believe in the respect, compassion, and reverence for all persons because I believe they were all made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, it is really the one that is discriminated against that is the focus of our attention, even if we are really against the discrimination of anybody, sometimes you have to focus on groups of people that are actually suffering discrimination and violence."

- Mananzan said on Senate hearing, September 04, 2019

Both bills were opposed by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

Awards and recognition
Mananzan has been recognized as follows:


 * Benigno Aquino Jr. Award for Nationalism, Federation of Catholic Schools' Alumnae Association (2011)
 * 100 inspiring persons in the world, Women Deliver (2011, citation given on the occasion of the 100 years of the International Women's day celebration)
 * Outstanding Woman Leader in Manila, Office of the Mayor of Manila (2009)
 * Asian Public Intellectual fellowship, Nippon Foundation (2002)
 * Henry Luce Fellowship at the Union Theological Seminary in New York (1995)
 * Dorothy Cadbury Fellowship in Birmingham (1994)