Shame on Vatican for linking women priests...with paedophilia" Bridget Mary Meehan/Irish Independent

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/bishop-rubbishes-claim-that-edict-attacked-women-2262693.html

"The Newry-based Bishop of Dromore explained that the former offence related to the sacraments and the latter to immorality, as worldwide fury over the edict continued to grow."

"The fact that a variety of issues are dealt with in one document does not imply in any context that all these issues are equivalent," he said. But last night, an Irish woman, prominent in the Roman Catholic Women Priests movement in America, accused the Vatican of misogyny."

"This decree by an all-male hierarchy reflects Vatican misogyny and hostility to women priests who are ministering effectively in inclusive, vibrant grassroots communities," said self-styled bishop Bridget Mary Meehan. She claims the number of women priests has grown from seven to more than 100 in the last eight years."

"Shame on the Vatican for linking the ordination of women priests with grave crimes like paedophilia," she added

"She will travel to Ireland next month to promote the women priests movement and will address the Humbert Summer School, in Castlebar, Co Mayo, on August 20, on the theme of Catholic Church Reform."

Irish Independent

Letter to Editor from Bill Schuch

Catholic Women Priests & Bishops - Criminals??

The outrageous categorization by the Vatican of the ordination of women ("Vatican revises its rules on clerical sexual abuse - July 16") and the support of the ordination of women as crimes punishable by excommunication is further evidence of the seriously flawed leadership of our male-dominated Catholic Church. To characterize those as crimes and as grave an offense as pedophilia, as well as heresy, apostasy and schism, is simply off the wall.
Perhaps if all the Catholic women in all of the dioceses in the U.S. and the men who appreciate their innate sense of decency and devotion to their Church, despite their treatment as second class citizens by the Vatican and its sycophants in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), were to place a copy of the Associated Press article which reported this outrageous characterization in the collection basket each Sunday, instead of their usual contributions, until the real criminals - the abusers and all of the Hierarchs who covered up the sexual abuse of children are excommunicated and the USCCB publicly begs forgiveness for their fellow criminal bishops from the women who gave birth to those abused children and also apologizes for the characterization by the Vatican of women priests and bishops and those who support their ordination as criminals, perhaps then the powers that be in the chanceries of all the dioceses in the U.S. might get the message that we men are dismayed by the continued shabby treatment of our women, married or single, especially those who have true vocations to the priesthood.

Wm. J. Schuch
East Aurora, NY

"Tone Deaf in Rome"/New York Times Editorial/Bridget Mary' Meehan,'s Response

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/opinion/17sat4.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

"There was not much to like in the Vatican’s news conference this week about its pedophilia scandal, but among all the defensive posturing and inept statements, there was one real stunner: The citing of the movement for the ordination of women as a “grave crime” that Rome deems as offensive as the scandal of priests who sexually assault children.
Calls for ending the ban on women priests are only a blip on the ecclesiastical radar screen. Yet Vatican officials gratuitously raised them at the news conference, while they offered limited antidotes to the crimes of sexual abuse and the long history of bishops dithering and covering up these crimes...."

Women priests are bringing hope to millions of Catholics of a renewed priestly ministry in a community of equals. We are transforming the clerical model that is "the problem" to one of partnership and equality with the people with whom we serve in our grassroots communities. (www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org)

This is the path to true reform. No wonder the Vatican demonized womenpriests by declaring our sacraments "crimes" Roman Catholic Womenpriests are the Vatican's worst nightmare because we are renewing the church from within and a growing number of Catholics like what they experience in our grassroots communities. In spite of threats of excommunication, courageous Catholics flock to our ordinations.

The Vatican needs to change the hierarchical, secretive system at the heart of clericalism. The reforms announced by Vatican are merely tinkering on the edges and avoiding real accountability and transparency. Neither the Vatican nor the bishops have "owned" their responsibility for the global sexual abuse crisis. This is the first step and the next one is to change the clerical system and make it truly accountable. Of course, all "alleged" crimes should be reported to civil authorities. What is the problem here? Abuse of clerical power which is the root cause of the cover-ups by bishops who shuffled pedophiles from parish to parish who raped and sodomized children again and again are the horrific crimes the Vatican should have addressed. They have failed miserably to reform the church and its laws. Instead they equated women's ordination with pedophilia, both are labelled "crimes". Yes, indeed, a red herring and an insult to everyone who believes in women's equality! More evidence of Vatican hostility toward womenpriests who are living Gospel equality and leading the church into its future now !
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP, 703-505-0004 , sofiabmm@aol.com

"Catholic Church Decision Riles Women Priests" New Jersey Herald

http://www.njherald.com/story/news/16Schoettly

By SETH AUGENSTEIN

FREDON —" Both pedophile priests and women who claim ordination as clergy are now guilty of the gravest crimes in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, according to a Thursday proclamation issued by the Vatican.The message encompassing the two groups has been angrily received by the women priests. Mary Ann Schoettly, an already-excommunicated clergywoman from Fredon and one of 100 worldwide, is incensed.“To put the two things in the same breath ... it’s downright insulting to combine the two,” she said..."


"In fact, the change in church law comes a month after a delegation and other women priests visited the Vatican. Schoettly and a small group from the Roman Catholic Womenpriests organization converged on St. Peter’s Square with thousands of male clergy for the conclusion of the “Year of the Priest” celebration. The group of five held a sign calling for the ordination of women; Schoettly said before the trip that the group wasn’t hoping for a confrontation. However, “some bit of commotion” did result, drawing an international media presence, and the accompanying police escort. After the cameras left, however, the police remained — and it resulted in confiscated passports and hours of detention on the side of St. Peter’s Square.“Fourteen police surrounded us,” she said. “They’re worried about five women? “I thought, ‘It says something. I’m not sure what,’ ” she added."

"Revised Vatican Law Labels Sex Abuse, Female Priests as Crimes" Toronto Star/Canada

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/836880--revised-vatican-law-labels-sex-abuse-female-priests-as-crimes

“Lumping us with the men who are the perpetrators of these crimes is absolutely mean-spirited and completely out of touch with reality,” said Sudbury’s Marie Bouclin. From 1959 to 1966, Bouclin was a nun in Ottawa. After leaving her order, she continued to work for the Catholic Church until the early 1990s, eventually becoming the personal secretary to a bishop..."Now, she considers herself a Catholic priest."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/worldhaveyoursay

World Have You Say:Interview with Bridget Mary Meehan/BBC

Roman Catholic Womenpriests on ABC World News/"Outrage after Vatican Declares Ordination of Women a Grave Crime"

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/outrage-vatican-declares-ordination-women-grave-crime/story?id=11183098

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/vatican-makes-ordaining-women-crime-priests-vatican-rules-controversy-outrage-pedofilia-abuse-catholic-church-11184386

"Bridget Mary Meehan is one of five American women ordained bishops as part of a Catholic reform initiative called the Roman Catholic Womenpriests. She became a womanbishop in 2009 and serves in Florida and Virginia.

"They're equating both as criminal acts; therefore, this is an example of misogyny and patriarchy and really taking on women as the enemy in the church," she said".

Twenty-seven Organizations Challenge Vatican/ Express Solidarity with Women's Equality Movement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 16, 2010

Yesterday, the Vatican issued a clarification of its canonical procedures for how dioceses should handle priests who sexually abuse children. As part of the statement, they have added that the "attempted ordination of a woman" has now been added to the list of "delicta graviora," or most serious crimes in church law, alongside the sexual abuse of minors.
This morning, twenty-seven international Catholic organizations issued the following joint statement in response:
We, the undersigned, express our solidarity with Catholics who continue to seek equality, including those who practice feminist ministries and those who are ordained. We know these women and men to be firm in their faith and courageous in their work as they seek an inclusive and accountable church, undeterred by threats of excommunication or other canonical penalties.
In addition, we stand with our brother priests and bishops who are also being threatened by this new policy for their support of women's equality in the church. Furthermore, we take great offense that good faith struggles for gender equality could be misunderstood as a sacrilege and placed on par with the sexual abuse of children.
In 1976, the Vatican's own Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded there is no valid scriptural reason for denying ordination to women. Therefore, we welcome such efforts to expand the scope and variety of ministry and we celebrate women's faithfulness despite huge institutional obstacles.
We are gravely disappointed that the Vatican would largely repackage its sexual abuse policy norms from 2001 in yesterday's re-issued statement without adding many meaningful changes to canonical procedures on how to handle the sexual crimes of its religious leaders. We stand with survivors in calling for the release of the names of all credibly accused Catholic religious leaders and for the Vatican's immediate adoption and implementation of global child protection policies. Nothing less is adequate to the crying needs of a community torn asunder by its own leaders' crimes.

Catholic Organization Signatories
Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC), USAPatrick B. Edgar, D.P.A., M.Div., President
BASIC (Brothers And Sisters In Christ), Ireland.
Contact: Una Ruddock +353 1 621 6816
DignityUSAM
arianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director, 617-669-7810
Call To Action, USA
Jim FitzGerald, Executive Director773.404.0004
Catholics for Choice- Canada
Rosemary Ganley, Coordinator
Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, USA
Paula Ruddy, Bernie Rodel, Michael Bayly, Co-chairs(612) 379-1043
Catholic Network for Women's Equality, Canada
Paula MacQuarrie, Coordinator
CORPUS, USAContact: William Manseau
Corriente Somos Iglesia, Spain Raquel Mallavibarrena, Coordinator+34 649332654
Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Mexico Maria Consuelo Mejia, Director +5255 5658 1163
Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Spain Mar Grandal, President 352 88946
8th Day Center for Justice - Women's Group, USAwww.8thdaycenter.org
Femmes et Hommes en Eglise/Genre en Christianisme, France
Danielle Penuel-Monneron, President(0)2 33 90 78 10
Institute for Feminism and Religion, Ireland.
Mary Condren, Th.D., Director 001-353-1-4624504
Interreligious Convention of European Women Theologians
Lee Wax, Coordinator0044-208 884 0476 Kerk Hardop, Netherlands Marleen Wijdeveld, President Isaac Wüst, Editor-in-Chief0031-20-441.3339
National Coalition of American Nuns, USAContact: Donna Quinn Noi Siamo Chiesa (Italian Section of IMWAC), ItalyContact: Vi
ttorio Bellavite
Nous sommes Aussi l'Eglise, FranceLucienne Gouguenhem,
Vice-President33 1 45 88 04 92
Pax Christi Maine, USABill Slavick, Coordinator 207-773-6562
RAPPORT, USAConatct: Gloria Ulterino
Roman Catholic Faith Community Council of the Federation of Christian Ministries William J. Manseau, Evelyn Hunt, and Thomas Quinn, Co-Chairs 603-886-7158
Roman Catholic Women Priests, Europe-West.
I. Riedl, Coordinator 0049-089 845 830
Roman Catholic Womenpriests-USA, Inc
Contact: Alice Iaquinta 414-791-9952
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), USA
Mary E. Hunt and Diann L. Neu, Co-directors 301 589-2509
Women's Ordination Conference, USA
Erin Saiz Hanna, Executive Director202-675-1006
WomenPriests.Org, International
Therese Koturbash, Coordinator+44 (0)1923 779 446

Excellent statement above! The Vatican's credibility has sunk to a new low in categorizing women's ordination as a "crime" against the sacraments. This Vatican action is yet another example of Vatican's hostility toward women's equality in the church. Women who preside at sacraments are leading the church into its future and reclaiming our ancient heritage where women ministered in ordained leadership.
Womenpriests are part of the solution to the worldwide sex abuse scandal, not the problem. If the hierarchy had listened to women in the church, they would not have covered up such heinous crimes that hurt children and youth. Can you imagine mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts protecting Our ministry is not a crime against the sacraments but a gift of service to the church we love. Womenpriests bring a renewed priestly ministry in a people-empowered, inclusive Catholic Church. Perhaps, this is why the Vatican reacted so negatively. They are in panic mode because the renewal of the church is already happening in grassroots communities, and womenpriests are partners and equals with the people in these communities.
The clerical abuse of power is at the heart of the downfall of the institutional church in the current global sex abuse crisis. This closed, secretive system covered up crimes of rape and sodomy, crimes that destroyed the lives of thousands of victims. This clerical abuse of power by the Catholic hierarchy is the the systemic sin, the "crime" that needs to be named and changed if the institutional church is to move forward and do justice for survivors. Bridget Mary Meehan

"Vatican Revises Abuse Process, but Causes Stir" NY Times

"Vatican Revises Abuse Process, but Causes Stir"
Rachel Donadio
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/world/europe/16vatican.html?_r=1&src=me

“I think they see us as their worst nightmare and they’re doing as much as they can to stop it,” said Bridget Mary Meehan, one of five American women who say they have been ordained as bishops as part of a tiny movement of women in Europe and the United States who claim to have been ordained as bishops, priests and deacons.

The movement, called Roman Catholic Womenpriests, now claims that 100 women have been given ordination ceremonies as priests, deacons or bishops, and 75 of those are Americans, Ms. Meehan said.

"Vatican Sets New Rules on Responding to Sex Abuse" New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/world/europe/16vatican.html
By Rachel Donadio

"But in a move that infuriated victims’ groups and put United States bishops on the defensive, it also codified “the attempted ordination of women” to the priesthood as one of the church’s most grave crimes, along with heresy, schism and pedophilia."

Monsignor Scicluna also attempted to blunt the impact of the Vatican’s linking of the attempted ordination of women with grave crimes like pedophilia.

“Sexual abuse and pornography are more grave dealings, they are an egregious violation of moral law,” he said. “Attempted ordination of women is grave, but on another level; it is a wound that is an attempt against the Catholic faith on the sacramental orders...”

For more than two decades, polls have showed that large majorities of American Catholics favor allowing women to be ordained as priests. The latest poll of American Catholics by The New York Times and CBS News, released in May, showed that 59 percent favored ordaining women, while 33 percent were opposed."Laurie Goodstein contributed reporting from New York.

The Vatican's classification of the ordination of women priests as a "crime against the sacraments" is an insult to all women who are created in the image of God. Womenpriests are not criminals, but prophets disobeying an unjust law that discriminates against women. This decree by an all-male hierarchy reflects Vatican misogyny and hostility to women priests who are ministering effectively in inclusive, vibrant grassroots communities. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are the Vatican's worst nightmare because we are gaining support among God's people and leading the church into a new era of justice and equality for women in the church. Shame on the Vatican for linking the ordination of womenpriests with grave crimes like pedophilia. This is a scandal that would make Jesus weep. Bridget Mary Meehan

Vatican:Ordination of Women a Grave Crime-Roman Catholic Womenpriests Respond With Demand for Justice for Women in the Church

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From Roman Catholic Womenpriests: (Media Committee)
Contact: Bridget Mary Meehan 703-505-0004

EMAIL
Press Release: July 15, 2010

Vatican: Ordination of Women a Grave Crime - Roman Catholic Womenpriests Respond with demand for Justice for Women in the Church and for Survivors of Sexual Abuse

The ordination of women appeared on the list of most serious crimes against Roman Catholic canon law, or "delicta graviora" – putting it in the same category as sexual abuse of children by priests - according to Vatican Information Service http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2010/07/publication-of-cdf-norms-on-most.html .

Roman Catholic Womenpriests respond to the Vatican’s equating women’s ordination with pedophilia by priests, by demanding the Vatican affirm women's full equality in the church including priestly ministry.

We demand an end to misogyny in the Catholic Church.

We demand that the Vatican adopt reforms to transform church laws and practices to reflect transparency, accountability, justice and equality for all.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests believe that the document from the Vatican is intended to specifically scare off male priests who choose to walk in solidarity with us for justice for women in our church. Priests like Roy Bourgeois, Maryknoll priest of 38 years, founder of the School of the Americas Watch and 2010 nominee for the Nobel Prize for Peace. Bourgeois participated in the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska in Lexington, Kentucky, on Aug. 9, 2008.

We are welcomed with open arms and hearts by the people at the grassroots of the church. Yet, our brother priests- the Vatican’s all-male hierarchy- in May 2008, declared that we and the person ordaining us would be self-excommunicating ourselves. The Vatican has also said that anyone who attends ordinations would be excommunicated. That threat has not deterred the faithful who come in droves to Roman Catholic women’s ordinations all over the United States. Roman Catholic Womenpriests numbers have erupted from seven to over 100 in the last eight years since the first ordination in 2002 on the Danube in Europe. The Vatican continues to respond to women’s ordinations with condemnation of everyone who supports the movement for women priests within the Catholic Church. However, Womenpriests are being supported widely by the hundreds of Catholics attending every public ordination.

Instead of excommunications and condemnations, the Vatican would do well to correct the damaging behaviors of patriarchy, the abuse of spiritual power. We suggest that the Vatican begin true renewal of itself by ending clergy abuses of power of all kinds towards nuns, women priests, and lay women in the Church who have been oppressed and exploited for millennia. As with those who have survived the sexual abuse of clergy, these women are likewise victims of the abuse of clerical power.

RCWP has asked the member states of the United Nations to support us in our quest for and for women within the Roman Catholic Church and for justice for victims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse. It is unjust and discriminatory that the males at the Vatican continue to deny us employment and decision-making within the Roman Catholic Church. This behavior is a violation of international law, our human rights, the example of Jesus and the integrity of conscience.

Judy Lee, RCWP, Shares Vision of Renewed Priestly Ministry in South America

Roman Catholic Womanpriest Judy Lee (on right)
prays with women in South America







RCWP Judy Lee is blessed by and prays with
members of community in South America



Judy Lee celebrates liturgy in South America --
dialogue homily in Spanish features sharing on
Bishop Oscar Romero and Healing Prayer

"Sex Abuse and Women's Ordination?" by Bryan Coynes/ US Catholic

http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2010/07/sex-abuse-and-womens-ordination#comment-13482

"Why is that bad? First, the "attempted ordination of women" already brings with it automatic excommunication, so making it one of the "delicta graviora" is redundant. Second, it conflates two completely separate issues, and in effect, or at least in the minds of many people who will read the news, seems to equate the "attempted ordination of women" with the rape and torture of children. "

"Quite frankly, it is an outrage to pair the two, a complete injustice to connect the aspirations of some women among the baptized to ordained ministry with what are some of the worst crimes that can be committed against the least of Christ's members. "

"Furthermore, if I were a member or supporter of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement, I would be opening a bottle of champagne right now. The Vatican has in effect given legitimacy and momentum to what is still an incredibly tiny movement with this clumsy legal manuver, tantamount to the United States dropping a nuclear weapon on Luxembourg--only more ridiculous because this will do absolutely no damage to women's ordination movement. It is more like a gift. None of those women are afraid of excommunication any longer; indeed, it is now the Vatican that appears fearful. "