Joan Chittister: Why Maryknoll Should NOT Dismiss Fr. Roy Bourgoeis/ Article NCR

http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/expulsions-religious-orders-family-and-minority-wisdom

Expulsions from religious orders, family, and minority wisdom

by Sister Joan Chittister

"Membership in a religious community is defined by the congregation, its internal structures and admission criteria. Are religious who have given their lives to the needs and works of an order, made public vows to seal the relationship of one to another, and acted within the charism of the congregation at the mercy of outside pressure, after all? How prophetic, how communal is that?
Clearly, if the Vatican feels obliged to punish those who ask questions of present church practice -- as Martin Luther did about the selling of relics and indulgences, for instance -- then the Vatican is perfectly within its right to suspend a priest’s liturgical faculties or limit his public priestly functions. But what does that have to do with his commitment to his religious life?
After all, the Vatican did not expel pedophile priests or abusing bishops from the secular priesthood for violating children. In some cases, in fact, they protected the perpetrators repeatedly and even refused to defrock them -- civil law or no civil law. And are, apparently, doing it even now. Only behavior related to women’s issues, it seems, qualifies for expulsion.
Nor did religious communities routinely expel religious order men who were also pedophiles. Instead, rather than put them on the streets where they could be an even greater danger to children and to themselves, these religious congregations maintained their life-long consecrated commitment to these men, monitored their behavior, and nurtured their recovery within the community itself. "

Bridget Mary's Reflection

Right on Sister Joan! A religious order is one's family, and in this case, Fr. Roy belongs to the family of Maryknoll. Maryknoll should have the courage to stand up to the Vatican's bullying tactics and say "no". They should follow the example of the Benedictines and Mercy Orders who refused to throw out the nuns who had run into trouble with the Vatican over issues of conscience. Fr. Roy Bourgeois has been a faithful member of Maryknoll, now Maryknoll should stand up for him and refus to dismiss him from Maryknoll.
The Vatican and religious orders were in no such rush to throw out the pedophiles. They recycled criminal priests and sent them from parish to parish. So, let's get this straight, the Vatican and religious orders obviously consider the support of women priests a greater crime than pedophila! That brings us to the Vatican decree that was issued in July putting women priests in the same category as pedophiles, which outraged millions of Catholics worldwide. See media coverage of this event. (check blog July 2010) The Vatican is pushing Maryknoll to throw out one of its prophets who consistently raises the issue of sexism in the church citing Jesus' example in the Gospels. Fr. Roy is a prophet and his threatened dismissal from Maryknoll is an outrageous injustice.
Jesus would weep!