Historic 2nd Ordination in Lexington, KY. - Donna Rougeux to be ordained a Roman Catholic Woman Priest

Donna Rougeux at the Vatican (second from left in alb and deacon stole) joined Fr. Roy Bourgeois, middle, Janice Sevre Duszynska, right, Ree Hudson, behind Fr. Roy and Erin Hanna from WOC on far left)

Press Release date:  May 9, 2012

Contact:  Janice Sevre-Duszynska, 859-684-4247, rhythmsofthedance@gmail.com

Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan, 703-505-0004, sofiabmm@aol.com

Donna Rougeux, 859-221-3082, dlrougeux@insightbb.com

See: http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/

On Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. Donna Rougeux of Lexington, Kentucky will be ordained a priest in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.  The presiding bishop will be Bridget Mary Meehan of Falls Church, Virginia and Sarasota, Florida. The ceremony will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, 3564 Clays Mill Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503. 

As a pre-ordination event, on Saturday, June 2 at 10 a.m. "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican" will be shown at the Kentucky Theater, 214 East Main Street, Lexington 40507. The 58-minute documentary by filmmaker Jules Hart is the story of the justice struggle for ordination for women in the Roman Catholic Church. Tickets are $10 at the door. A Q/A will follow.

All are welcome to the ordination and pre-ordination screening.

Media are invited to a pre-ordination press conference on Saturday, June 9, at 1:30 p.m. at the church with the candidate and Bridget Mary Meehan. Call Janice (859-684-4247) to schedule an interview. 

The ordinand is theologically prepared and has many years of experience in ministry.  

Donna LeMaster Rougeux graduated from Lexington Theological Seminary in 2009 with a Masters in Pastoral Studies. She completed a residency with Hospice of the Bluegrass in 2010, earning four units of Clinical Pastoral Education. She has worked as a Hospice chaplain since she finished the residency and plans on becoming a certified chaplain. Donna is married and has three teenagers.

"I am so thankful that God has called me to work for reform in the Roman Catholic Church. I hope that my daughters, granddaughters and all women will be forever changed and affirmed to follow God's call because of the work that this movement has done and will do in challenging the Church to be the Kin-dom on Earth."

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests rejoices in a “holy shakeup” that millions of Catholics worldwide welcome. The good news now is that male priests, bishops, a cardinal as well as theologians have expressed their support of female priests. They are following in the footsteps of Maryknoll Roy Bourgeois whose prophetic call for a dialogue on women priests is being heard in more and more places today in our Church.

“Nothing can stop the movement of the spirit toward human rights, justice and equality in our world and in our Church,” said Bridget Mary Meehan. “The full equality of women is the voice of God in our time.”

ARCWP celebrates the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the nearly 60,000 women religious they represent in the United States. We reject the unjust, bullying behavior of the scandal-ridden Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who has ordered the LCWR to reform itself more closely to "the teachings and discipline of the Church." It is the corrupt hierarchy, who has spent billions of dollars and devastated the lives of thousands of youth in the sexual abuse crisis that needs reform, not the dedicated nuns in the U.S. Now is the time for the LCWR to speak truth to power. Declare a nuns' emancipation proclamation from Vatican control. Challenge Vatican misogyny publicly. Affirm primacy of conscience and gender equality including women's ordination.

The Women Priests movement in the Roman Catholic Church advocates a new model of priestly ministry united with the people with whom we minister. We stand in prophetic obedience to Jesus who calls women and men to be disciples and equals. The movement began with the ordination of seven women on the Danube in 2002. Today there are over 130 in the movement worldwide. ARCWP is in the United States and Latin America. Our specific charism within the broader global Roman Catholic Women Priests initiative is to live Gospel equality and justice for women in the Church and in society now. We work in solidarity with the poor and marginalized for transformative justice in partnership with all believers. Our vision is to live as a community of equals in decision making both as an organization and within all our faith communities. We advocate the renewal of the vision of Jesus in the Gospel in our Church and world.