Pastors Judy Lee, ARCWP and Judy Beaumont, ARCWP Celebrate Marcella's 12th Birthday at Naples' Zoo in Florida

http://judyabl.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/happy-birthday…m-the-giraffes/

"...The excitement at seeing the alligators and snakes, the bears and the impalas,the kebu and the anteater and especially the lion and lioness whom they dubbed Nala and Simba was contagious. But the highlight of the day was the boat ride around “Lake Victoria” seeing the monkeys, apes and gibbons in their own island habitats, and the lemurs being fed at snack feeding time. Gaspare and Eric loved feeding the giraffe but Marcella enjoyed watching this from a bit of a distance.  The way the giraffes bent down and waved their necks made us think they were singing Happy Birthday to her. The barn owls and the sloth hanging around the neck of its trainer and the Gila Monster whose venom is helping people with Diabetes II and cancer were also highlights of the day. Letting off steam in the playground was another fun time. This was such a joyful time with the animals and her friend Eric and her family and pastors, that I think she will remember her twelfth birthday for a long time. that is if she doesn’t get sick from ordering and eating 5 chicken pieces, one carmel shake,curly fries, and one chocolate turnover at Arbys."
Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP
Good Shepherd Catholic Community, Ft. Myers, Fl.

Faithful Filibuster to Speak God's Justice for the Poor"/Sojouners/Jim Wallis

"It’s time to end this shutdown. I’m standing in full view of the Capitol Building with a group of clergy and faith leaders who are here to offer a “Faithful Filibuster” of the government shutdown – and we’re going to keep talking until things change.
We know that this shutdown disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in our society. So our words will not be wasted diatribes or placements of blame. Rather, we will use God’s own words – reading the more than 2,000 Bible verses that speak to God’s justice for the poor and vulnerable – until this shutdown ends.
And while we recite the verses to bear witness for those suffering, we want to make sure that every single member of Congress can read them too. It is our goal to send each member a copy of the Poverty and Justice Bible, which highlights each of those 2,000 verses. Our elected officials need this reminder now more than ever."

"We need your help to make this happen! Will you chip in $25 to sponsor a Bible for a member of Congress? We’ll include your message of why they should pay attention to what God says about justice for the poor and vulnerable.
Our nation can have a brighter future for all of its people – a vision that cannot become a reality as long as Congress remains gridlocked on the budget.
After these 2,000 verses are read, we’re going to keep talking. We’re going to keep sharing God’s message of good news for the poor to help our elected officials rediscover the vision of the “common good.” We’re going to keep talking whenever Congress is in session until this shutdown ends.
I look forward to reading my portion of the 2,000 verses today. I believe in a God of justice who looks out for the poor and vulnerable in our society, and I am eager to stand with fellow faith leaders to share this conviction. Our “Faithful Filibuster” will remind members of Congress that its dysfunction hurts people and that it is biblically imperative that they function to serve the most vulnerable. Will you join us in this work? 
Our members of Congress will hear this message over and over again in the coming days as we keep faithful vigil over the Capitol and the work within. 
Accompany us in this work by following #FaithfulFilibuster on social media and offering your own messages, verses, and prayers."
Jim Wallis is president of Sojourners. His book, On God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good, is now available. Watch the Story of the Common Good HERE. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.    

	E-mail this article to friends
	Share this article on Facebook
	Comment on this article on the God's Politics Blog

"The State of the Peace Movement Today" Mary Ann McGivern/National Catholic Reporter

http://ncronline.org/print/blogs/ncr-today/state-peace-movement-today
..."The work continues when Michelle Alexander writes The New Jim Crow [3]; the War Resisters League and the Friends Committee for National Legislation publish charts showing the enormity of military spending; and shareholders submit resolutions calling for corporate transparency...Where's the "Catholic" in all this? I suspect some of the bishops' complaint against the sisters is exactly that we haven't been "Catholic" enough, and besides, without habits we've been invisible to people we aren't harassing. It might help if bishops campaigned against the use of force by men the way they have campaigned against abortion, a women's issue. But the poor have paid a heavy price for the bishops' siding with the Republicans, and I think Catholics have paid a heavy price too. A final note: The Catholic Worker is thriving. It's not "Catholic" and it's too white, but across the country, men and women in their 20s and 30s are feeding the hungry, protesting war and resisting taxes. Dorothy Day always called the Worker a school. Graduates are pouring out to challenge the system every year."

Roman Catholic Woman Priest, Debra Meyers Fights Inequity In and Out of Classroom

http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2013/10/10/priest-fights-inequity-in-and-out-of-classroom/

..."Meyers has a Ph.D. in history and women’s studies and a

master’s degree in religious studies.

She began teaching at NKU in 2001, and currently teaches

women’s studies and history.

 The potential inclusion of women in the Catholic priesthood is
raising controversy in the Catholic Church and the world at
large. On NKU’s campus, Meyers has
advocated for equality through both action and words...
 Meyers was ordained in May of 2013 as the first female
 Catholic priest in the Cincinnati area and the second in the state
 of Kentucky. Though the ordination — and other ordinations
like it — are opposed and not officially recognized by the Vatican,
those in favor of female ordination within the church are fighting
 for change. Even though they are not recognized by the
Roman Catholic Church, they are recognized by the
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.

 

Though her interest in both religious studies and gender inequity

 have been long-standing, Meyers began her higher education with a different goal in mind.

After graduating high school, she attended a community college

and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. She worked in

the field for several years before the birth of her children, after

which she went back to school and earned a bachelor’s degree

in history, initially planning to teach at the high school level.

She went on instead to earn a Ph.D in the field.

 

“I landed a position at Ohio State—or, the Ohio State, as

they insisted we call it, but I wasn’t really happy about the

 emphasis on sports and that kind of thing,” Meyers said.

 “When the job opened up here I jumped at the chance.”

 

Meyers said working in an environment in which feminism was

discussed, contributed to her current focus on inequity within the Catholic Church and the

world at large. She described her ministry as “inclusive” and

particularly concerned with social justice regarding women

and children.

“I came from a family that was on the border of poverty and

I know how hard it is for people to struggle to get out of that,”

Meyers said. She said these experiences influenced her

current goals centered on social justice for women and

children in particular.

“I know how important education is in that process of breaking

out of that cycle of poverty,” Meyers said. “I have always spent

much of my time helping women to do those kinds of things.”

 Meyers recently led a lecture and discussion entitled
“Breaking the Holy Glass Ceiling”, one of the Democracy Square
 Live discussions with the help of Roy Bourgeois, a laicized—
or withdrawn from his position— Roman Catholic priest.
 In addition to her job at NKU, she serves as a priest at the

Resurrection Community of Cincinnati.

She celebrates the Catholic mass at two main locations, Christ

Church in FortThomas and Our Lady of Peace in Cincinnati.

 Meyers said community reaction to her ordination has been
overwhelmingly positive. She described her first experience as a
priest celebrating mass as both “natural” in feeling
and an act she felt sure would serve the community well.
“It certainly wasn’t terrifying,” Meyers said. “Mostly because
 I’ve been preparing for this my whole life….I feel I am where
I’m meant to be.”
- See more at: http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2013/10/10/priest-fights-inequity-in-and-out-of-classroom/#sthash.2FSjtHik.dpuf

Inclusive Catholic Church in N. Kentucky and Cincinnati with Pastor Debra Meyers, ARCWP

http://www.inclusivecatholicchurch.com/

Inclusive Catholic Church
Pastor Debra Meyers revdebrameyers@gmail.com

Be the MOVE in movement.  BE God's living passion for justice, equality and peace. 
Become a member of an INCLUSIVE Catholic community that welcomes all and promotes the liberation of God's people.

Here at Inclusive Catholic Church, we are committed to serving God and the needs of you and your family. We welcome everyone at the Eucharistic table and offer all sacraments to everyone.
Wherever you may be on your spiritual path, you will find a supportive community at Inclusive Catholic Church.
We aspire to strengthen each person's confidence and joy in Jesus Christ - at every point in their life, and encourage personal and spiritual growth through prayer and active service. 
We celebrate Mass at the following greater Cincinnati locations:
Fort Thomas, Kentucky Mass is held the third Tuesday of the month from 7-8pm at Christ Church 15 S. Fort Thomas Ave.
Westside Mass held the first Wednesday of the month from 7-8pm at Our Lady of Peace Church 119 Wocher Ave off of River Rd. in Cincinnati.

Worship Services

Weddings & Baptisms

Funerals

http://www.inclusivecatholicchurch.com/

"Shadowing our Women Priests on a Day of Pastoral Visits" by Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP

"We began this day with a prayer for grace. As we prepared to visit Allan, who is fifty-six, in Hospice first, we prayed that we might know how to be there for him. We were told that he would not rise out of this bed. We did not know how we would find him. We have known Allan since the beginning of our Church in the Park ministry in 2007. He was one who dropped in on his own schedule when we were outside and when we moved to Church in the House too in 2009. Tall and artistic he had painted houses and the fumes had taken its toll on his lungs even then,  Still it was a struggle to help him get SSI Disability as he hated going to Doctors. (Finally with lawyers he was successful and he was proud to own a little trailer of his own).  He is known for his Hawaiian shirts so we brought him one to drape over his bed along with a little bear bearing a heart that said I Love You. 

Allan was in quiet reverie as his eyes fixed on the TV with a poor and faded picture. He looked up, focused and was so pleased to see us. He loved the bear and gave us a big smile. He liked it even better when we produced the trademark Hawaiian shirt and draped it over him. He began slowly to come alive and was happy to share that his son had come from California to see him and his ex-wife and step daughter were regular visitors along with his best friend, Dan. This meant so much as he has been estranged from his family.  He liked Hospice better than the hospital, and he was feeling comfortable. But, said he was praying to get up and walk again so he could go home. He admitted that it was very painful to get up so he didn’t think it would be soon,maybe “in a while”. In the meantime he was thankful for being comfortable and having people who care about him. He shared that in addition to the COPD, he also had cancer.  They “got it”  but he was unable to continue with radiation.  He became more and more animated as we talked. He even asked us to fix the TV picture so he could actually see it. We did and he was amazed at the brilliant colors.  He said that he still loves colors. This is Allan sporting his Hawaiian shirt. 

When we asked Allan if he would like to be anointed he said “Oh, yes. My Grandma raised me in the church and I would like the rites.” The peace of our God be with you, Allan”. “And also with you” ,he replied. He also knew the reading from James: “Are there people sick among you: Let them send for the priests of the Church,and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil…” “That is why I called for you”, Allan interjected. He listened carefully at every word of the rite. My heart was moved as he offered his thin hands for the anointing as well. He joined Pastor Judy Beaumont and I in the prayer of Jesus and said every word with meaning.  He nodded his head and smiled when we shared the words of the prayer after anointing that end in “and when alone, assure him of the support of your holy people”. He said “That is good!” We assured Allan that we would come again and keep him in our prayers.  We ended with a prayer that he be surrounded by God’s love and protection and Allan said a big “Amen!”
Pastor Judy Beaumont and a peaceful Allan
As our last two in hospice Anointings were when death was imminent and last rites were appropriate, we were thankful that Allan was so well able to  respond and gain a bit of life and strength from the healing Rite and our time together.
We then went to visit Mike who is also fifty-six and has COPD. We knew Mike from the beginning of our ministry with the homeless as well. He had lived in our transitional facility and was housed since 2009.  Mike was finally home after three life threatening hospitalizations. We had anointed him at the hospital. We were so glad to see him doing so much better and taking hold of life once again. This is Mike and one of his cats. His love for them motivates him. Our gift to Mike was cat food as well as cookies for himself. He is happy to be able to eat again.

Mike is presently homebound and this is hard for him as he likes to go to church and he likes talking with people. He shared how much he enjoys visits from his friends who are ‘snowbirds’ and will return soon. We shared his health concerns, his recently successful battle with alcohol,his family joys and concerns, and his worries. We helped him fill out paperwork for rides to the Doctor’s office.We also shared his joys at getting better finally.  He was happy to be anointed and participated fully. He likes to pray and was at peace as we left.
C
When we left Michael we met Len at the bus station to buy him a ticket home to another part of Florida. Len has been housed since March 2013 but has recently been struggling with mental health issues that pull him back to the streets. By the grace of God he is now ready to get help for those issues and to return home so he does not lose his housing. He will be going home on his fifty-seventh Birthday. He was thankful for the ticket and for a Birthday card and gifts.
Then we went to visit Shawn and his family. Shawn is a young adult, twenty-two years old, that we knew from our pastoral work before we started the Church. There are now sixteen members of his family that now attend our church as he does. We visited him as,due to gum disease, he is going to have all of his teeth pulled tomorrow and he felt frightened and depressed. As he had trouble eating and felt weak, we also brought him an MD prescribed protein shake and blender so he could survive without chewing.  He had shared his lowering self esteem because of the removal of his teeth as a major source of depression.  We gave him a beautiful new shirt to wear as he felt better and his family told him how handsome he would look in it. This brought the first smiles in days. We prayed with him and promised to be with him throughout this trial. 

We then enjoyed some play time with his younger cousins who also attend our church.
Fortified by the love of this wonderful family, we then visited two more families. 
We visited Jane and her two adult sons. Jane is an elderly woman who has many painful illnesses. She was feeling better after her new Doctor tried a new medication and she was planning a little vacation. She was nervous about leaving home and shared her hopes and her anxieties. We have known Jane for about thirteen years through our earlier Mission parish work. She was happy to pray with us and asked our blessing on herself and her sons.
We ended the day with visiting Roger who was the first man we had prayed with during our street ministry. He has had some troubles lately and was glad to have us visit. He wanted to assure us that he has to miss church sometimes but he is living as Christ wants him to live.  He is sharing his goods and gifts with his neighbors and is praying always. We blessed Roger and received his blessing and our day of pastoral visits was ended.  
Thanks be to God for this day of blessings!"
Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP
Co-Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd
Fort Myers, Florida
10/9/13

Like Loading...

Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary time for Holy Spirit Catholic Community by Rev. Beverly Bingle, RCWP

Naaman is healed in Israel
and so concludes that God is in Israel.
So he asks to take muleloads of dirt with him back to Syria
to make it holy ground.
The tenth leper is made clean
and so heads off to find a priest
but doesn’t know whether to go to the temple in Jerusalem
or the temple in Gerazim in Samaria.
So he goes back to thank Jesus.
__________________________________
These foreigners have it right.
They experience healing.
They know that it transcends—goes above and beyond—
anything they have ever thought or experienced before.
It’s a faith experience.
So they think about it.
They examine the facts.
They look at the reality around them.
And they place their faith in their own experience,
and act on it.
__________________________________
That’s pure theology:
First, an experience.
Then, believing that the experience is real.
Thinking about it and trying to understand what it means.
__________________________________
These readings today reverberate in our own lives.
Each of us has been, at some time—maybe even yet and still—
in some way one of the outsiders, one of the foreigners,
one of those in need of healing.
Syrians and Samaritans and Paul in chains—they’re outsiders.
Sunni and Shiite, Israeli and Palestinian—outsiders.
Gays and straights, the clean and the addicted,
blacks and reds and yellows and browns and whites.
They are “other,” and we don’t trust them.
They’re homeless.
They have B.O., filthy clothes, scraggly beards.
They look desperate,
like they’re ready to pounce and rob you.
No matter that they don’t have an address
so they can’t get mail or apply for a job
or wash their clothes or take a shower.
They might even be HIV-positive,
so you don’t even want to shake hands with them
or touch a doorknob after they do. .
________________________________________
But the scriptures teach us what to do with outsiders.
Elisha, the prophet of God, reached out to Naaman
and sent him to wash in the healing waters of the Jordan.
Jesus reached out to the lepers
and sent them to the priests to be certified clean.
Elisha and Jesus did not hesitate to reach out,
to act in compassion and kindness.
There wasn’t a whisper of judgment in their treatment,
only kindness and caring and concern.
________________________________________
And these foreigners, these outsiders, are changed forever.
They have experienced God,
and not just as a healer.
They have experienced God
in the one who embraces the outsider.
They have experienced God
as one who goes beyond all the limits
of nation and culture and religion.
The experience catapults them into faith.
They believe in the God who has touched them.
________________________________________
And so they respond.
Naaman wants to give a gift, but Elisha won’t take it.
So he asks for enough dirt to take along
so that he can have holy ground to pray on,
enough so he can stay in touch
with the God who has made him whole.
The cured leper returns to Jesus to give thanks,
and Jesus tells him it’s faith that has saved him.
Even though a Samaritan,
the leper had believed the word of a Jew
that he was healed.
The leper realizes that God is not in the temple,
neither in Gerazim in Samaria nor in Jerusalem in Israel.
God is in the loving acceptance of another human being.
________________________________________
The first Christians were not sure
about how far to take this inclusive love
that they had seen in Jesus.
Jesus was a Jew.
They were Jews.
What would an outsider have to do to follow Jesus?
Would the outsider have to become Jewish?
Be circumcised?
Follow the dietary restrictions?
The early Christian community struggled with those questions
and eventually opened their hearts to the outsiders
in the way Jesus had shown them.
________________________________________
Every once in a while I hear someone talk
about the deserving poor… and the undeserving poor.
I’ll give someone a dollar for the bus,
and someone will see it
and tell me not to give that person anything
because he already gets $350 a month disability check.
Or because she spent 18 months in Stryker for prostitution.
Or because he’s a transvestite.
Or a Muslim.
Or whatever, just different.
One of those people.
Not us.
________________________________________
But they are us.
We are all different,
all on the margins at one time or another,
for one reason or another.
So we all have a responsibility
to end the marginalization of people
who are out there right now.
________________________________________
This year,
50 years after Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech,
racism still exists in America.
A coalition of Toledoans,
with funding from the Toledo Blade and the Anderson family,
is working to change minds about people who are “other.”
One of the projects they have put together
is called “Be Kind to a Different Race Month.”
There are details about it in today’s bulletin.
Anyone who volunteers is asked
to take on a project or do an act of kindness
for someone of a different race, 10 times in October.
They give the person a “Combating Racism” card
explaining the effort.
Some of the suggested random kindnesses are
paying for someone’s groceries, raking leaves, mowing a lawn,
handing a person a gift card,
putting change in a parking meter, walking a dog,
visiting someone in the hospital,
hauling in someone’s garbage cans,
I signed up.
As a white person, I’m part of the privileged majority here.
I’m going to keep my eyes open
for people of color who are living on the margins,
and I’m going to go out of my way to be kind.
Some people won’t want my help and will walk away.
Some may even get angry at me, or try to take advantage of me.
No doubt I’ll end up helping someone who didn’t need it.
And that’s all okay.
The person I’m really working on
is me.
I hope to be a better person by the time November rolls around.
More aware of discrimination.
More caring, more compassionate.
More sensitive to people who are different from me.
More like Jesus.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Mass at 2086 Brookdale (Interfaith Chapel):
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 9 a.m.
Mass at 3535 Executive Parkway (Unity of Toledo)
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Bev Bingle, Pastor

Sign Letter to Congress: "There is nothing Christian about taking food from poor"/End the Government Shutdown Now!

Dear Faithful America member,

Stung by the outcry against their pointless political stunt, House Republicans are now desperately trying to reopen the Smithsonian and our national parks.

But these politicians, who got elected by calling themselves pro-life Christians, continue to take food out of the mouths of hungry babies, force poor parents to miss work because child care is shut down, and even jeopardize military death benefits for widows and orphans.

If this reckless bunch spent more time with their bibles and less time scheming to keep people from getting health insurance, they might have noticed James 1:27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.”

This time, let's not let them get away with wrapping themselves up in the Bible while ignoring its contents. A diverse group of Christian leaders including Jim Wallis from Sojourners, Sister Simone Campbell of the Nuns on the Bus, and two former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican just released a powerful statement condemning those perpetuating the shutdown, saying "There is nothing “pro-life” or Christian about taking food away from pregnant women and babies."

If we all add our names to their statement, we can make sure it gets seen far and wide — and the members of Congress who call themselves Christians may finally have to start answering for their deeply unchristian behavior.

Add your name: Tell pro-life House members: There is nothing Christian about taking food from the poor

Thanks! 

-- Michael and Aaron

For more information: 

"Government shutdown: Forget the parks. Children, parents, spouses hit," LA Times, October 2, 2013

"Faith leaders challenge pro-life representatives to end shutdown," Faith in Public Life, October 3, 2013

Homily for 27th Sunday for Holy Spirit Community by Rev. Beverly Bingle, RCWP

Increase our faith, the disciples ask.
So Jesus tells them that,
with faith the size of a mustard seed,
they could order a mulberry tree to leap into the sea…
and it would.
Imagine that!
A huge, deep-rooted tree pulled up and thrown away.
According to Dr. Javier Provencio,
director of the neurological ICU at the Cleveland Clinic,
most people can lift six to seven times their body weight,
but they don’t do it
because of fear, fatigue, and pain.
So we hear of folks who—
because they believe
that someone will die unless they take action—
lift cars off people pinned under them.
They are convinced that the situation is life-threatening.
So they act in spite of their fear, fatigue, pain.
Jesus had no doubt seen people doing extraordinary things,
and he saw beyond that
to observe that belief,
when the situation called for action,
would allow his disciples to perform extraordinary feats.
________________________________
And they did.
They went forth—not fearlessly but in spite of fear—
and called others to follow the Way of Jesus.
In spite of the Roman Empire
they called people to pledge allegiance to God above all.
In spite of the greed of the society around them
they called people to be generous to everyone.
In the midst of hate and discrimination and oppression
they called people to love their neighbors
and to love their enemies.
________________________________
These days we wish that our elected Congresspeople
would have enough faith in one another
to uproot a few mulberry trees.
We hear that Representative John Boehner
is going along with the government shutdown
because he fears
that he will lose his position as Speaker of the House.
He doesn’t think the House is acting responsibly,
but he’s afraid.
________________________________
The disciples are following Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.
They don’t understand what he’s about.
They know it’s dangerous.
So they ask for an increase of faith.
Jesus assures them that just a little bit of faith
will allow them to do unexpected things—miracles, even.
Then he tells them, through the story of the dutiful servant,
that those who render unstinting service,
giving themselves completely
to the responsibilities of the tasks they’re given,
without thought of reward,
are in right relationship—the right relationship of justice.
________________________________
So us.
We see a can thrown in a parking lot and pick it up for recycling.
We notice someone with a heavy load and offer to help carry it.
We open doors for folks and let them go ahead of us.
We respond to requests for food, clothing, shelter.
We show up at the school for parents’ night or grandparents’ day.
We send contributions to charities here in town
and around the world.
We listen when hurting people need to talk.
We walk along the Way,
doing every task that comes to us to the best we can,
and when we’re done with the day
we look back and see
that we have simply done what we were supposed to do…
we have followed Christ.
And in doing so we’d be doing nothing out of the ordinary—
just our ordinary duty as ordinary Christians...
just turning our world into the kin-dom of God.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Mass at 2086 Brookdale (Interfaith Chapel):
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 9 a.m.
Mass at 3535 Executive Parkway (Unity of Toledo)
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Bev Bingle, Pastor
419-727-1774

"Women Are Key To Pope’s Reforms" by James Carroll

      http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/09/29/pope-francis-must-create-church-equality-for-women/wdCYG2KtPJhXHw5dEEk36O/story.html
",,,The positive reception to Pope Francis from all quarters is itself almost as astounding as the man himself. A kind of global sigh of relief has greeted his humane and kindly manner, a signal that the human family, even in a secular age, longs for a rescue of transcendent value. The Catholic Church, for all of its problems, and if only because of its history as a pillar of Western culture, remains a universal object of fascination. When James Joyce described Catholicism as “here comes everybody,” he forecast the way everybody seems relieved to have such a man at the pinnacle of religious influence...",,,:The church of justice for the poor must be the church of equality for women — inside the church as well as out. There is no other way. Thus, it matters less whether Pope Francis at present favors the ordination of women than that he has already launched a historical process that makes it all but certain. Other reforms will follow. Style influences substance, and attitude influences everything..."
Bridget Mary's Response:
James Carroll is right. This is why the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a "holy shakeup." Justice for the poor and justice for women in the church is constitutive to the Gospel today. We are leading the church into its future by living Gospel equality now.
The Roman Catholic Church must follow Jesus' example and treat women as spiritual equals in all areas of church life including the call to priestly ministry. There should not be seven sacraments for men and six for women. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org, sofiabmm@aol.com