From: Association of
Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP)
Release date: January 2,
2014
Women Priests Are Asking the
Deep Questions Pope Francis Says Women Must Address
Contact:
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, D. Min., (Media)
rhythmsofthedance@gmail.com, 859-684-4247
Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan,
sofiabmm@aol.com, 703-505-0004
See: arcwp.org
Celebration of Priestly
Ordination for:
Maureen McGill of St.
Petersburg, FL mmcgill19@tampabay.rr.com 850-572-5413
Marina Teresa Sanchez Mejia
of Colombia, South America
(Spanish only)
smarinateresa@yahoo.com.co 315-534-8244
Celebration of Ordination to
the Diaconate for:
Mary Bergan Blanchard of
Albuquerque, New Mexico
maryberganblanchard@gmail.com 505-857-9288
Rita Lucey of Orlando, FL
rluceyis@gmail.com 407-690-3293
As Pope Francis said in a
recent interview in La Civilita Catolica, “Women are asking deep questions that
must be addressed.”
Our international Women
Priests Movement is asking those deep questions. We are one of the contemporary
prophetic movements of our time. We offer the church a renewed priestly ministry
in union with the people we serve in inclusive, empowered
communities.
As prophets in the community
of the baptized, women priests today are prophets for justice. We are visible
reminders that women are equal images of God. Our ordinations are acts of
justice to move the church to live its mission of human equality as the Body of
Christ on earth.
Churches that treat women as
second-class citizens contradict the Bible that states in Genesis 1:27
“Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them
female and male God made them.”
The Catholic Church must
break free of machismo and affirm women’s sacredness and full participation as
partners in ministry, including ordination.
On Saturday, January 18,
2014 at 2 p.m. Maureen McGill (St. Petersburg, FL) and Marina Teresa Sanchez
Majia (Cali, Colombia, SA) will be ordained priests in the Association of Roman
Catholic Women Priests. Mary Bergan Blanchard (Albuquerque, NM) and Rita Lucey
(Orlando, FL) will be ordained deacons. The presiding bishop will be Bridget
Mary Meehan of Sarasota, FL. The ceremony will take place at St. Andrew United
Church of Christ, 6908 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL 34238. Because
Marina Teresa is from Colombia and speaks Spanish, part of the ordination rite
will be in Spanish. All are welcome.
Media are invited to
interview these women by email or phone. Respectful filming/photo-taking during
the ceremony is acceptable.
The candidates are
theologically prepared and have many years of experience in ministry.
Maureen McGill is a wife,
mother, grandmother and retired attorney in St. Petersburg. She spent most of
her professional career advocating for abused and neglected children as Director
of the Guardian ad Litem Program in Northwest Florida. “My call to priestly
ministry arose from those years,” she said. “Women experience similar abuse and
neglect in the church today. My call to priesthood will include advocacy to give
women their rightful equality in the church. “ Maureen will lead inclusive
liturgies at Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community in Sarasota and
provide pastoral care for residents of nursing homes in St.
Petersburg.
Marina Teresa Sanchez Mejia
is a dynamic community activist and married woman with two sons and a
granddaughter. She has pursued the cause of human rights, justice
for women and for Colombians of African descent her whole life. In the 1990s she
participated in global women’s conferences in Brazil, Vienna and Beijing. She
has worked with local priests in base communities and was a missionary to
Ecuador for three years where she studied Theology and served women and children
and the outcast. Since 2005, she has animated, represented and served the large
community of Afro-Colombians near Playa Reciente, near the Cauco River in
Cali.
"Mary Bergan Blanchard is a widow, mother, step-mother, grandmother, teacher,
writer and a practicing Licensed Professional Counselor. Her early years were
spent as a Sister of Mercy, where she taught in diocesan schools and spent one
year on mission in Lebanon working in a Palestinian camp. She left the Order to
teach the disadvantaged in Boston where she wrote and received three federal
grants promoting racial integration and began a neighborhood group in
Roxbury involving teachers and parents desiring to promote social justice. As a
special educator and school psychologist, she developed the first language
curriculum for Early Childhood Education in Boston. She married a widower with
five children and had a son of her own. After retiring, Mary and her family
moved to Albuquerque where she was employed for twenty years as an LPC by the
Risen Savior Catholic Community. Her mission will be nurturing spiritual life by
developing liturgies for inclusive home church celebrations. Mary sums it up: "I've led
a long and full life."
Rita Lucey of Orlando, a
member of Pax Christi, has been married for 61 years and is a human rights
activist who spent six months in federal prison to close the U.S. Army School of
the Americas. Because of her witness for justice issues and her experience in
prison she has advocated for women in prison and has also served as a Hospice
Volunteer for 25 years.
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