On August 13, 2016 the Heart of Compassion International Faith
Community Pastoral Circle was front and centre at the Michigan Call to Action
annual meeting and conference at Nativity Episcopal Church in Bloomfield Twp.
MI. ARCWP bishop Michele Birch-Conery,
priest Barbara Billey and candidate Karen Kerrigan attended with Jeni Marcus,
priest, civil and employee rights attorney, former board member of Michigan
CTA, and Church reformer. The Keynote speaker was School of Americas (SOA) Watch
Founder, peace and women priest advocate, Rev. Roy Bourgeois.
Fr. Roy shared his life journey as a Naval Officer during
the Vietnam War and after participating and viewing its horrors, Roy evolved
into becoming an antiwar and peace activist. He then entered the Maryknoll
Order and became a priest. Because of
his wartime experiences, Roy became acutely aware of the US military- industrial
complex and how it negatively impacted poor people in the United States and
indigenous people throughout the world, especially in Latin America. By
applying concepts from liberation theology, he discovered that many Latin
American oppressive political regimes were responsible for killing and
torturing political dissenters and activists who sent their military officers for
training at Fort Benning Georgia at the SOA. In response, Roy and other peace
activists established the non-profit organization, SOA Watch.
Members of the organization hold antiwar and SOA protests in
front the gates of Fort Benning. In the past several years, Roy and many of his
fellow protesters have been arrested and sent to prison for their activism
including our ARCWP priest, Janice Sevre- Duszynska. It was through these
encounters with Janice, that Roy became aware of the Roman Catholic women priest
movement. Roy’s interest and advocacy for women’s ordination was heightened
after he agreed to concelebrate a Eucharistic liturgy with Janice at her
ordination, which was brought to the attention of the superiors of the
Maryknoll Order and the Vatican.
Roy was asked to recant his position on the ordination of
women but as a matter of conscience, he refused. That refusal cost him his
Roman Catholic Church priesthood, membership with the Maryknolls, and
eventually his ex-communication from the Roman Catholic Church.
Roy shared with us his sadness and disappointment about the
loss of his priesthood and connection with the Maryknolls; however, his deepest
sorrow was that none of his priestly brethren had the courage to support him in
advocating for the ordination of women.
Roy’s talk was followed by a lively Q & A session where
members of the audience made comments, including our Barbara Billey and Karen
Kerrigan. Jeni Marcus asked him about his work in the SOA, his view of Pope Francis,
the status of the Church relative to Vatican II reforms, and the recent
proposed Vatican Commission for the study of women in the ordained Deaconate.
After a break and lunch, the conference continued with a
panel discussion facilitated by Michigan CTA president, Marianne Bernard, with panelists
Roy Bourgeois; Jeni Marcus, Phill Dage, SOA , peace activist, musician and educator;
and Jeaninie and Michael Daley, former president and longtime board members of
Michigan CTA.
The topic of the panel discussion was the status of our
spirituality and faith journey in conjunction with the future of our respective
ministries. Roy stated that he will continue to protest at Fort Benning until
the School of the Americas is closed, as well as work for and with the poor in
this country and in Latin America. He will also lend his voice and be a visible
advocacy presence for Church reform and gender equality, especially as it
applies to the ordination of women.
Roy’s commentary was followed by Phill’s who talked about
his University of Detroit High School trip in Junior year to Latin America
where he worked with the poor and his subsequent trip as a teacher of English
to the indigenous people after he completed his teaching degree at Wayne State
University. Phill also talked about reaching out to young people in the United
States through his music that is embedded with a Christian spiritual message.
He mentioned that young people have a
thirst for spirituality that unfortunately is not being satisfied by the
traditional liturgical model of the Roman Catholic Church, a comment akin to
one made by Karen Kerrigan earlier during the Q & A session.
The Daly’s discussed their longtime work for post Vatican II
Church reform, principally through Call to Action, locally and on the state and
national level, where they held various elected offices. They also talked about
their pastoral work for social justice, especially in the peace and civil rights
movements and with the poor through the Pontiac, Michigan, Catholic Emergency
Response Outreach Team .They believe Church reform can be achieved quietly in,
and through, local parishes on the “grass roots “level .The Daly’s have always enjoyed a good personal and
working relationship with their pastors at St. John Fisher and believe that
Pope Francis is striving to seek and achieve reform in the Church.
Finally, Jeni talked about her civil rights professional,
secular and ecclesiastical political background and targeted advocacy for
social justice, especially as it applies to Church reform, gender equality and
the LGBTIQ community. She gave a brief history of her intersex struggle in
light of secular cultural oppression and Roman Catholic Church doctrine which
runs contrary to the realities of modern science, medicine, evolutionary
theology and the concept of the Cosmic Christ.
Jeni opined that the Church’s hierarchical
position on women was misogynistic and violitive of the Vatican II documents:
“To deny women the right to all seven sacraments like their brethren is sinful
and heretical. We are all equal children
in the eyes of God and members of Christ’s Mystical Body through our
Baptism. This man made Vatican dogma to
maintain power and control is sinful and amounts to heresy. I propose that all
people of good will and women specifically, cease financial and ministerial
support of the Church until this sinful practice is stopped!” Roy’s response, “Yes,
it’s time we start calling this sex discrimination for what it is: heresy! I
don’t know why we haven’t called it for what it is? I am going to start using
that term. We need to stop financially supporting the Church.”
Jeni received a standing ovation from the audience and a
smiling embrace from Roy.
The conference concluded with a Final Prayer.
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