Books about Women Priests by Women Priests: Dr. Ida Raming RCWP and Dr. Iris Mueller RCWP, Elsie McGrath RCWP, and Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

https://www.amazon.com/Books-Ida-Raming/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AIda+Raming

These books are a comprehensive collection of historical documents by two prominent German scholars who were ordained on the Danube in 2002 as Roman Catholic Women Priests. These books are a rich legacy for all who are interested in the emancipatory movement for gender equality in the Roman Catholic Church.  In their writings, Dr. Raming and Dr. Mueller critique the patriarchal tradition embedded in the Canon Law prohibiting women's ordination.  Their brilliant scholarship illuminates a new liberating path of prophetic obedience that is at the heart of the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement . Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Books:

The exclusion of women from the priesthood: Divine law or sex discrimination? : A historical investigation of the juridical and doctrinal foundations of the code of canon law, canon 968, 1

55 Years if Struggle for Women's Ordination in the Catholic Church

This book is a must read for anyone interested in women’s ordination and the  historical foundation of the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. Theologian Ida Raming presents a comprehensive collection of historical documents about  the 55 year struggle for women’s ordination. This book is a treasure trove of information, documents and footnotes from 1962 to  the present time. 

Ida Raming, together with her friend Iris Mueller, were pioneers for the admission of women to priesthood and to all church ministries. She recounts enforced manipulation and brainwashing by the Vatican to stifle open dialogue including their attempt to pass on this discriminatory teaching as dogma binding for all times. Dr. Raming  states  that Vatican resistance to women priests has no theological justification.

 One of the major issues for the all-male hierarchy is the question of power. She writes: “Men do not want to share the power that is associated with ministries and service…I am not giving up, because I trust and believe that “Truth will overcome- the truth will prevail in the end- and not lies!” 

In order to achieve gender justice, Ida  believes that women will need to challenge the unjust law. This happened in 2002 when several women from Austria and Germany, including Raming and Mueller, decided to be ordained by a Catholic bishop, contra legem. The women involved “in illegal ordination, she believes,  are a “prophetic sign of protest  against discriminatory teachings and laws.”

According to Dr. Raming, Pope Francis’ theology of women is a major obstacle in the struggle for equality in the Church.  His theology of women- his vision of the church (‘she is a woman.’) is a paradox because the Church is represented only by men in ecclesial office. 

 

I love Ida’s passionate challenge to Catholic women to affirm the dignity of women, their human rights and work for full equality of women in all ministries in the Church: “Hear my call my dear Sisters! Embrace your responsibility for this important task."

All of us in the international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement owe Dr. Raming a depth of gratitude for her brilliant, articulate advocacy for  gender justice.

Women Find a Way: The Movement and Stories of Roman Catholic Womenpriests Paperback – July 10, 2008

by Elsie Hainz McGrath (Editor), Bridget Mary Meehan (Editor), Ida Raming (Editor)

Meet Roman Catholic Womenpriests who are shaping a more inclusive, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered Church of equals in the twenty-first century. All are welcome at the sacred Eucharistic table. Meet women bishops ordained in full apostolic succession who continue to carry on the work of ordaining others in the Roman Catholic Church. Meet women who are serving the People of God in many ways including house churches and parish communities, hospital and hospice chaplaincy, anointing of the sick and elderly, and ministering with the homeless. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are leading the Catholic Church into a new age in which the identity of priest reflects the experiences of women. For more information, visit www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org All proceeds from the sale of this book go to RCWP-International for the furthering of the movement.

 https://arcwp.org/

https://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

In this book, Bridget Mary Meehan shares treasured memories from her life story and from her journey to priesthood. In a church and a world where women are second-class citizens because of their gender, women priests are rocking the Catholic Church to its foundations as they share women's experiences and claim women's power as spiritual equals, breaking the stained glass ceiling. 

Bridget Mary writes: "I believe that on a deep spiritual, mystical level women priests are beginning a healing process of centuries-old deep misogyny in which spiritual power was invested exclusively in men. We are visible reminders that women are equal images of God, and therefore are worthy to preside at the altar." In inclusive grassroots communities Roman Catholic Women Priests are moving the church toward partnership in a Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered community of equals. For some, like the Catholic hierarchy, women priests are a revolution. For millions of people the time has come for a holy shakeup that will bring new life, creativity and justice to the church and beyond. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP, author of eighteen books including "The Healing Power of Prayer," "Praying with Women of the Bible," and "Praying with Visionary Women," is the dean of the Doctor of Ministry program for Global Ministries University. On July 31, 2006, Bridget Mary Meehan was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, one of the first twelve women in the United States, and a bishop on April 19, 2009. Bridget Mary serves as a spiritual leader of The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. For more information, visit https://arcwp.org/