Catholic Diocese Uses Surveillance Video on Church Reform Group
The Archdiocese of St. Louis, led by Archbishop Raymond Burke, authorized the use of a surveillance video to record the participants of a women's ordination ceremony in November 2007, according to a story published this week in the National Catholic Reporter. Sr. Louise Lears, SC, who had participated in the ceremony, was given notice by Burke in late June 2008 that she was to be denied the sacraments as punishment for attending the filmed ceremony where two women were ordained priests in the Roman Catholic WomanPriest movement.Call To Action/USA, the Catholic justice organization, finds the use of the surveillance video to be an unacceptable abuse of authority and misuse of diocesan resources. Such actions are of deep concern, not only to those gathered at the ordination ceremony, but to all Catholics who seek justice in the church. Nowhere in the gospels does Jesus encourage religious leaders to spy upon the faithful.However, the gospels do tell many stories of Jesus encouraging justice for women. The Gospel of Luke records a story where a religious leader, indignant that a woman is set free on the Sabbath, tries to warn the people against rituals in which women are liberated (see scripture passage below). Gratefully, Jesus says that any time a woman is crippled under an oppressive spirit, she deserves to be 'set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her' (Luke 13:16). Upon hearing this, the people rejoiced.Call To Action/USA also rejoices when Catholic women are set free or free themselves to participate fully in the church. We look forward to the day when our religious leaders will also respond with rejoicing rather than surveillance and punishment. Call To Action will continue its church justice work, in conjunction with other organizations in the church reform movement, until all women are set free of the dogmatic yoke that binds them.Scripture:"On the Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, 'Woman you are set free from your infirmity.' Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, 'There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.' The Lord answered him, 'You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?' When he said this, all this opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing." -Luke 13:10-17
Living Gospel Inclusivity and Empowerment Now- https://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2025/10/rev-dr-bridget-mary-meehan-arcwp-chat.html
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Pastor Judy, who serves homeless, will be ordained an Roman Catholic Womanpriest
FORT MYERS: A preacher is trying to open the door for millions of people. But at the same time, the Catholic Church is closing the door on her. ABC7 spoke to the woman trying to change decades of tradition.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Article about Judy Lee: Fort Myers woman to be ordained who works with people who are homelss
Fort Myers woman to be ordained, risks excommunication
Group violates Vatican law
BY ANTHONY ANAMELECHI •
aanamelechi@news-press.com •
The "Rev. Walter Fohs of Lamb of God Church in Estero said Lee more than deserves the ordination. Lamb of God holds joint services with Lee's congregation. "She is tireless in her work at Church in the Park," Fohs said. He said the ordination is also vital to the Catholic community as "a necessary sign of the future of the church."
Judy will be ordained in Boston on July 20, 2008 at the Church of the Covenant.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Blog of Roman Catholic Womanpriest: Victoria Rue's trip to Asia
Roman Catholic Womanpriest:Victoria Rue's dialogue on women's ordination with interfaith leaders in Asia.
http://womanpriest-asia08.blogspot.com/
http://womanpriest-asia08.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 11, 2008
Roman Catholic Womenpriests Publish First Book: Women Find A Way
“Women Find A Way The Movement and Stories of Roman Catholic Womenpriests”
Edited by Elsie Hainz McGrath, Bridget Mary Meehan, Ida Raming
Meet women who are changing the face of the Roman Catholic priesthood and offering the church the gift of a renewed priestly ministry, rooted in Jesus' example of a discipleship of equals. Discover some of obstacles that the hierarchy put in the way of this prophetic movement. Church officials attempted to stop the ordination on the Danube in 2002 by trying to rent the boat the women had booked, but did not succeed because they were unable to get enough money. Get to know these pioneers as you read their stories of call and service to the people in grassroots communities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to Roman Catholic Womenpriests International to foster the movement around the world.
Price: Price: $19.95
Price: Price: $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-60264-223-2 , softcover, $19.95. 158 pages
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
St. Louis Archdiocese videotaped the ordination of Roman Catholic womenpriests
"St. Louis Archdiocese authorized the video recording of a Catholic women’s ordination ceremony that took place in a synagogue last November. It then used the video, along with photographs apparently taken from the video, as evidence to punish a Catholic nun authorized the video recording of a Catholic women’s ordination ceremony that took place in a synagogue last November. It then used the video, along with photographs apparently taken from the video, as evidence to punish a Catholic nun who attended the liturgy, according to several people familiar with the case.who attended the liturgy, according to several people familiar with the case. " http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1397
This is a sad day when the hierarchy sends "spies" to the ordinations of womenpriests. This is behavior unbecoming of a follower of Christ, let alone the leadership of a diocese. Perhaps we should ask ourselves why the hierarchy is so threatened by womenpriests that they are willing to try to intimidate the Catholic Community in this manner. Rise up, People of God, and walk on water with us. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and let the Holy Spirit guide us as we renew our beloved church in grassroots communities everywhere. A new day of Gospel equality has dawned for our church that gives hope to thousands, perhaps even millions who read about us or watch us on television! We the people are the church and God's holy people have nothing to fear!
Bridget Mary
This is a sad day when the hierarchy sends "spies" to the ordinations of womenpriests. This is behavior unbecoming of a follower of Christ, let alone the leadership of a diocese. Perhaps we should ask ourselves why the hierarchy is so threatened by womenpriests that they are willing to try to intimidate the Catholic Community in this manner. Rise up, People of God, and walk on water with us. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and let the Holy Spirit guide us as we renew our beloved church in grassroots communities everywhere. A new day of Gospel equality has dawned for our church that gives hope to thousands, perhaps even millions who read about us or watch us on television! We the people are the church and God's holy people have nothing to fear!
Bridget Mary
First U.S. Womanbishop Will Ordain Roman Catholic Womenpriests on July 20,2008
PRESS RELEASE
First U.S. Womanbishop Ordains Roman Catholic Womenpriests on July 20, 2008
Church of the Covenant
Boston, Massachusetts
Time: 3:30pm
Press Packet: http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/
Press Conference: Saturday, July 19 th, 7:00pm in main ballroom at Hyatt Harborside Hotel, Boston Logan International airport.
Contacts: Bridget Mary Meehan at 703-283-2929 or Eileen McCafferty DiFranco at 267-258-6966.
Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our American forefathers dreamed of a country where all men were created equal. That dream, of course, remained imperfect for many years while people of color were enslaved and all women were denied the right to vote and to hold office. The men who met in Boston and in Philadelphia preparing the way for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights had compelling theological reasons to deny women – and people of color – the right to vote. God, they firmly believed, had made some people more ontologically equal than others. The time has finally arrived when Abigail Adams’ request to her husband John to “Remember the ladies” has come to fruition. The United States, like many other countries in the world, had at long last, a woman presidential candidate.
Today, women in the Roman Catholic Church, invite the hierarchy to heed our foremother Abigail’s request to “Remember the ladies,” that is, fifty per cent of every congregation in every parish in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ in whom it is said that there is no male or female in Christ Jesus, has said repeatedly that it has no power to ordain women because the Lord God almighty, who made men and women in God’s very image, has tied their hands in this one particular issue. However, the church has been directed by Vatican II documents to develop a sense of history and to understand the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faithful. The last fifty years indicate that the Holy Spirit expects women to be treated as full partners in every respect in the world and in the church. Sixty-six per cent of the faithful have indicated that they would support women priests just as many Americans indicated that they were ready for a woman chief executive.
Jesus founded a church that lives and breathes through the action of the Holy Spirit who constantly renews the face of the earth. Just as the status of women in many societies has changed, so the status of women in the church needs to change. The very health of the church depends upon a full acceptance of women into every level of church governance.
And so, it is with great joy that Roman Catholic Womenpriests announces the ordination of three women to the priesthood and one to the diaconate on Sunday, July 20 at 3:30 P.M. at the Church of the Covenant in Boston, Massachusetts. Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore Md., Judy Lee of Fort Myers, Florida, and Gabriella Velardi Ward of New York City will be ordained to the priesthood, and Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, New Jersey will be ordained to the diaconate with the first U.S. bishop, Dana Reynolds, presiding. All are welcome to participate in this most joyful event to sing a new church into being, one that reflects the faces of all of God’s children
Please note information about first U.S. bishop Dana Reynolds, the RCWP response to Vatican’s excommunication, and other related background articles are in press packet available at http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/
First U.S. Womanbishop Ordains Roman Catholic Womenpriests on July 20, 2008
Church of the Covenant
Boston, Massachusetts
Time: 3:30pm
Press Packet: http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/
Press Conference: Saturday, July 19 th, 7:00pm in main ballroom at Hyatt Harborside Hotel, Boston Logan International airport.
Contacts: Bridget Mary Meehan at 703-283-2929 or Eileen McCafferty DiFranco at 267-258-6966.
Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our American forefathers dreamed of a country where all men were created equal. That dream, of course, remained imperfect for many years while people of color were enslaved and all women were denied the right to vote and to hold office. The men who met in Boston and in Philadelphia preparing the way for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights had compelling theological reasons to deny women – and people of color – the right to vote. God, they firmly believed, had made some people more ontologically equal than others. The time has finally arrived when Abigail Adams’ request to her husband John to “Remember the ladies” has come to fruition. The United States, like many other countries in the world, had at long last, a woman presidential candidate.
Today, women in the Roman Catholic Church, invite the hierarchy to heed our foremother Abigail’s request to “Remember the ladies,” that is, fifty per cent of every congregation in every parish in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ in whom it is said that there is no male or female in Christ Jesus, has said repeatedly that it has no power to ordain women because the Lord God almighty, who made men and women in God’s very image, has tied their hands in this one particular issue. However, the church has been directed by Vatican II documents to develop a sense of history and to understand the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faithful. The last fifty years indicate that the Holy Spirit expects women to be treated as full partners in every respect in the world and in the church. Sixty-six per cent of the faithful have indicated that they would support women priests just as many Americans indicated that they were ready for a woman chief executive.
Jesus founded a church that lives and breathes through the action of the Holy Spirit who constantly renews the face of the earth. Just as the status of women in many societies has changed, so the status of women in the church needs to change. The very health of the church depends upon a full acceptance of women into every level of church governance.
And so, it is with great joy that Roman Catholic Womenpriests announces the ordination of three women to the priesthood and one to the diaconate on Sunday, July 20 at 3:30 P.M. at the Church of the Covenant in Boston, Massachusetts. Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore Md., Judy Lee of Fort Myers, Florida, and Gabriella Velardi Ward of New York City will be ordained to the priesthood, and Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, New Jersey will be ordained to the diaconate with the first U.S. bishop, Dana Reynolds, presiding. All are welcome to participate in this most joyful event to sing a new church into being, one that reflects the faces of all of God’s children
Please note information about first U.S. bishop Dana Reynolds, the RCWP response to Vatican’s excommunication, and other related background articles are in press packet available at http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/
Bridget Mary on First News on WWL Radio/New Orleans July 9, 2008
http://wwl.com/pages/1050632.php?
First News - BRIDGET MARY-MEEHAN
Jul 09, 2008
TOMMY AND MONICA SPEAK WITH BRIDGET MARY-MEEHAN, WITH WOMAN-CHURCH CONVERGE NCE. WHAT SHOULD A WOMAN'S ROLE BE IN THE CHURCH? WHAT'S HER ROLE IN YOUR CHURCH? show more
Published:
Wednesday July 09, 2008 10:10:00 GMT
Series Link:
http://wwl.com/pages/214714.php
ezSnippetTimesAry[0] = new Array();
First News - BRIDGET MARY-MEEHAN
Jul 09, 2008
TOMMY AND MONICA SPEAK WITH BRIDGET MARY-MEEHAN, WITH WOMAN-CHURCH CONVERGE NCE. WHAT SHOULD A WOMAN'S ROLE BE IN THE CHURCH? WHAT'S HER ROLE IN YOUR CHURCH? show more
Published:
Wednesday July 09, 2008 10:10:00 GMT
Series Link:
http://wwl.com/pages/214714.php
ezSnippetTimesAry[0] = new Array();
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Vatican criticism of the Anglican Church Contradicts the Apostolic Tradition
See CNN story at http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/08/women.bishops/index.html
It is a great moment for women in the Anglican Church. I applaud the decision by the governing body of the Church of England to allow women bishops. Unfortunately, the Vatican is critical, calling this action "a rift to the apostolic tradition."
If we examine "our apostolic tradition" carefully, we will conclude that it is the Vatican that is out of step with Jesus and the apostolic tradition, not the Anglican Church!
This statement by the Vatican contradicts its own scholarship. In 1976, The Vatican's Papal Commission concluded that there was no evidence in scripture that to prohibit women's ordination.
There is plenty of evidence to support women as leaders, deacons, priests and ministers in the history of the early church. In fact, scholars tell us that women served in ordained ministry for the first 1200 years of the church's history. Roman Catholic Womenpriests, like our sisters and brothers in Anglican church, are reclaiming our ancient tradtion.
Jesus called women and men to be disciples and equals and offered an example of Gospel equality for all Christians to embrace. Jesus called Mary of Magdala to be the apostle to the apostles!
According to Luke 8, Mary of Magdala was one of the many women who followed Jesus and supported his ministry out of their resources.
Read Luke 8 :1-3"With Jesus went the Twelve, as well as some women ... Mary of Magala, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Suzanna, and many others who were contributing to the support of Jesus and the Twelve out of their own funds."
Women were among Jesus' closest disciples and bankrolled his ministry. Jesus chose Mary of Magdala as the apostle to the apostles to announce the good news that Christ had risen from the dead. Jesus revealed his identity to the Samaritan woman and to Martha.The Samaritan woman was the first evangelist. She brought her whole town to Jesus. Mary and Martha were also friends and disciples. Martha's proclamation: "I have come to believe that you are the Messiah,God's only Begotten, the one who is coming into the world" (John:11:25-27) is similar to Peter's confession of faith in Mk 8:29. For the Johannine community this indicates that Martha possessed apostolic authority.
In Romans 16:7, St. Paul called Junia and Andronicus outstanding apostles.
In Romans, Paul commends deacon Phoebe as a leader and missionary in the church.
Mary, Mother of John Mark, was a leader of one of the house churches in Jerusalem. Some scholars believe that Mary presided at Eucharist there, and her house was the headquarters of the Jerusalem community. As scholar Gary Macy points out in his book, The Hidden History of Women's Ordination:
"The history of Christianity is replete with references to the ordination of women. There are rites for the ordination fo wmen, there are canonical requirements for the ordination of women, there are particular women depicted as ordained..." p. 4
It is time for the Vatican to stop discriminating against women and blaming God for it and follow the example of Jesus, the early church leaders and our sisters and brothers in the Anglican and other traditions who embrace women's ordination including women bishops. We in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests initiative are offering our church a renewed model of priestly ministry rooted in union with the people we serve in our grassroots communities in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Bravo for the Anglican Church in creating another milestone on the journey toward women's full equality!
Bridget Mary Meehan
Roman Catholic Womanpriest
Ordained in Pittsburgh, PA. on July 31, 2006
Monday, July 7, 2008
Women's Ordination Conference protest Sr. Lears' banishment
Women’s group protests Lears’ banishment
Created 07/04/2008 - 11:22
By Tom Fox, NCR Staff
Published on National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline3.org/drupal)
July 4, 2008
"Saint Louis Sister of Charity Louise Lears was banned from archdiocesan ministries and from reception of the sacraments for her support of the right for women to be ordained in the Catholic Church. Now the Women’s Ordination Conference, which for more than three decades has pushed for the ordination of women, has begun a petition drive to overturn the edict of Archbishop Raymond Burke. "
The petition can be found at:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/10/Take-Action-for-Sister-Louise
I encourage everyone to sign this petition to support Sr. Louise Lears, a woman of courage and witness to Christ's example of inclusivity, partnership and equality. May the people of God, rise up with Pentecost zeal to spread the Good News of the Gospel! Jesus showed us the way. Now, we the people of God, must reclaim our beloved church!
A special thanks to the Women's Ordination Conference for leading the way by organizing this petition drive.
Bridget Mary Meehan
Created 07/04/2008 - 11:22
By Tom Fox, NCR Staff
Published on National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline3.org/drupal)
July 4, 2008
"Saint Louis Sister of Charity Louise Lears was banned from archdiocesan ministries and from reception of the sacraments for her support of the right for women to be ordained in the Catholic Church. Now the Women’s Ordination Conference, which for more than three decades has pushed for the ordination of women, has begun a petition drive to overturn the edict of Archbishop Raymond Burke. "
The petition can be found at:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/10/Take-Action-for-Sister-Louise
I encourage everyone to sign this petition to support Sr. Louise Lears, a woman of courage and witness to Christ's example of inclusivity, partnership and equality. May the people of God, rise up with Pentecost zeal to spread the Good News of the Gospel! Jesus showed us the way. Now, we the people of God, must reclaim our beloved church!
A special thanks to the Women's Ordination Conference for leading the way by organizing this petition drive.
Bridget Mary Meehan
Friday, July 4, 2008
Bishop Robinson's Reflections on U.S. speaking Tour
A reflection on all that happened… I recently completed a five-week tour of the U.S.A. in which I spoke at fifteen different venues around that country. It was exhausting, and it has taken me some time to recover, but I am now able to reflect on all that happened.In his letter asking me to cancel the tour, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, said, "It has been brought to my attention by some Bishops in the United States who are concerned that you have been invited by some organizations that are not in communion with the Catholic Church…". This is the exact opposite of my experience. The people who came to listen were mainly older people who had spent their lives as faithful and loyal Catholics, raising their children in that faith and supporting the church in every way they could. They still practise their faith. Yes, there were also victims present, and married priests and gay people and three Catholic women ordained as priests. Some of these were angry, some disillusioned and many were struggling hard to keep faith in the church. But even these disaffected people still cared and still wanted to see a better church. To dismiss the entire audience as "not in communion with the church" is a complete failure to understand the book I have written or the response it has evoked among many thousands of Catholics of every age. My overwhelming thought was that, if the church loses these people, it has lost its very soul.I met many wonderful and inspiring people who welcomed me and invited me into their homes. Most were from the organization called Voice of the Faithful, that started in Boston in 2002 in response to the revelations of sexual abuse there and wants to see a comprehensive response to those revelations. If this makes them "not in communion" with the church, then we all have a most serious problem!!I naively thought that the American church would be similar to the Australian church, but found myself continually having to revise my ideas and adapt to a very different world. This was the single greatest difficulty I had on the tour, especially when people tried to involve me in matters that I did not really understand. I was overwhelmed with evidence of incompetence and far worse, though the canon lawyer in me kept warning that I needed to hear all sides of the story first. I am still confused about the extent of incompetence and wrongdoing by bishops, but came away with the clear conviction that the American church has some massive problems before it. It is said that ex-Catholics constitute the second largest religion in the country, and this trend may well continue.I returned to find on my desk the letters from thirteen U.S. bishops asking me not to go. I am not saying that I was not aware of their existence, but in fact I saw them only on my return. They all quote the statement of the Australian bishops and it is clear that both this statement and the letters of the U.S. bishops were orchestrated by Cardinal Re.Bishop Robinson's "difficulties" with the statement from the Australian Bishops…I have had the opportunity to study the statement of the Australian bishops more carefully. I have several difficulties with this statement.a.. Firstly, it says that I question the teaching authority of the church and quotes John's gospel concerning the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to the apostles "in order to lead them into the fullness of the truth". In this the statement appears to confuse teaching authority with infallibility. I do not deny that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and I do not deny the teaching authority of the church, as even a cursory reading of my book would show. What I question is the teaching on infallibility and especially on "creeping infallibility", in which, even without the formal apparatus of infallibility, Catholics are told that they must believe many truths. The bishops appear to brush aside the very real problems associated with this phenomenon. b.. Secondly, it says that my questioning of authority is connected to my "uncertainty about the knowledge and authority of Christ himself." But surely the real question is not where my doubts concerning the knowledge of Jesus come from, but rather where the certainties of the bishops come from? I point out that the biblical evidence is conflicting and that "We are, after all, speaking about what went on within the mind of Jesus, an individual unlike any other who has ever walked on this earth, a person within whom the divine and the human were bound together in a singular manner." The bishops make no attempt to explain where their certainties come from. c.. Thirdly and most importantly, the statement makes no comment on my book as a response to sexual abuse, though this is its very raison d'etre. It implies, therefore, that one may not ask questions about church teachings or laws under any circumstances, not even in responding to abuse. My book starts from the opposite end, the fact of abuse, and says that, if we are to overcome it, we must seek out the deepest causes both of the abuse and of the inadequate response to abuse, and, in doing this, we must be free to follow the argument wherever it leads. If it causes us to question teaching or practice concerning creeping infallibility or sexual morality or obligatory celibacy, we must be free to do so. The bishops do not address these issues, or how we are to overcome abuse if we are not free to ask the questions that arise. I remain convinced that we have a long way to go and that, if we are ever to look to the future with a clear conscience, we must be free to ask the questions that spontaneously arise from the terrible fact of abuse and the inadequate response to it. Until that happens, we are trying to manage rather than truly confront the problem.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Update on Altar Girls Banned:Take Action
Update: Altar Girls Banned!
Thank you for taking action! In the past two days, dozens of WOC members have called and emailed St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisconsin. We have received excellent feedback and we know our voices are being heard.
To read the press release, "Women's Ordination Conference Decries Ban on Altar Girls in Wisconsin Diocese," scroll down this blog.
Please continue to take action!
CALL the parish and ask for Rev. John Del Priore and express your serious concerns about this decision!
His direct line is 608 370-3271. The phone number for the church is (608) 795-4321. Call today! Please also contact Erin Hanna, WOC assistant director, at (202) 675-10006 or via at ehanna@womensordination.org and let us know how the call went. We'd love to keep track of how many calls have been made.
Thank you for taking action! In the past two days, dozens of WOC members have called and emailed St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisconsin. We have received excellent feedback and we know our voices are being heard.
To read the press release, "Women's Ordination Conference Decries Ban on Altar Girls in Wisconsin Diocese," scroll down this blog.
Please continue to take action!
CALL the parish and ask for Rev. John Del Priore and express your serious concerns about this decision!
His direct line is 608 370-3271. The phone number for the church is (608) 795-4321. Call today! Please also contact Erin Hanna, WOC assistant director, at (202) 675-10006 or via at ehanna@womensordination.org and let us know how the call went. We'd love to keep track of how many calls have been made.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Wisconsin Priest Bans Altar Girls:
Altar Girls Banned!
We have been informed that St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisc. will no longer allow girls to serve at liturgy. y Rev. John Del Priore, who was assigned to the parish on June 1, announced this policy last Tue. See article:
http://www.madison.com/toolbox/index.php?action=printme2&ref=tct&storyURL=%2Ftct%2Fnews%2F293316
The phone number for the church is (608) 795-4321.
Call as soon as possible.
This is another signal that the institutional church is treating girls and women as second-class citizen, and is out of touch with Jesus. We should ask ourselves: what would Jesus say and do?
As the Gospels reveal, Jesus had male and female disciples and shared the central message of Christianity with a woman, Mary of Magdala, the apostle to the apostles. Women served in priestly ministry for 1200 years. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are reclaiming our ancient heritage and celebrating liturgies where all are welcome including altar girls. We offer hope that a renewed church is already a reality on the ground in communties around the U.S., Canada and Europe. The people of God are enthusiastic and hopeful that a new day is dawning for the church. This represssive action is a sad testimony to an institutional church that continues to discriminate against women and is fearful of women's equality. Moving backwards to Trent will not save the church.
Bridget Mary Meehan
We have been informed that St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisc. will no longer allow girls to serve at liturgy. y Rev. John Del Priore, who was assigned to the parish on June 1, announced this policy last Tue. See article:
http://www.madison.com/toolbox/index.php?action=printme2&ref=tct&storyURL=%2Ftct%2Fnews%2F293316
The phone number for the church is (608) 795-4321.
Call as soon as possible.
This is another signal that the institutional church is treating girls and women as second-class citizen, and is out of touch with Jesus. We should ask ourselves: what would Jesus say and do?
As the Gospels reveal, Jesus had male and female disciples and shared the central message of Christianity with a woman, Mary of Magdala, the apostle to the apostles. Women served in priestly ministry for 1200 years. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are reclaiming our ancient heritage and celebrating liturgies where all are welcome including altar girls. We offer hope that a renewed church is already a reality on the ground in communties around the U.S., Canada and Europe. The people of God are enthusiastic and hopeful that a new day is dawning for the church. This represssive action is a sad testimony to an institutional church that continues to discriminate against women and is fearful of women's equality. Moving backwards to Trent will not save the church.
Bridget Mary Meehan
Monday, June 30, 2008
Support Sr. Louise Lears, a woman of integrity and courage
Women's Ordination Conference Statement on Penalties Imposed on Sister Louise Lears, SC by Archbishop Raymond Burke
Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, issued the following statement about the penalties imposed by Archbishop Raymond Burke on Sister Louise Lears, SC on Thursday, June 26. After six months of proceedings, the decree was issued the day before Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Burke to head the highest court in the Catholic Church, as the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome.
The penalties callously doled out to Sister Louise Lears - a woman who has dedicated her entire life to serve the Church - is a prime example of the way women are often wrongly treated by the Catholic hierarchy, where dangerous secrecy runs rampant and preserving power in the hands a few ordained men reigns supreme. The Women's Ordination Conference supports Sister Louise in her life and ministry in the Church. We oppose these penalties as a way of dealing with differences and dissent. Such misuse of Church discipline will not intimidate women into accepting marginal status within the Church. Sister Louise remains steadfast in her faith and loyalty to the Church, and she has the support of millions of Catholics who seek only the gospel promise of equality. Archbishop Burke imposed two penalties on Sister Louise, 1) the penalty of interdict, which means that she cannot participate in public worship in a ministerial capacity and cannot receive the Sacraments and 2) the penalty of prohibition from reception of a mission anywhere in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which means she can no longer serve in her positions as a member of the Pastoral Team at St. Cronan's Catholic Church and as the Coordinator of Religious Education. The decree announcing the penalties state that the reason for this action is due to Sister Louise's support of Rose Marie Hudson and Elsie McGrath, the two women who were ordained priests in a St. Louis synagogue on November 11, 2007. The Vatican's stance on ordination is based on arguments that have been refuted time and again. In 1976, the Vatican's own Pontifical Biblical Commission determined that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit women's ordination. Jesus included women as full and equal partners in his ministry, and the hierarchy would do well to follow suit. This is not the first time Archbishop Burke has used the Sacraments as weapons, stepping way beyond the line of his pastoral duties and out of sync with most of his brother bishops. In addition to these insensitive and unnecessary penalties, he has consistently worked to denigrate Catholics who use their conscience to inform their actions, as canon law requires. From the excommunications of Hudson and McGrath to his unwavering position on actions taken by Catholic politicians to his disputes with members of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in St. Louis, Archbishop Burke has done nothing more than violate every aspect of the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. It is long overdue for the Vatican to respond to the church's need for an inclusive clergy, which embraces women - all of whom are created equal and can be called by God to serve God's people as priests in an accountable and inclusive Catholic Church. ### Founded in 1975, the Women's Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest national organization that works to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church. WOC represents the 63-70 percent of US Catholics that support the ordination of women as priests. WOC also promotes new perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity.
Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, issued the following statement about the penalties imposed by Archbishop Raymond Burke on Sister Louise Lears, SC on Thursday, June 26. After six months of proceedings, the decree was issued the day before Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Burke to head the highest court in the Catholic Church, as the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome.
The penalties callously doled out to Sister Louise Lears - a woman who has dedicated her entire life to serve the Church - is a prime example of the way women are often wrongly treated by the Catholic hierarchy, where dangerous secrecy runs rampant and preserving power in the hands a few ordained men reigns supreme. The Women's Ordination Conference supports Sister Louise in her life and ministry in the Church. We oppose these penalties as a way of dealing with differences and dissent. Such misuse of Church discipline will not intimidate women into accepting marginal status within the Church. Sister Louise remains steadfast in her faith and loyalty to the Church, and she has the support of millions of Catholics who seek only the gospel promise of equality. Archbishop Burke imposed two penalties on Sister Louise, 1) the penalty of interdict, which means that she cannot participate in public worship in a ministerial capacity and cannot receive the Sacraments and 2) the penalty of prohibition from reception of a mission anywhere in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which means she can no longer serve in her positions as a member of the Pastoral Team at St. Cronan's Catholic Church and as the Coordinator of Religious Education. The decree announcing the penalties state that the reason for this action is due to Sister Louise's support of Rose Marie Hudson and Elsie McGrath, the two women who were ordained priests in a St. Louis synagogue on November 11, 2007. The Vatican's stance on ordination is based on arguments that have been refuted time and again. In 1976, the Vatican's own Pontifical Biblical Commission determined that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit women's ordination. Jesus included women as full and equal partners in his ministry, and the hierarchy would do well to follow suit. This is not the first time Archbishop Burke has used the Sacraments as weapons, stepping way beyond the line of his pastoral duties and out of sync with most of his brother bishops. In addition to these insensitive and unnecessary penalties, he has consistently worked to denigrate Catholics who use their conscience to inform their actions, as canon law requires. From the excommunications of Hudson and McGrath to his unwavering position on actions taken by Catholic politicians to his disputes with members of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in St. Louis, Archbishop Burke has done nothing more than violate every aspect of the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. It is long overdue for the Vatican to respond to the church's need for an inclusive clergy, which embraces women - all of whom are created equal and can be called by God to serve God's people as priests in an accountable and inclusive Catholic Church. ### Founded in 1975, the Women's Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest national organization that works to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church. WOC represents the 63-70 percent of US Catholics that support the ordination of women as priests. WOC also promotes new perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
National Catholic Reporter: Womenpriests carry on despite Vatican
Women priests carry on despite Vatican National Catholic Reporter
ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1271 - 39k -
(Our rcwp updated figures are actually 30 priests, 12 deacons, 15 candidates and 1 bishop in U.S. with 8 ordinations from coast to coast in 2008).
Women priests carry on despite Vatican
By DENNIS CODAY
"Despite a recent decree that reiterates the official Vatican stance that women cannot be ordained and that those who attempt it are automatically excommunicated, women continue to step forward for ordination.
Three women are to be ordained to the priesthood and one woman as a deacon July 20 in Boston. Presiding at event will be Bishop Dana Reynolds, who is the first U.S. bishop for the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement.
At a ceremony in Boston’s Church of the Covenant, Reynolds will ordain Gloria Ray Carpeneto, Judy Lee and Gabriella Velardi-Ward to the priesthood and MaryAnn McCarthy Schoettly to the deaconate."...
ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1271 - 39k -
(Our rcwp updated figures are actually 30 priests, 12 deacons, 15 candidates and 1 bishop in U.S. with 8 ordinations from coast to coast in 2008).
Women priests carry on despite Vatican
By DENNIS CODAY
"Despite a recent decree that reiterates the official Vatican stance that women cannot be ordained and that those who attempt it are automatically excommunicated, women continue to step forward for ordination.
Three women are to be ordained to the priesthood and one woman as a deacon July 20 in Boston. Presiding at event will be Bishop Dana Reynolds, who is the first U.S. bishop for the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement.
At a ceremony in Boston’s Church of the Covenant, Reynolds will ordain Gloria Ray Carpeneto, Judy Lee and Gabriella Velardi-Ward to the priesthood and MaryAnn McCarthy Schoettly to the deaconate."...
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Archbishop Burke punished nun for attending Roman Catholic Womenpriests' Ordinations in St. Louis
Burke leaving St. Louis
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/28/2008
JUNE 27, 2008 - Archbishop Raymond L. Burke is leaving the St. Louis Archdiocese
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/28/2008
JUNE 27, 2008 - Archbishop Raymond L. Burke is leaving the St. Louis Archdiocese
PUNISHING A NUN
The other was the ordination of two women as "Roman Catholic Womenpriests" at a synagogue in St. Louis. The two women were declared excommunicated by Burke. In one of his last acts as archbishop, Burke imposed the penalty of interdict on Sister Louise Lears, a nun in the order of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, who works at St. Cronan's parish in St. Louis and who attended the women's ordinations last fall. The interdict prohibits Lears from receiving the sacraments and forced St. Cronan's to remove her from her ministry at the church.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Vatican appoints Archbishop Burke to lead Vatican supreme court
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/3EDD8BB47C77FF2E8625747500426166?OpenDocument
St. Louis Archbishop Burke leaving for new role in Rome
ST. LOUIS -- Archbishop Raymond Burke today was appointed today to lead the Vatican's supreme court.
St. Louis Archbishop Burke leaving for new role in Rome
ST. LOUIS -- Archbishop Raymond Burke today was appointed today to lead the Vatican's supreme court.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Archbishop Burke wants Ad pulled from newspaper that welcomes Catholics to inclusive liturgies in St. Louis
Archbishop Burke is really ticked off again at Elsie McGrath and Ree Hudson, Roman Catholic Womenpriests because they will not pull their Ad in the St. Louis paper inviting Catholics to celebrate inclusive liturgies.
Archbishop Burke Orders St. Louis Womenpriests To Yank Newspaper Ad
Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 03:44:27 PM
"The archbishop is enraged about a display advertisement that the women have been running in the Post-Dispatch, according to a June 10 letter from Burke to the Womenpriests. The ad, publicizing their services at Thérèse of Divine Peace Inclusive Community, runs every other week in the “Catholic” section of the newspaper’s Saturday-edition worship directory"
Supporter of Roman Catholic Womenpriests shares letter to Editor of National Catholic Reporter
Attention: Letters to the Editor,
Your lead story in the December 7 issue, “Women Find a Way” was inspiring to me, as it brought back many of the impressions I still treasure “in my heart’ as a participant in the historic ordination of womenpriests (Pittsburgh, 2006). When all of the arguments about validity, canon law, historic precedence, ‘simulation of sacrament’ and male modeling of Christ are set aside, what is left for those of us who witnessed this ordination (and the many that have followed and will continue) is a profound sense of wonder at the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. It seems to me, that in the Roman Catholic tradition there has always been that struggle between the mystic and law bound, the sacred and the powers that rise up to defend and define it. And so it was that on that ship in Pittsburgh. For all present, the ordinands and the people supporting them, we realized that the time had come to reclaim the legacy of all baptized people to the call of priesthood, at whatever the temporal cost, including excommunication and loss of jobs and status.
NCR would do well to follow the stories of those witnesses who have felt the power of this experience, a life changing and transformative moment for each of us as well as our church. During the ordination, as I knelt down on the floor of the boat carrying us down the river, one thought came to mind, that after this moment had passed, none of us could return to the way things were. I was reminded of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, when He announced that the Scriptures ‘had been fulfilled’, right there, in the synagogue on a ‘typical’ Saturday morning in ancient Palestine. The hearers of that message for the most part rejected it, to the point of trying to kill the prophetic voice calling them to change. But some accepted the Spirit readily, and a church was born. The struggle played out into the next generation, when the barrier of Gentile and Jew had to be met head on. Paul took up that challenge, ‘moved by the Spirit’ to take the gospel message to all, in communities which welcomed women as deacons, apostles, and sacramental leaders of house churches. Sadly, those doors quickly closed to women, until a Roman Catholic bishop in apostolic tradition, called three women priests to lead their people as bishops, saying, ‘not for them, but for the church’ and its mission.
The Womenpriests movement, in my understanding is about reclaiming an inclusive church, as it was in the beginning, even as the fight goes on with those who want to keep the status quo. This false comfort zone of tradition, which excludes women and protects hierarchy, puts our church at risk of losing its credibility. The people in the pews are loudly signaling to the Vatican that they want women priests and married men to lead them in sacraments. Whether we are active participants in these ordinations, or those hearing the story and saying, ‘a last’, we feel that a journey has begun to return us full circle to the heart of the early, pre-Roman church where presiders and the people they serve recognize that they are called together to ‘be Christ’ on this earth, in humility, service and prophetic mission. The legal conundrums holding the tattered arguments about apostles being male, and ‘imaging Christ’ as men, fall away when confronted with the realization that in our lifetime, here and now, we are called to make this change. The conflict of law and spirit, power and prophetic calling, plays itself out once more in the struggle to recognize the true vocation of these womenpriests. Going back to 2006, something within me shook when I heard the women candidates shout, “I am ready!” It was the same for us praying with them, and for those who would hear this story and tell it. We are all ready.
Respectfully submitted by Lorraine Nagy
Your lead story in the December 7 issue, “Women Find a Way” was inspiring to me, as it brought back many of the impressions I still treasure “in my heart’ as a participant in the historic ordination of womenpriests (Pittsburgh, 2006). When all of the arguments about validity, canon law, historic precedence, ‘simulation of sacrament’ and male modeling of Christ are set aside, what is left for those of us who witnessed this ordination (and the many that have followed and will continue) is a profound sense of wonder at the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. It seems to me, that in the Roman Catholic tradition there has always been that struggle between the mystic and law bound, the sacred and the powers that rise up to defend and define it. And so it was that on that ship in Pittsburgh. For all present, the ordinands and the people supporting them, we realized that the time had come to reclaim the legacy of all baptized people to the call of priesthood, at whatever the temporal cost, including excommunication and loss of jobs and status.
NCR would do well to follow the stories of those witnesses who have felt the power of this experience, a life changing and transformative moment for each of us as well as our church. During the ordination, as I knelt down on the floor of the boat carrying us down the river, one thought came to mind, that after this moment had passed, none of us could return to the way things were. I was reminded of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, when He announced that the Scriptures ‘had been fulfilled’, right there, in the synagogue on a ‘typical’ Saturday morning in ancient Palestine. The hearers of that message for the most part rejected it, to the point of trying to kill the prophetic voice calling them to change. But some accepted the Spirit readily, and a church was born. The struggle played out into the next generation, when the barrier of Gentile and Jew had to be met head on. Paul took up that challenge, ‘moved by the Spirit’ to take the gospel message to all, in communities which welcomed women as deacons, apostles, and sacramental leaders of house churches. Sadly, those doors quickly closed to women, until a Roman Catholic bishop in apostolic tradition, called three women priests to lead their people as bishops, saying, ‘not for them, but for the church’ and its mission.
The Womenpriests movement, in my understanding is about reclaiming an inclusive church, as it was in the beginning, even as the fight goes on with those who want to keep the status quo. This false comfort zone of tradition, which excludes women and protects hierarchy, puts our church at risk of losing its credibility. The people in the pews are loudly signaling to the Vatican that they want women priests and married men to lead them in sacraments. Whether we are active participants in these ordinations, or those hearing the story and saying, ‘a last’, we feel that a journey has begun to return us full circle to the heart of the early, pre-Roman church where presiders and the people they serve recognize that they are called together to ‘be Christ’ on this earth, in humility, service and prophetic mission. The legal conundrums holding the tattered arguments about apostles being male, and ‘imaging Christ’ as men, fall away when confronted with the realization that in our lifetime, here and now, we are called to make this change. The conflict of law and spirit, power and prophetic calling, plays itself out once more in the struggle to recognize the true vocation of these womenpriests. Going back to 2006, something within me shook when I heard the women candidates shout, “I am ready!” It was the same for us praying with them, and for those who would hear this story and tell it. We are all ready.
Respectfully submitted by Lorraine Nagy
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Letter of Judy Lee to Bishop Dewane, Diocese of Venice, Florida
Judy Lee in center presiding at Church in the Park where a community of volunteers hosts a dinner for those in need in Ft. Myers, Florida. Judy will be ordained a priest in Boston in July 2008. The letter below is her response to a letter by Bishop Frank Dewane that stated: "The opportunity is taken to inform you once again that, should you proceed with this action of attempting ordination, that you will in fact separte yourself from the Catholic Church, by your own free choice."
June 23, 2008
Dear Bishop Dewane:
Thank you for sharing the official position of the church regarding "automatic excommunication" personally with me in your letter of 6/17/2008. I learned about this in The New York Times and from other sources on May 30, 2008. It is always good to be individualized. Now I extend the same respect and courtesy to you and respond to your letter.
I have been called by the Holy Spirit to priestly service and can not deny the call. Therefore I continue in my intention to receive Holy Orders on June 20th in Massachusetts. I do not think the traditions of the Church that developed after the early years when women clearly served as Deacons, Presbyters, and Bishops, supercede the call of the Spirit. "The harvest is many and the laborers few," and women are being called to the harvest. God is calling. We are answering, “Yes!” With my sisters and brother priests in the Roman Catholic Women Priests I reject the penalty of excommunication. We are loyal members of the church who stand in the prophetic tradition of holy disobedience to an unjust law that discriminates against women and men who are married or openly and honestly gay.
Your own background as Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 2001-2006 and serving on the Pontifical Council Cor Unum from 1995-2001 sets you apart as one who is dedicated to justice and peace and charity throughout the world. You also follow the peace and justice leadership of Bishop John Nevins who championed the needs of the migrant farm workers in this Diocese. Therefore the church's contradictory and punitive behavior toward women and others called by God to serve and to enact justice must be difficult for you. My lifelong dedication in Christian service as a social worker, social work educator, theoretician, author and activist has also been to peace and justice. I too have championed the cause of the migrant worker with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers here in Southwest Florida. I also served at St. Peter Claver Catholic Mission in Fort Myers some years ago until its internal and clerical troubles nearly tore it apart. I still work voluntarily on my own with impoverished families from that church. For several years I also offered pro bono professional services with the elderly and others through the Visitation Ministry of Our Lady of Light Catholic Community. Now you are saying that they can not serve me the Eucharist - that I have no seat at the Table.
I continue to serve the poorest here in Lee County. As I noted in my earlier letter I am considered the Pastor of the Friday Night Church in the Park. This is an ecumenical service effort with over fifty volunteers by now, many of them Catholic. In a recent survey of seventy regular attendees of our feeding and worship services we learned that most of our people are homeless and have no source of income in this economy. Many are Roman Catholics. Most are American citizens, many are veterans of our wars, and some are here as migrant workers. We serve children, families, men, women and the elderly. All are suffering spiritually as well as economically, medically and socially. We are having some success in ending homelessness and poverty one individual or family at a time. With God's grace I will continue to serve as their priest. I invite you to join us in worship on any Friday night and experience the beautiful faith of the poorest of the poor in this Diocese. God has called. The people have welcomed me and call me forth to serve. I do not need permission, but in recognizing your wisdom and passion for justice I would love to serve the poor with you here in Fort Myers.
I remain, your sister in Christ,
Dr. Judith A. Lee, RCWP
Thank you for sharing the official position of the church regarding "automatic excommunication" personally with me in your letter of 6/17/2008. I learned about this in The New York Times and from other sources on May 30, 2008. It is always good to be individualized. Now I extend the same respect and courtesy to you and respond to your letter.
I have been called by the Holy Spirit to priestly service and can not deny the call. Therefore I continue in my intention to receive Holy Orders on June 20th in Massachusetts. I do not think the traditions of the Church that developed after the early years when women clearly served as Deacons, Presbyters, and Bishops, supercede the call of the Spirit. "The harvest is many and the laborers few," and women are being called to the harvest. God is calling. We are answering, “Yes!” With my sisters and brother priests in the Roman Catholic Women Priests I reject the penalty of excommunication. We are loyal members of the church who stand in the prophetic tradition of holy disobedience to an unjust law that discriminates against women and men who are married or openly and honestly gay.
Your own background as Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 2001-2006 and serving on the Pontifical Council Cor Unum from 1995-2001 sets you apart as one who is dedicated to justice and peace and charity throughout the world. You also follow the peace and justice leadership of Bishop John Nevins who championed the needs of the migrant farm workers in this Diocese. Therefore the church's contradictory and punitive behavior toward women and others called by God to serve and to enact justice must be difficult for you. My lifelong dedication in Christian service as a social worker, social work educator, theoretician, author and activist has also been to peace and justice. I too have championed the cause of the migrant worker with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers here in Southwest Florida. I also served at St. Peter Claver Catholic Mission in Fort Myers some years ago until its internal and clerical troubles nearly tore it apart. I still work voluntarily on my own with impoverished families from that church. For several years I also offered pro bono professional services with the elderly and others through the Visitation Ministry of Our Lady of Light Catholic Community. Now you are saying that they can not serve me the Eucharist - that I have no seat at the Table.
I continue to serve the poorest here in Lee County. As I noted in my earlier letter I am considered the Pastor of the Friday Night Church in the Park. This is an ecumenical service effort with over fifty volunteers by now, many of them Catholic. In a recent survey of seventy regular attendees of our feeding and worship services we learned that most of our people are homeless and have no source of income in this economy. Many are Roman Catholics. Most are American citizens, many are veterans of our wars, and some are here as migrant workers. We serve children, families, men, women and the elderly. All are suffering spiritually as well as economically, medically and socially. We are having some success in ending homelessness and poverty one individual or family at a time. With God's grace I will continue to serve as their priest. I invite you to join us in worship on any Friday night and experience the beautiful faith of the poorest of the poor in this Diocese. God has called. The people have welcomed me and call me forth to serve. I do not need permission, but in recognizing your wisdom and passion for justice I would love to serve the poor with you here in Fort Myers.
I remain, your sister in Christ,
Dr. Judith A. Lee, RCWP
Monday, June 23, 2008
Roman Catholic Womanpriest Suzanne Avison Thiel's Letter is published in the Oregonian
Photo of Suzanne Avison Thiel with her husband and sons standing beside her.
Affirm Women as Priests
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Oregonian
"Women claim ordination, are expelled from church" (June 17), updated us on the latest developments in the Roman Catholic Church.This is a time of transition in the church, a time of renewal but also a time of justified anger not only for all the sex abuse that has gone on (right here in our hometown) but anger because the all-male clergy has now pronounced excommunication for women daring to be ordained to the priesthood.Isn't it ironic that there is no automatic excommunication of priests who have committed crimes of violence against our children? The refusal of the church to treat women as equals, basing it on the tradition of the church, is disgusting.The continued refusal of the church to treat half the human race as equals makes women in society vulnerable to violence in all its forms.It is time that the Catholic Church affirms that a woman is holy (as holy as a man), a full human being who can image Christ in the priesthood.
SUZANNE AVISON THIEL Southwest Portland
Friday, June 20, 2008
Homily:Bishop Tom Gumbleton
"I think of how, within the last two weeks, there's a new decree from Rome condemning women who have in any way participated in ordination of women, Instead of listening to what's happening in the world around us, and instead of accepting the fact that there's nowhere in the gospels that says women can't be ordained; instead of listening to women and why they want to enter into roles of servant leadership in the church, we condemn them, excommunicate them. I think that's wrong, very wrong, if you take into consideration the way Jesus was... "
This quote is from a homily given at St. Hilary Parish in Redford, Mi.
Visit NCRcafe.org for free downloads of Bishop Gumbleton's homilies.
Note: Bishop Gumbleton's brother Jerry and sister-in-law Marion attend Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church in Sarasota, Florida.
This quote is from a homily given at St. Hilary Parish in Redford, Mi.
Visit NCRcafe.org for free downloads of Bishop Gumbleton's homilies.
Note: Bishop Gumbleton's brother Jerry and sister-in-law Marion attend Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church in Sarasota, Florida.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A time of Optimism and Justified Anger: "Women in my church have no voice." Joan Houk's Letter to Editor in Pittsburgh Gazette
Joan Houk is second from the right in this picture of the ordinations that took place in St. Louis on Nov. 10, 2007
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08170/890614-110.stm
Thank you to Ann Rodgers for her article on May 31, Vatican moves against ordination of women. As a Roman Catholic Womanpriest, I have received many phone calls and e-mails of concern and support. This is a time of transition in the Catholic Church, a time of optimism, but also of justified anger.
Anger because women in the Middle East are stoned for violating Islamic law; brides in India are burned for dowry; girls in Africa are genitally mutilated; women in war-torn countries are impregnated by enemy soldiers; and females in China are aborted simply because they are female. Around the world wives are beaten by their husbands; female children are sexually abused by their fathers, uncles, brothers; women of all ages are raped and murdered. Single mothers are abandoned by the fathers of their children; hard-working women are unfairly paid; many females are denied education; and women in my Church have no voice.
Anger because the all male clergy have pronounced excommunication for women daring to be ordained to the priesthood, but there is no excommunication of Catholics committing crimes of violence against women. The refusal of the Church to treat women as equals makes women in society vulnerable to violence in all its forms. The Church must affirm that a woman is holy, is a full human being made in the image of God, and can image Christ in the priesthood. To affirm this, in justice, the all male clergy must ordain women.
Joan Houk
McCandless
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Article in Oregonian about Roman Catholic Womanpriest: Toni Tortorilla
Toni Tortorilla is in the middle, Suzanne Thiel is on the right and Ruth Broeski is on the left.
Women claim ordination, are expelled from church
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
"I believe in the supremacy of conscience, and my conscience has led me all along to be an ordained Roman Catholic priest," Tortorilla said last week. She, too, rejects the excommunication decree and says she will continue to serve her growing community. Archaeological and historical evidence, she says, supports the view that women have been priests and bishops in the Catholic Church.
"The Holy Spirit's call to be a priest is very strong and very persistent," she said. "It supercedes the Vatican's determination not to ordain women."
"The Holy Spirit's call to be a priest is very strong and very persistent," she said. "It supercedes the Vatican's determination not to ordain women."
Monday, June 16, 2008
Roman Catholic Women Ordain Two Women in Portland, Oregon
Ordination June 7, 2008
This is Portland's second ordination at the Zion United Church of Christ, Gresham, Oregon (suburb of Portland). Pastor Dennis Alger and congregation have been very welcoming so gracious and supportive in allowing RCWP to hold a second ordination at their church at no cost....This June 7th ordination is the first public ceremony presided by new American womenbishop, Dana Reynolds from Carmel, California180 people attended---of all ages---well received---joyous enthusiastic loud participatory singing of the litany of saints---obvious acceptance from the people---tears and applause and many many smiles... reception put on by CTA of Oregon membersPicture shows newly ordained priest, Ruth Broeski of Portland and deacon Sandra DeMaster from McMinnville, Oregon and RCWP priests,Suzanne Thiel from Portland and Juanita Cordero from Los Gatos, California.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Women Should Be Allowed Into Priesthood
June 14, 2008 The Olympian
Women should be allowed into priesthood
The Olympian reported that three more men have alleged they were sexually abused by a priest at Saint Martin’s High School in the 1950s. This is the second lawsuit filed this year against the priest, who died in 1980.
What is not reported and probably never will be are the names of the church leaders in charge of supervising this alleged sexual predator and allowed him the freedom to keep on abusing. If we go with history, no bishops or abbots have yet to be charged for their cover-up activity.
The same day this report aired, the Vatican announced that, “anyone trying to ordain a woman and any woman who attempts to receive such ordination is automatically excommunicated.”
Isn’t this another form of sexual abuse? It’s sad that the church does not excommunicate clergy guilty of sexual abuse nor will they discipline church leaders guilty of allowing the abuse to continue and yet they will jump on any woman who feels called to ordination!
The vast majority of Catholic theologians are in agreement that there is not a defensible theological argument against ordaining women. When Pope John Paul II asked his Pontifical Biblical Commission to outline the scriptural arguments against women’s ordination, the scripture scholars told him to look elsewhere for reasons because they are not in the Bible.
Sexual abuse of minor boys will always elicit strong reaction but the ongoing sexual abuse of women by our Church is too often ignored or accepted as normal behavior.
Tom Hill, Olympia
Women should be allowed into priesthood
The Olympian reported that three more men have alleged they were sexually abused by a priest at Saint Martin’s High School in the 1950s. This is the second lawsuit filed this year against the priest, who died in 1980.
What is not reported and probably never will be are the names of the church leaders in charge of supervising this alleged sexual predator and allowed him the freedom to keep on abusing. If we go with history, no bishops or abbots have yet to be charged for their cover-up activity.
The same day this report aired, the Vatican announced that, “anyone trying to ordain a woman and any woman who attempts to receive such ordination is automatically excommunicated.”
Isn’t this another form of sexual abuse? It’s sad that the church does not excommunicate clergy guilty of sexual abuse nor will they discipline church leaders guilty of allowing the abuse to continue and yet they will jump on any woman who feels called to ordination!
The vast majority of Catholic theologians are in agreement that there is not a defensible theological argument against ordaining women. When Pope John Paul II asked his Pontifical Biblical Commission to outline the scriptural arguments against women’s ordination, the scripture scholars told him to look elsewhere for reasons because they are not in the Bible.
Sexual abuse of minor boys will always elicit strong reaction but the ongoing sexual abuse of women by our Church is too often ignored or accepted as normal behavior.
Tom Hill, Olympia
Friday, June 13, 2008
Voice of the Faithful/N.J. Responds to the R C Church's Decree that Automatically Excommunicates Women Ordained to the Priesthood
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Theresa Padovano (973) 539-8732
VOTFNJ Responds to the Roman Catholic Church’s Decree that Automatically Excommunicates Women Ordained to the Priesthood
In response to the Decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) against Women's Ordination, we the members of Voice of the Faithful New Jersey support the following statement issued by CORPUS – National Association for an Inclusive Ministry.
Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events. When that validation is withheld for reasons which have nothing substantial to do with ministry, then the baptized community must call bishops to respect biblical norms and Gospel imperatives. The life of a community and of the Eucharist cannot be held hostage to Church policies which undermine them. A baptized community has a human and evangelical right to community, pastoral care and Eucharistic celebration.
For these reasons, CORPUS stands in solidarity with those ordained women who followed their calling and were selected for priesthood when bishops rejected them. When rejection is based on weak theological reasons and on a refusal to dialogue with or hear these women, then the community must act against what is sees as an injustice, indeed discrimination, and behavior which Christ could not endorse.
To excommunicate all these women, “latae sententiae”, automatically, without a hearing and due process, is the mark of a frightened and absolutist leadership. No democracy or humane government in the world employs its harshest penalty automatically against its citizens, without due process, redress, appeal, open courtrooms, judicial restraint and equity. It astonishes us that a Church we love can act in so desperate and destructive a manner. We, therefore, in the conviction that the future church will find this action shameful and unworthy, stand in solidarity with our sisters who seek to serve God’s People and are treated as criminals. They are branded as sinners to be excluded from the very sacramental life of the Church which their ordination was intended to make more abundantly available. Irony is too weak a word to describe this; tragedy is a more accurate description.
In addition, we offer the following points:
1. The Papal Commission on the ordination of women found no biblical justification for the exclusion of women from Holy Orders.
2. The National Review Board set up by the bishops in Dallas in 2002, made clear that the “clerical culture” of the Roman Catholic Church was a root cause of the sex abuse phenomenon. The ordination of women and of a married priesthood would help reform that culture.
3. History informs us that ordained women ministered to their faith communities in the early Church and throughout the first millennium.
4. As the faithful we have a responsibility in Church law to express our needs to our pastors. The Holy Spirit has spoken to women among us. They have courageously responded.
We know from our historical experience that silence implies consent. Catholic theology and tradition teach that an unjust law must be resisted and that a dubious law need not be obeyed.
We believe the elements above are in accord with all the goals of VOTF.
- END -
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Theresa Padovano (973) 539-8732
VOTFNJ Responds to the Roman Catholic Church’s Decree that Automatically Excommunicates Women Ordained to the Priesthood
In response to the Decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) against Women's Ordination, we the members of Voice of the Faithful New Jersey support the following statement issued by CORPUS – National Association for an Inclusive Ministry.
Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events. When that validation is withheld for reasons which have nothing substantial to do with ministry, then the baptized community must call bishops to respect biblical norms and Gospel imperatives. The life of a community and of the Eucharist cannot be held hostage to Church policies which undermine them. A baptized community has a human and evangelical right to community, pastoral care and Eucharistic celebration.
For these reasons, CORPUS stands in solidarity with those ordained women who followed their calling and were selected for priesthood when bishops rejected them. When rejection is based on weak theological reasons and on a refusal to dialogue with or hear these women, then the community must act against what is sees as an injustice, indeed discrimination, and behavior which Christ could not endorse.
To excommunicate all these women, “latae sententiae”, automatically, without a hearing and due process, is the mark of a frightened and absolutist leadership. No democracy or humane government in the world employs its harshest penalty automatically against its citizens, without due process, redress, appeal, open courtrooms, judicial restraint and equity. It astonishes us that a Church we love can act in so desperate and destructive a manner. We, therefore, in the conviction that the future church will find this action shameful and unworthy, stand in solidarity with our sisters who seek to serve God’s People and are treated as criminals. They are branded as sinners to be excluded from the very sacramental life of the Church which their ordination was intended to make more abundantly available. Irony is too weak a word to describe this; tragedy is a more accurate description.
In addition, we offer the following points:
1. The Papal Commission on the ordination of women found no biblical justification for the exclusion of women from Holy Orders.
2. The National Review Board set up by the bishops in Dallas in 2002, made clear that the “clerical culture” of the Roman Catholic Church was a root cause of the sex abuse phenomenon. The ordination of women and of a married priesthood would help reform that culture.
3. History informs us that ordained women ministered to their faith communities in the early Church and throughout the first millennium.
4. As the faithful we have a responsibility in Church law to express our needs to our pastors. The Holy Spirit has spoken to women among us. They have courageously responded.
We know from our historical experience that silence implies consent. Catholic theology and tradition teach that an unjust law must be resisted and that a dubious law need not be obeyed.
We believe the elements above are in accord with all the goals of VOTF.
- END -
Support from Florida Rabbi and British Lord and Lady for Roman Catholic Womenpriests
Many months ago, I was introduced to a movement called Roman Catholic Womenpriests. I invited one of them, Bridget Mary Meehan, to speak to our congregation on a Friday night after Services. This week word reached me that all of the Womenpriests had been excommunicated by the Vatican. I wrote Bridget Mary and commented that a little thing like excommunication surely would not stop her and those like her. Her response basically was, of course not! Originally, I likened the Womenpriest movement to the early days of Reform Judaism. Like them, we were opposed by the 'authorities', namely the Orthodox, who, through the European model of connections between religion and the state, brought government pressure against the Reformers. Clearly, because Reform Judaism was transplanted to America, with its concepts of religious freedom and the separation of church-state, Reform has flourished and now is a world-wide presence. Hopefully, the dream of Womenpriests to 'reform' the Church will also grow and gain in strength in this free land of ours.
Rabbi Larry Mahrer
Temple Beth El
Bradenton, Florida
From the Telegraph in the U.K., 6.11.2008.
* * *
Lord Patten: Let women and married men become Roman Catholic priests
By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:42PM BST 12/06/2008
Thousands of leading Roman Catholics including Lord Patten and Baroness Williams are calling on the Church to allow women and married men into the priesthood.
* * *
Lord Patten: Let women and married men become Roman Catholic priests
By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:42PM BST 12/06/2008
Thousands of leading Roman Catholics including Lord Patten and Baroness Williams are calling on the Church to allow women and married men into the priesthood.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Papacy Is A 'Gift" That Needs Repair
Published on National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline3.org/drupal)
Papacy is a 'gift' but needs repair, leading ecumenist says
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Miami
The papacy is a “gift” of the Catholic church to other Christians, a leading Catholic ecumenist said this morning, but it needs “repair” before those other Christians are likely to accept it.
Specifically, Margaret O’Gara of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto called for a papacy that’s “less centralized, less authoritarian, and more respectful of the diversity of local churches.”
Papacy is a 'gift' but needs repair, leading ecumenist says
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Miami
The papacy is a “gift” of the Catholic church to other Christians, a leading Catholic ecumenist said this morning, but it needs “repair” before those other Christians are likely to accept it.
Specifically, Margaret O’Gara of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto called for a papacy that’s “less centralized, less authoritarian, and more respectful of the diversity of local churches.”
Worldwide Network Challenges Pope on Excommunication and Sexism in the Church
Worldwide network challenges Pope on excommunications and sexism in the church
Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) expresses profound dismay at the recent decree by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which automatically excommunicates anyone involved in the
ordination of women priests. With this decree, the Vatican attempts to reinforce its ban on the
discussion of women’s ordination among faithful Catholics who are gravely concerned for the future of
pastoral ministry.
In its obstinate refusal to test women's priestly vocations, the Vatican fails in its duty to ensure the
faithful receive the sacramental pastoral care to which they are entitled. The conviction of the Church
has always been that genuine vocations come from God. Though no one has the right to be ordained,
the Vatican persists in its flagrant discrimination against women by refusing even to consider their call
to priesthood. The fact that many responsible women, together with their communities, discern
vocations to ordained ministry is a sign from the Holy Spirit. Vatican actions which block such a sign
show nothing but contempt for the sensus fidelium and demonstrate that the hierarchy is tragically out
of touch with the people it is called to serve.
In baptism, women and men share equally in the priesthood of Christ. Baptism implies a fundamental
openness to all sacraments, including Holy Orders. The history of the Church documents the
ordination of women. Jennifer Stark, coordinator of WOW, commented, ‘This is a global issue. In
many countries around the world, the exclusion of women from ordained ministry, and thus from the
decision-making structures of a worldwide church, has profound effects for their position and well
being, and that of their children. It signals that they are lesser beings in the eyes of God.’
WOW calls on all to act against the unjust laws that exclude women from the sacrament of Holy
Orders. We ask Pope Benedict XVI to follow Christ’s gospel imperative by liberating the church from
the sin of sexism. We urge bishops throughout the world to recognize and act on their episcopal
responsibility to their people. We further urge them to use their voice to challenge the legitimacy of
this decree and the ban on discussion of women’s ordination.
________________________________________________________________________
Women’s Ordination Worldwide was established during the First European Women’s Synod in Gmunden,
Austria in 1996. It is a network of national and international organisations working for the inclusion of women in
all ordained ministries. WOW has hosted two international conferences (Dublin 2001 and Ottawa 2005) and
plans to hold a third conference in California in 2010.
_________________________________________________________________________
10 June 2008
Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) expresses profound dismay at the recent decree by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which automatically excommunicates anyone involved in the
ordination of women priests. With this decree, the Vatican attempts to reinforce its ban on the
discussion of women’s ordination among faithful Catholics who are gravely concerned for the future of
pastoral ministry.
In its obstinate refusal to test women's priestly vocations, the Vatican fails in its duty to ensure the
faithful receive the sacramental pastoral care to which they are entitled. The conviction of the Church
has always been that genuine vocations come from God. Though no one has the right to be ordained,
the Vatican persists in its flagrant discrimination against women by refusing even to consider their call
to priesthood. The fact that many responsible women, together with their communities, discern
vocations to ordained ministry is a sign from the Holy Spirit. Vatican actions which block such a sign
show nothing but contempt for the sensus fidelium and demonstrate that the hierarchy is tragically out
of touch with the people it is called to serve.
In baptism, women and men share equally in the priesthood of Christ. Baptism implies a fundamental
openness to all sacraments, including Holy Orders. The history of the Church documents the
ordination of women. Jennifer Stark, coordinator of WOW, commented, ‘This is a global issue. In
many countries around the world, the exclusion of women from ordained ministry, and thus from the
decision-making structures of a worldwide church, has profound effects for their position and well
being, and that of their children. It signals that they are lesser beings in the eyes of God.’
WOW calls on all to act against the unjust laws that exclude women from the sacrament of Holy
Orders. We ask Pope Benedict XVI to follow Christ’s gospel imperative by liberating the church from
the sin of sexism. We urge bishops throughout the world to recognize and act on their episcopal
responsibility to their people. We further urge them to use their voice to challenge the legitimacy of
this decree and the ban on discussion of women’s ordination.
________________________________________________________________________
Women’s Ordination Worldwide was established during the First European Women’s Synod in Gmunden,
Austria in 1996. It is a network of national and international organisations working for the inclusion of women in
all ordained ministries. WOW has hosted two international conferences (Dublin 2001 and Ottawa 2005) and
plans to hold a third conference in California in 2010.
_________________________________________________________________________
10 June 2008
European Theologians: "The Vatican Cannot Stop the Ordination of Women"
Statement by ICETH – The Interreligious Conference of European Women Theologians concerning the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Decree on the ordination of women
The Vatican cannot stop the ordination of women
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has on the 29th May 2008 issued a decree that "both the one who attempts to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the woman who attempts to receive a sacred order, incur an excommunication latae sententiae reserved to the Apostolic See". The decree, which comes to force immediately, is issued "in order to protect the nature and validity of the sacrament of order".
Apparently, the movement within the Roman-Catholic Church which since 2002 has ordained women as priests and bishops in Europe as well as the USA, has caused great anxiety in the Vatican. That the Hierarchy takes such drastic measures is an indication that this movement is seen as a serious threat.
Tha Vatican anathema is directed agains women who no longer submit to being excluded from holy orders by the male establishment of the church, but pursue their vocation to the priesthood in a time of acute shortage of priests in the Roman-Catholic Church. They do so in fidelity to the words of the Bible that say that the Spirit "blows wherever it pleases" (John 3:8), and gives its gifts "to each one, just as (s)he determines" (1 Cor 12:11), and that among those who are baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, there is "neither male nor female" (Gal 3:28).
In tying the gifts of the Spirit to the male sex, instead of baptism, the Vatican rejects not only the human rights of women, but also the word of the Bible. Thus, the women who have received the vocation to the priesthood cannot defer to a hierarchy that so has forfeited its authority. Accordingly, the ban will not have the desired effect. The movement for women's access to the interpretation of holy scriptures, as well as leading postions within religious communities, that is growing within all religious traditions, will not be stopped, even in the Roman-Catholic Church.
The Vatican cannot stop the ordination of women
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has on the 29th May 2008 issued a decree that "both the one who attempts to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the woman who attempts to receive a sacred order, incur an excommunication latae sententiae reserved to the Apostolic See". The decree, which comes to force immediately, is issued "in order to protect the nature and validity of the sacrament of order".
Apparently, the movement within the Roman-Catholic Church which since 2002 has ordained women as priests and bishops in Europe as well as the USA, has caused great anxiety in the Vatican. That the Hierarchy takes such drastic measures is an indication that this movement is seen as a serious threat.
Tha Vatican anathema is directed agains women who no longer submit to being excluded from holy orders by the male establishment of the church, but pursue their vocation to the priesthood in a time of acute shortage of priests in the Roman-Catholic Church. They do so in fidelity to the words of the Bible that say that the Spirit "blows wherever it pleases" (John 3:8), and gives its gifts "to each one, just as (s)he determines" (1 Cor 12:11), and that among those who are baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, there is "neither male nor female" (Gal 3:28).
In tying the gifts of the Spirit to the male sex, instead of baptism, the Vatican rejects not only the human rights of women, but also the word of the Bible. Thus, the women who have received the vocation to the priesthood cannot defer to a hierarchy that so has forfeited its authority. Accordingly, the ban will not have the desired effect. The movement for women's access to the interpretation of holy scriptures, as well as leading postions within religious communities, that is growing within all religious traditions, will not be stopped, even in the Roman-Catholic Church.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Female Priest Marie Evans Bouclin called to pastor Christ the Servant Catholic Community
Female priest reflects on first year of service
Evans Bouclin was ordained on May 27, 2007, in Toronto
Posted By BY CLAIRE PILON, FOR THE SUDBURY STAR
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1068853
"When I asked to be ordained, I was expecting to serve small faith communities like the ones that call me as their priest here in Sudbury," said Marie Evans Bouclin.
Instead, she was given a church to minister. "I was asked to pastor the community of Christ the Servant in Cobourg and I was not expecting that kind of public ministry," Evans Bouclin said.
"I plan to continue my ministry in Cobourg, working with the full-time pastor to build and develop the community, and I will also be journeying with women and men who are preparing for priestly ministry."
Evans Bouclin was ordained on May 27, 2007, in Toronto
Posted By BY CLAIRE PILON, FOR THE SUDBURY STAR
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1068853
"When I asked to be ordained, I was expecting to serve small faith communities like the ones that call me as their priest here in Sudbury," said Marie Evans Bouclin.
Instead, she was given a church to minister. "I was asked to pastor the community of Christ the Servant in Cobourg and I was not expecting that kind of public ministry," Evans Bouclin said.
"I plan to continue my ministry in Cobourg, working with the full-time pastor to build and develop the community, and I will also be journeying with women and men who are preparing for priestly ministry."
Monday, June 9, 2008
More Links to articles on Roman Catholic Womenpriests Reaction to Vatican Excommunication
West Bend woman reacts to Vatican excommunication
By Tom Heinen
Tuesday, Jun 3 2008, 12:57 PM
Alice Iaquinta of West Bend, who underwent unsanctioned ordination ceremonies last year in Toronto (diaconate) and Minneapolis (priesthood), has not been deterred by a Vatican decree last week
"The whole notion of excommunication is quite outdated,” she said. “And it has to be received. And that’s what the Roman Catholic Womenpriests’ position is, that we simply don’t accept this excommunication because nothing can separate us from our faith, from our God, from our spirituality or from our call.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/faith/archive/2008/06/03/west-bend-woman-reacts-to-vatican-excommunication.aspx
By Tom Heinen
Tuesday, Jun 3 2008, 12:57 PM
Alice Iaquinta of West Bend, who underwent unsanctioned ordination ceremonies last year in Toronto (diaconate) and Minneapolis (priesthood), has not been deterred by a Vatican decree last week
"The whole notion of excommunication is quite outdated,” she said. “And it has to be received. And that’s what the Roman Catholic Womenpriests’ position is, that we simply don’t accept this excommunication because nothing can separate us from our faith, from our God, from our spirituality or from our call.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/faith/archive/2008/06/03/west-bend-woman-reacts-to-vatican-excommunication.aspx
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Roman Catholic Womenpriests Follow Joan of Arc in Response to Vatican Excommunication
Roman Catholic Womenpriests Follow Example of Joan of Arc In Response to Vatican Excommunication)
St. Joan of Arc followed her conscience and refused to obey the hierarchical authorities of her time. On May 30, 1431 at the age of nineteen, Joan was burned at the stake."On being asked whether she did not believe that she was subject to the church which is on earth, namely, our Holy Father, the Pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and prelates of the church, she replied: "Yes, but Our Lord must be served first." She was canonized a saint 450 years later in 1920. St. Joan's courage to stand up to church authorities and follow her conscience makes her a role model for all those who follow their consciences and live their vocations in spite of rejection and hostile treatment by the hierarchy.
On May 29th, 2008, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared under the heading: "Regarding the crime of attempting sacred ordination of a woman" that "Remaining firm on what has been established by canon 1378 of the Canon Law, both he who has attempted to confer holy orders on a woman, and the woman who has attempted to receive the said sacrament, incurs in latae sententiae excommunication, reserved to the Apostolic See."
According to Vatican officials, this penalty does not permit hearings , appeals or any form of due process.
On May 30th, 2008, Roman Catholic Womenpriests issued a statement rejecting the Vatican excommunication. It stated: "in obedience to Jesus, we are disobeying an unjust law."
Like St. Joan, Roman Catholic Womenpriests are practicing prophetic disobedience to an unjust law that discriminates against women. Like St. Joan, Roman Catholic Womenpriests have received the harshest punishment ( luckily, burning at the stake is no longer an option for church officials!) from the Vatican, a "latae sententiae", a punishment that makes the ordination of women a crime and means that ordained women are forbidden from receiving sacraments in the institutional church, leading liturgical worship, or holding eccelsiastical office.
The Vatican has not excommunicated any pedophile priest or bishop who covered up these crimes. In fact, some prelates, like Cardinal Law and Cardinal Levada are rewarded with prestigious jobs in Rome. Cardinal Levada, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who signed the edict of excommunication, was bishop of the Portland diocese, the first U.S. diocese to declare bankruptcy. He received a subpoena to testify in the sex abuse scandal before he left San Francisco for his present appointment in Rome. In an article dated July 10, 2004 in the San Francisco Chronicle, Don Lattin writes: "Levada, who served as the archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995, oversaw church disciplinary proceedings against two Oregon priests accused of child molestation, including one who was put back in regular parish ministry in 1994, following a brief period of "rehabilitation," the attorneys say. On Tuesday, the Portland Archdiocese -- which has spent more than $53 million to settle more than 130 claims of priest abuse -- became the first Catholic diocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy. "
Like St. Joan, Roman Catholic Womenpriests are practicing prophetic disobedience to an unjust law that discriminates against women. Like St. Joan, Roman Catholic Womenpriests have received the harshest punishment ( luckily, burning at the stake is no longer an option for church officials!) from the Vatican, a "latae sententiae", a punishment that makes the ordination of women a crime and means that ordained women are forbidden from receiving sacraments in the institutional church, leading liturgical worship, or holding eccelsiastical office.
The Vatican has not excommunicated any pedophile priest or bishop who covered up these crimes. In fact, some prelates, like Cardinal Law and Cardinal Levada are rewarded with prestigious jobs in Rome. Cardinal Levada, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who signed the edict of excommunication, was bishop of the Portland diocese, the first U.S. diocese to declare bankruptcy. He received a subpoena to testify in the sex abuse scandal before he left San Francisco for his present appointment in Rome. In an article dated July 10, 2004 in the San Francisco Chronicle, Don Lattin writes: "Levada, who served as the archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995, oversaw church disciplinary proceedings against two Oregon priests accused of child molestation, including one who was put back in regular parish ministry in 1994, following a brief period of "rehabilitation," the attorneys say. On Tuesday, the Portland Archdiocese -- which has spent more than $53 million to settle more than 130 claims of priest abuse -- became the first Catholic diocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy. "
The real scandal here is that the Vatican issued an automatic excommunication against women priests, treating us as criminals while failing to discipline the bishops who have been at the center of the worst scandal in U.S. church history.
Catholics in survey after survey indicate their support for women priests. The church's prohibition has not been received by the faithful, the "sensus fidelium" , and therefore is not authoritative. It has no binding power. It is an unjust law that must be resisted. As St. Augustine taught an unjust law is no law at all. The Vatican's edict of excommunication against the ordination of women is a desperate action by fearful men who are resisting the movement of the Holy Spirit issuing in a new era of partnership and equality, rooted in Jesus' example in the Gospels.
The Vatican says that it is the eternal will of Christ that women cannot be ordained. Yet, this attitude of "blame it on Jesus"contradicts the Vatican's own scholarship. The Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded in 1976 that they found no evidence in Scripture to prohibit women from being ordained. "Seventeen members present at the plenary session of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, voted on various aspects of the report...They agreed unanimously that the New Testament by itself does not seem able to settle in a clear way and once and for all whether women can be ordained priests. "The members voted 12-5 that scriptural grounds alone are not enough to exclude the possibility of ordaining women. Biblical Commission Report "It does not seem that the New Testament by itself alone will permit us to settle in a clear way and once and for all the problem of the possible accession of women to the presbyterate," the Pontifical Biblical Commission says. http://members.aol.com/mfgardner/bcr_prst.htm
Jesus treated women and men as disciples and partners in the Gospel . Luke 8 lists Mary of Magdala, Suzanna, Joanna and many more women as disciples of Jesus. How many sermons have you heard on the many women who were Jesus's disciples? The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala, apostle to the apostles, and called her to "go and tell" the male and female disciples the Good News. The institutional church should follow the example of Christ who entrusted the central message of Christianity to a woman. Scholars, like Ute Eisen,Doorothy Irvin and Gary Macy report that there is overwhelming evidence that women served in ordained ministry in the early Christian community. In his book, The Hidden History of Women's Ordination, Macy concludes that women were ordained for the first twelve hundred years of church history.
Out of deep love for the Catholic community, Roman Catholic Womenpriests (rcwp) are stepping up and serving a church that is in spiritual need of sacramental ministry. Our communities are growing in North America. In 2008, we will have 8 ordinations in Minnesota, California, Oregon, British Columbia, Boston, Kentucky, and Illinois. We have 50 members in our rcwp community in the U.S., 9 in Canada and many applicants. As bishops close parishes because of the priest shortage and the pedophile scandal, Roman Catholic Womenpriests give hope to thousands of Catholics who are seeking a spiritual home especially those who no longer feel welome in their own church such as the divorced and remarried, gays and lesbians, and women who feel left out and ignored. In response to Christ's call to serve God's people in priestly minstry, womenpriests are going forward with courage and love in our hearts to wherever there is a need. Perhaps, like St.Joan, one day, the institutional church will recognize us as holy women and men who led the church into a new era of Gospel equality and compassionate service in an inclusive church. The gift we bring to our beloved church is the great gift of a renewed priestly ministry in a vibrant, renewed church. "This is the day, God has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it." Viva Joan of Arc! Viva Roman Catholic Womenpriests!
Bridget Mary Meehan
Roman Catholic Womanpriest
Ordained in U.S. in Pittsburgh 2006
sofiabmm@aol.com
Bridget Mary Meehan
Roman Catholic Womanpriest
Ordained in U.S. in Pittsburgh 2006
sofiabmm@aol.com
Friday, June 6, 2008
DignityUSA Stands in Solidarity with Women Priests
DignityUSA Stands in Solidarity with Women Priests
by William Henderson June 04, 2008
eaders of Boston-based DignityUSA, the organization of GLBT Catholics, as well as their families and allies, expressed outrage this week at the Vatican’s order of immediate excommunication of women ordained to the priesthood, as well as the bishops who ordained them.“Roman Catholic women who have been ordained minister with a number of DignityUSA’s local Chapters,” said DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke. “By all accounts, their ministry is effective and affirmed by those they serve. The Vatican’s move to excommunicate them is nothing more than an attempt to exert control. DignityUSA rejects this order, and welcomes these women to continue their ministry with our community, in the same way we have affirmed and welcomed the ongoing ministry of gay men and married priests whose ministry is no longer recognized by Church officials.”Duddy-Burke expressed solidarity with ordained women, those preparing for ordination, their families, and all who have priestly vocations that the Vatican and other Church officials refuse to acknowledge. “All around the world, Catholics are hurting because there are not enough priests to say Mass and provide the Sacraments on a regular basis,” she said. “We believe this problem could be easily solved. God calls a wide variety of people to priesthood, and Church officials must acknowledge that.
by William Henderson June 04, 2008
eaders of Boston-based DignityUSA, the organization of GLBT Catholics, as well as their families and allies, expressed outrage this week at the Vatican’s order of immediate excommunication of women ordained to the priesthood, as well as the bishops who ordained them.“Roman Catholic women who have been ordained minister with a number of DignityUSA’s local Chapters,” said DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke. “By all accounts, their ministry is effective and affirmed by those they serve. The Vatican’s move to excommunicate them is nothing more than an attempt to exert control. DignityUSA rejects this order, and welcomes these women to continue their ministry with our community, in the same way we have affirmed and welcomed the ongoing ministry of gay men and married priests whose ministry is no longer recognized by Church officials.”Duddy-Burke expressed solidarity with ordained women, those preparing for ordination, their families, and all who have priestly vocations that the Vatican and other Church officials refuse to acknowledge. “All around the world, Catholics are hurting because there are not enough priests to say Mass and provide the Sacraments on a regular basis,” she said. “We believe this problem could be easily solved. God calls a wide variety of people to priesthood, and Church officials must acknowledge that.
CORPUS/Married Priests' Organization Call Vatican excommunication of Roman Catholic Womenpriests a "Tragedy"
PRESS RELEASE
CORPUS, National Association for an Inclusive Ministry
Contact: Anthony Padovano (973)539-8732
Russ Ditzel (908) 638-4640
Website: http://www.corpus.org/
Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events. When that validation is withheld for reasons which have nothing substantial to do with ministry, then the baptized community must call bishops to respect biblical norms and Gospel imperatives. The life of a community and of the Eucharist cannot be held hostage to Church policies which undermine them. A baptized community has a human and evangelical right to community, pastoral care and Eucharistic celebration.
For these reasons, CORPUS stands in solidarity with those ordained women who followed their calling and were selected for priesthood when bishops rejected them. When rejection is based on weak theological reasons and on a refusal to dialogue with or hear these women, then the community must act against what is sees as an injustice, indeed discrimination, and behavior which Christ could not endorse.
To excommunicate all these women, “latae sententiae”, automatically, without a hearing and due process, is the mark of a frightened and absolutist leadership. No democracy or humane government in the world employs its harshest penalty automatically against its citizens, without due process, redress, appeal, open courtrooms, judicial restraint and equity. It astonishes us that a Church we love can act in so desperate and destructive a manner. We, therefore, in the conviction that the future church will find this action shameful and unworthy, stand in solidarity with our sisters who seek to serve God’s People and are treated as criminals. They are branded as sinners to be excluded from the very sacramental life of the Church which their ordination was intended to make more abundantly available. Irony is too weak a word to describe this; tragedy is a more accurate description.
CORPUS, National Association for an Inclusive Ministry
Contact: Anthony Padovano (973)539-8732
Russ Ditzel (908) 638-4640
Website: http://www.corpus.org/
Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events. When that validation is withheld for reasons which have nothing substantial to do with ministry, then the baptized community must call bishops to respect biblical norms and Gospel imperatives. The life of a community and of the Eucharist cannot be held hostage to Church policies which undermine them. A baptized community has a human and evangelical right to community, pastoral care and Eucharistic celebration.
For these reasons, CORPUS stands in solidarity with those ordained women who followed their calling and were selected for priesthood when bishops rejected them. When rejection is based on weak theological reasons and on a refusal to dialogue with or hear these women, then the community must act against what is sees as an injustice, indeed discrimination, and behavior which Christ could not endorse.
To excommunicate all these women, “latae sententiae”, automatically, without a hearing and due process, is the mark of a frightened and absolutist leadership. No democracy or humane government in the world employs its harshest penalty automatically against its citizens, without due process, redress, appeal, open courtrooms, judicial restraint and equity. It astonishes us that a Church we love can act in so desperate and destructive a manner. We, therefore, in the conviction that the future church will find this action shameful and unworthy, stand in solidarity with our sisters who seek to serve God’s People and are treated as criminals. They are branded as sinners to be excluded from the very sacramental life of the Church which their ordination was intended to make more abundantly available. Irony is too weak a word to describe this; tragedy is a more accurate description.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
God goes to Rome: A story by a Roman Catholic Womanpriest-Eileen DiFranco
Pope Benedict XVI was sitting at his sixteenth century desk in his private office at his private residence, Castel Gandolfo. It was late and the eighty-one-year old Vicar of Christ was fatigued from a very long day of work. He had just slipped out of his red Pravda shoes and tiredly removed the weighty pectoral cross from around his neck when he sensed another presence in the room. Looking towards the heavy drapes that covered the windows, he saw a small, wizened woman with pince nez glasses wearing a long faded cotton dress. Benedict, completely surprised, looked up and inquired, “Are you new here, Sister.”
The woman stepped sprightly from the shadows and walked right up to his desk, placing her hands, palms down, on his desk. Benedict looked from the hands to the deeply lined face with the sparkling bright green eyes and said patiently, as if to a small child, “Can I help you, Sister?”
“Joseph,” she returned with equal patience in perfect German, “I am not your sister or anyone’s sister. “In fact,” she said settling herself comfortably into the chair on the other side of his desk, and crossing her thin legs, and looking at him over the top of her glasses in a most business like fashion, “I am the Lord, thy God.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair, his jaw dropping, pinching himself to see if he were dead. He had always wondered what God might look like. He recalled seeing the American movie, “The Emperor Jones” where God was a black man. He could get that. But God as a woman? He reached for the button on his desk that summoned the Swiss guards. The lady was a lunatic.
A strong hand, smaller and more elderly than his own, grabbed his hand. “Joseph, I am not a lunatic. I am God.” Seeing his surprise at HER divine image, God returned, “ You humans have such predictable images of God: kings, crowns, scepters, royal gold, law and order, high and mighty – all fru fru. God will be Who God will be. Remember Exodus? Your biblical scholars and even your artists think they have the Lord, thy God nailed down. But, you know, the Hebrew tenses so often get lost in translation. You must agree that the future tense puts a different spin on things, yes?” Her green eyes sparkled behind the glasses. “I am like the definition in the catechism. I am, I was, and I will be - but on my own terms, not yours or anyone else’s, which is why I look like this to you. And by the way, you, Joseph, should consider yourself fortunate. Moses only saw my hindquarters and Elijah heard only a whisper. But the modern world needs to work with new metaphors, so you get the full monty. For behold, I create all things new, in case you forgot.” The large, overstuffed chair in which she sat seemed to envelope her small frame. But as she said the word, “forgot,” the chair jolted forward a couple of inches. Benedict could only sit, transfixed.
“You and I need to have what modern people call, ‘conversations’, Joseph. I know you are a good listener. In fact, we need to have a couple of them.” God drummed her fingers on Benedict’s desk and looked pointedly at the accoutrements in the pope’s castle keep. “If I recall, my child, whom you purport to emulate, was born as a poor Jewish baby to an unwed mother in a smelly barn and lived as one of the most wretched of the earth with one coat and no place to put his head. I’ve asked many times and many ways, through my servants Clare and Francis of Assisi, and Dorothy Day, through the Quakers and the Shakers, through the Dalai Lama and the people of the Simple Way, how do you account for all this?” God’s mouth rather snapped shut as SHE waited patiently for his answer. Benedict could only put his hand over his mouth.
Suddenly, God looked under Benedict’s desk at the red Pravda shoes. “I know this is a non sequitor, but can I try on your shoes?” Benedict could only nod. God slid her tiny feet into the red shoes. “It’s a perfect fit,” she announced. “Can I have them?” Before Benedict could answer, she padded out of the pope’s office. “I’ll be back,” she said over her shoulder.
When Benedict awoke the next morning, he was still sitting at his desk with his head down. His back ached and his head hurt. People of a certain age should not sleep at their desks all night. When the good sister who cooked for him brought his morning coffee, she was surprised to find a rumpled pontiff, a little worse for wear.
“Are you feeling well, Holy Father?” she asked, her voice raised slightly in concern.
“Sister, is there a very elderly sister among you, a tiny woman who wears a cotton skirt, with gray hair pulled back in a bun, who wears no head covering and has sparkling green eyes?” Benedict felt silly even asking.
“No, Holy Father, it is only our order who serves you and we are all veiled and wear only black.” She looked at him inquisitively.
“No matter, Sister,” he said, waving his hand in dismissal. Sister bowed and walked out of the room.
Benedict reached under his desk with his toe and tried to slip into his favorite red shoes. “Now how far did I kick them under my desk,” he said aloud as he bent over and stuck his head under the desk. The sister returned to gather up his breakfast found him kneeling on the floor with the top half of his body under the desk.
“Holy Father,” she said rushing towards him, now completely alarmed, “Do you need help?”
“Only in finding my shoes,” came the muffled reply.
Benedict gingerly climbed back into his chair, his pontifical beanie hanging down around his ear and sipped his coffee, shoeless and clueless. What exactly happened to him last night?
Before he could answer himself, SHE was back, striding into his office wearing his red shoes, which seemed to have some sort of glow about them. His head hurt and he couldn’t think straight despite the strong black coffee. What was that movie he had seen when he was a boy? She saw his eyes looking at his shoes. “Dorothy,” she said. “The Wizard of Oz.”
“You do like them on me, Joseph? I have really taken a shine to them.” She raised her long skirt a bit and showed him each tiny foot.
“I see, Sister,” he replied pushing his beanie back up on his head, “But how…?”
God stopped him in mid-sentence and rather thundered. “Joseph, I am not a sister or your sister. I am the Lord God Almighty. Get over your fear of powerful women.” She walked over to his desk, each foot creating a pool of red as it touched the oriental carpet. SHE looked down at Benedict’s desk and read the correspondence on his desk, a letter signed by Cardinal Levada, the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, excommunicating women priests and the bishops who ordain them.
“Joseph,” she asked plaintively, “Don’t you all have better things to do? My people are starving in Myanmar and dying in China, the entire church is falling down around your papal ears and all you are worried about is who can look like me! You say you have no power to change the practice of the church? Of course you do. You’re the pope! Two thousand years is but a day in MY eyes.”
SHE waved the letter in front of his face, “You are such a smart man. Why are you doing this dumb thing?” She threw the letter on the floor, and stamped on it with her red shoes, leaving a red imprint. “Do you really think that anyone can image the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth?” God’s eyes seemed to flash and then deepen into unfathomable pools into which Joseph found himself sinking. He could not move. For the first time in his life, Joseph felt thrashed by a woman. When he saw God’s look, he quickly checked his thoughts.
“You also have an incredibly bad taste in your appointments. Do you have some sort of vetting process when you do this, like businesses do? Or do you just use your gut like my son George in America does? Do you know that I had a talk with Bishop Burke in St. Louis after he excommunicated Elsie, Rosemarie, and Marek along with his entire parish council? I directed him to stop persecuting ME. It was a divine experience, right from the Book of Acts. I knocked him out, he’s that hard headed. And still he chose not to listen to ME! And then you, Joseph, promoted him! How do you think your silliness makes ME look? People judge ME, the Lord thy God by your actions. If you don’t make any sense, then somehow people think I don’t make any sense. Have you ever thought about that?” Benedict sunk deeper and deeper into his chair.
“And this Levada fellow, “ she continued, “He was about to be subpoenaed by an American court. You rescued him so he didn’t have to face his terrible mistakes. You did the same thing with that Law fellow from Boston. You protect men instead of allowing them to learn from their bad mistakes. My people aren’t all that stupid that they can’t deal with your buddies’ errors. Didn’t I tell you that all of you have fallen short of MY glory? The people know and understand that. They would have forgiven you. It’s the hypocrisy that gets them, not dumb human mistakes. When will you ever learn? You are not ME! And then you have the temerity, the temerity, Joseph, to think that you can separate people from MY love! Just how, Joseph, do you practice pastoral care? In your head without your heart?”
God was so angry that SHE reached over the desk and grabbed the pope’s pectoral cross from his desk, put it around her neck, and strode out of his office in his red Pravda shoes. Benedict heard her exclaim as she went out of sight, “Do not tempt the Lord, thy God.”
Benedict must have fallen asleep again. When he awakened, his physician was standing over him. “Your Eminence, you Eminence, are you all right?”
Lifting up his head, Benedict looked at his doctor with bleary eyes. “Am I all right, Doctor? I can’t honestly say. Let’s just say that I have had the shock of my life. Actually, there were a couple of shocks. Please let me sleep off whatever happened to me.” As he climbed into bed with the doctor trying to take his pulse, all Benedict could think of were the deep green pools of God’s eyes. Benedict snored through the doctor’s exam.
The pontiff swam effortlessly in the deep green pools of God’s eyes. The water, suffused with light, was clear, straight through to the bottom. Although he was under the water, he had no need for oxygen. As he swam, Benedict felt God removing the burdens of his adult life. His age disappeared and since his clothes fell away, he could see that his body looked as it did when he entered the seminary at age 13. Books dropped from his hands and ideas felt out of his head. He saw them all float away and sink towards what he thought was the bottom. Part of him wanted to swim after them but a voice said to him, “You are a new creation. You have no further need of these things.”
He floated to the surface and a gentle wave carried him towards the shore. A large contingent of women stood on the beach dancing and singing. He wanted to laugh, sing and dance with them in his new found freedom. As he emerged from the shallows, he only caught the last verse sung by a large woman who wore a sash across her chest that read, “Queen Latifa.” “God’s gonna trouble the wah- a- wa-ter!”
The women stopped singing when they saw the young man standing in the shallows. The queen stepped forward. “We are the women who supported Jesus when HE walked through the streets of Jerusalem on his way to Golgotha. We are intimately acquainted with grief, inflicted upon us all by transgressors of the law of love. We are women who have had issues of blood, despised, rejected, used and misused by men. We have been raped and murdered. We have been forced to have children against our will, even when it killed us. We have been forced to marry against our will. We have been forced to enter convents against our will. We have been forced to think thoughts that are not our own, thoughts that have destroyed our minds and our souls. We have been held to have no account in the world of men who choose not to believe us. We have been burdened with the sins of men who could not bear their own sins. We have been told to ‘offer it up’ to men who laugh at us or ignore us or cast stones at us. We understand the theology of the cross for it has been our constant companion. Our blood cries out for justice, and the arm of our God will give you strength for you are the one who will make an offering of your life as you know it for this sin. You will learn the true meaning of the cross. You will learn what it means to give up everything, everything for God. You will become like us, despised and rejected.”
As the queen finished speaking, Benedict felt his old self coming together again and he began to cry. He never did get a chance to dance. A short woman with a South African accent walked up to him and gently wiped his face with a towel she removed from around her shoulders. A tall woman with short dark hair gave him a bear hug and kissed him on both cheeks. Then the tiny woman with the green eyes placed her hand on his chest. “I have put a seal upon your heart, Joseph. I love you and you are mine.”
Joseph felt a burning sensation in his chest as if he had just drunk a glass of schnapps and woke up.
To be continued.
Eileen DiFranco
The woman stepped sprightly from the shadows and walked right up to his desk, placing her hands, palms down, on his desk. Benedict looked from the hands to the deeply lined face with the sparkling bright green eyes and said patiently, as if to a small child, “Can I help you, Sister?”
“Joseph,” she returned with equal patience in perfect German, “I am not your sister or anyone’s sister. “In fact,” she said settling herself comfortably into the chair on the other side of his desk, and crossing her thin legs, and looking at him over the top of her glasses in a most business like fashion, “I am the Lord, thy God.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair, his jaw dropping, pinching himself to see if he were dead. He had always wondered what God might look like. He recalled seeing the American movie, “The Emperor Jones” where God was a black man. He could get that. But God as a woman? He reached for the button on his desk that summoned the Swiss guards. The lady was a lunatic.
A strong hand, smaller and more elderly than his own, grabbed his hand. “Joseph, I am not a lunatic. I am God.” Seeing his surprise at HER divine image, God returned, “ You humans have such predictable images of God: kings, crowns, scepters, royal gold, law and order, high and mighty – all fru fru. God will be Who God will be. Remember Exodus? Your biblical scholars and even your artists think they have the Lord, thy God nailed down. But, you know, the Hebrew tenses so often get lost in translation. You must agree that the future tense puts a different spin on things, yes?” Her green eyes sparkled behind the glasses. “I am like the definition in the catechism. I am, I was, and I will be - but on my own terms, not yours or anyone else’s, which is why I look like this to you. And by the way, you, Joseph, should consider yourself fortunate. Moses only saw my hindquarters and Elijah heard only a whisper. But the modern world needs to work with new metaphors, so you get the full monty. For behold, I create all things new, in case you forgot.” The large, overstuffed chair in which she sat seemed to envelope her small frame. But as she said the word, “forgot,” the chair jolted forward a couple of inches. Benedict could only sit, transfixed.
“You and I need to have what modern people call, ‘conversations’, Joseph. I know you are a good listener. In fact, we need to have a couple of them.” God drummed her fingers on Benedict’s desk and looked pointedly at the accoutrements in the pope’s castle keep. “If I recall, my child, whom you purport to emulate, was born as a poor Jewish baby to an unwed mother in a smelly barn and lived as one of the most wretched of the earth with one coat and no place to put his head. I’ve asked many times and many ways, through my servants Clare and Francis of Assisi, and Dorothy Day, through the Quakers and the Shakers, through the Dalai Lama and the people of the Simple Way, how do you account for all this?” God’s mouth rather snapped shut as SHE waited patiently for his answer. Benedict could only put his hand over his mouth.
Suddenly, God looked under Benedict’s desk at the red Pravda shoes. “I know this is a non sequitor, but can I try on your shoes?” Benedict could only nod. God slid her tiny feet into the red shoes. “It’s a perfect fit,” she announced. “Can I have them?” Before Benedict could answer, she padded out of the pope’s office. “I’ll be back,” she said over her shoulder.
When Benedict awoke the next morning, he was still sitting at his desk with his head down. His back ached and his head hurt. People of a certain age should not sleep at their desks all night. When the good sister who cooked for him brought his morning coffee, she was surprised to find a rumpled pontiff, a little worse for wear.
“Are you feeling well, Holy Father?” she asked, her voice raised slightly in concern.
“Sister, is there a very elderly sister among you, a tiny woman who wears a cotton skirt, with gray hair pulled back in a bun, who wears no head covering and has sparkling green eyes?” Benedict felt silly even asking.
“No, Holy Father, it is only our order who serves you and we are all veiled and wear only black.” She looked at him inquisitively.
“No matter, Sister,” he said, waving his hand in dismissal. Sister bowed and walked out of the room.
Benedict reached under his desk with his toe and tried to slip into his favorite red shoes. “Now how far did I kick them under my desk,” he said aloud as he bent over and stuck his head under the desk. The sister returned to gather up his breakfast found him kneeling on the floor with the top half of his body under the desk.
“Holy Father,” she said rushing towards him, now completely alarmed, “Do you need help?”
“Only in finding my shoes,” came the muffled reply.
Benedict gingerly climbed back into his chair, his pontifical beanie hanging down around his ear and sipped his coffee, shoeless and clueless. What exactly happened to him last night?
Before he could answer himself, SHE was back, striding into his office wearing his red shoes, which seemed to have some sort of glow about them. His head hurt and he couldn’t think straight despite the strong black coffee. What was that movie he had seen when he was a boy? She saw his eyes looking at his shoes. “Dorothy,” she said. “The Wizard of Oz.”
“You do like them on me, Joseph? I have really taken a shine to them.” She raised her long skirt a bit and showed him each tiny foot.
“I see, Sister,” he replied pushing his beanie back up on his head, “But how…?”
God stopped him in mid-sentence and rather thundered. “Joseph, I am not a sister or your sister. I am the Lord God Almighty. Get over your fear of powerful women.” She walked over to his desk, each foot creating a pool of red as it touched the oriental carpet. SHE looked down at Benedict’s desk and read the correspondence on his desk, a letter signed by Cardinal Levada, the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, excommunicating women priests and the bishops who ordain them.
“Joseph,” she asked plaintively, “Don’t you all have better things to do? My people are starving in Myanmar and dying in China, the entire church is falling down around your papal ears and all you are worried about is who can look like me! You say you have no power to change the practice of the church? Of course you do. You’re the pope! Two thousand years is but a day in MY eyes.”
SHE waved the letter in front of his face, “You are such a smart man. Why are you doing this dumb thing?” She threw the letter on the floor, and stamped on it with her red shoes, leaving a red imprint. “Do you really think that anyone can image the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth?” God’s eyes seemed to flash and then deepen into unfathomable pools into which Joseph found himself sinking. He could not move. For the first time in his life, Joseph felt thrashed by a woman. When he saw God’s look, he quickly checked his thoughts.
“You also have an incredibly bad taste in your appointments. Do you have some sort of vetting process when you do this, like businesses do? Or do you just use your gut like my son George in America does? Do you know that I had a talk with Bishop Burke in St. Louis after he excommunicated Elsie, Rosemarie, and Marek along with his entire parish council? I directed him to stop persecuting ME. It was a divine experience, right from the Book of Acts. I knocked him out, he’s that hard headed. And still he chose not to listen to ME! And then you, Joseph, promoted him! How do you think your silliness makes ME look? People judge ME, the Lord thy God by your actions. If you don’t make any sense, then somehow people think I don’t make any sense. Have you ever thought about that?” Benedict sunk deeper and deeper into his chair.
“And this Levada fellow, “ she continued, “He was about to be subpoenaed by an American court. You rescued him so he didn’t have to face his terrible mistakes. You did the same thing with that Law fellow from Boston. You protect men instead of allowing them to learn from their bad mistakes. My people aren’t all that stupid that they can’t deal with your buddies’ errors. Didn’t I tell you that all of you have fallen short of MY glory? The people know and understand that. They would have forgiven you. It’s the hypocrisy that gets them, not dumb human mistakes. When will you ever learn? You are not ME! And then you have the temerity, the temerity, Joseph, to think that you can separate people from MY love! Just how, Joseph, do you practice pastoral care? In your head without your heart?”
God was so angry that SHE reached over the desk and grabbed the pope’s pectoral cross from his desk, put it around her neck, and strode out of his office in his red Pravda shoes. Benedict heard her exclaim as she went out of sight, “Do not tempt the Lord, thy God.”
Benedict must have fallen asleep again. When he awakened, his physician was standing over him. “Your Eminence, you Eminence, are you all right?”
Lifting up his head, Benedict looked at his doctor with bleary eyes. “Am I all right, Doctor? I can’t honestly say. Let’s just say that I have had the shock of my life. Actually, there were a couple of shocks. Please let me sleep off whatever happened to me.” As he climbed into bed with the doctor trying to take his pulse, all Benedict could think of were the deep green pools of God’s eyes. Benedict snored through the doctor’s exam.
The pontiff swam effortlessly in the deep green pools of God’s eyes. The water, suffused with light, was clear, straight through to the bottom. Although he was under the water, he had no need for oxygen. As he swam, Benedict felt God removing the burdens of his adult life. His age disappeared and since his clothes fell away, he could see that his body looked as it did when he entered the seminary at age 13. Books dropped from his hands and ideas felt out of his head. He saw them all float away and sink towards what he thought was the bottom. Part of him wanted to swim after them but a voice said to him, “You are a new creation. You have no further need of these things.”
He floated to the surface and a gentle wave carried him towards the shore. A large contingent of women stood on the beach dancing and singing. He wanted to laugh, sing and dance with them in his new found freedom. As he emerged from the shallows, he only caught the last verse sung by a large woman who wore a sash across her chest that read, “Queen Latifa.” “God’s gonna trouble the wah- a- wa-ter!”
The women stopped singing when they saw the young man standing in the shallows. The queen stepped forward. “We are the women who supported Jesus when HE walked through the streets of Jerusalem on his way to Golgotha. We are intimately acquainted with grief, inflicted upon us all by transgressors of the law of love. We are women who have had issues of blood, despised, rejected, used and misused by men. We have been raped and murdered. We have been forced to have children against our will, even when it killed us. We have been forced to marry against our will. We have been forced to enter convents against our will. We have been forced to think thoughts that are not our own, thoughts that have destroyed our minds and our souls. We have been held to have no account in the world of men who choose not to believe us. We have been burdened with the sins of men who could not bear their own sins. We have been told to ‘offer it up’ to men who laugh at us or ignore us or cast stones at us. We understand the theology of the cross for it has been our constant companion. Our blood cries out for justice, and the arm of our God will give you strength for you are the one who will make an offering of your life as you know it for this sin. You will learn the true meaning of the cross. You will learn what it means to give up everything, everything for God. You will become like us, despised and rejected.”
As the queen finished speaking, Benedict felt his old self coming together again and he began to cry. He never did get a chance to dance. A short woman with a South African accent walked up to him and gently wiped his face with a towel she removed from around her shoulders. A tall woman with short dark hair gave him a bear hug and kissed him on both cheeks. Then the tiny woman with the green eyes placed her hand on his chest. “I have put a seal upon your heart, Joseph. I love you and you are mine.”
Joseph felt a burning sensation in his chest as if he had just drunk a glass of schnapps and woke up.
To be continued.
Eileen DiFranco
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