More and more letters in support of Fr. Roy Bourgeois and his prophetic stance with Roman Catholic Womenpriests

Dear Father Sivalon and Maryknoll Council:

This letter is to support Father Roy Bourgeois for his priestly decisions to attend the August 9 ordination of Janice Sevré-Duszynska as a Roman Catholic Womanpriest, to concelebrate the ordination Mass, and to give one of the homilies.

I am a Catholic theologian and a longtime friend of Janice, and I was also at the ordination. I was inspired by Father Bourgeois's presence and by his homily.

I have been to several ordinations of Roman Catholic Womenpriests. I am convinced of their validity and of the apostolic succession of the ordaining bishops. Thus, I believe that it is flying in the face of God's Will for Church officials to speak of disciplining any of the participants in these ordinations. I note that the Vatican's May 30 decree on women's ordination only threatened sanctions for those who "attempt" ordination. Since the ordaining bishops in Roman Catholic Womenpriests were ordained by male bishops in communion with the Vatican, the womenbishops were ordained in apostolic succession. Thus, the priestly ordinations they perform are not "attempts." They are the real thing.

Moreover, I think it is sacrilegious to speak of excommunicating anyone who participates in these ordinations. Excommunication can only come from God or from a person who makes a positive decision that they no longer wish to be a part of the Roman Catholic Church. None of the women and men ordained in Roman Catholic Womenpriests, or their supporters, have decided to leave the Church.

The Gospel for yesterday's Sunday Mass was about Jesus meeting the Canaanite woman. That is a Gospel that has always puzzled me because it presents Jesus as such a nasty, harsh person. If its purpose were just to present the power of faith or the extension of salvation to the Gentiles, as is the usual interpretation, Jesus could have done that without being so ungodly and distasteful - so unChristian. However, yesterday I finally had an insight into the meaning of that Gospel and why Jesus had to say what He did. It is a message to the hierarchy and others in the Church. "Do not treat women like dogs!" It is a message to the hierarchy - "Do not act like bouncers, trying to throw women out of the presence of Jesus," as the apostles did in this story of the Canaanite woman.

If women were only dogs, then it would be okay to deny them ordination. We say that dogs do not have human souls and so cannot have the life of God, in the form of sanctifying grace, within them. We say that dogs are not imago dei or alter Christus. We say that dogs were not redeemed by Christ (except in a cosmic sense). The hierarchy of the Church cannot have it both ways. If women are imago dei, alter Christus, have sanctifying grace, and are redeemed by Christ, then they cannot be treated like dogs. Yet, it is to treat women like dogs to deny women ordination. This is a justice issue. It is not simply a matter of Church discipline, like the ordination of married men.

Moreover, I think it is blasphemous to deny ordination to women. The rationale for this denial says that this is what God wants. That means that God wants women to be treated like dogs. It is also sinful to continue to pray for vocations while the hierarchy of the Church ignores the vocations that God has been giving to women and married men, preferring to dismantle the sacramental system of the Church by closing parishes rather than ordain women and married men. Perhaps this is the sin against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus condemned in the Gospels.

I hope that your meeting with Father Roy Bourgeois today is simply to learn from him about the August 9 ordination in Lexington and to hear from him personally on why he believes women should be ordained. I hope it is not to discipline him, either because a desire to discipline comes from the Maryknoll order itself, or because it is being sought by Cardinal Egan and the Vatican (as rumor has it).

I also hope that after your meeting with Father Bourgeois, you will even go a step further and commit Maryknoll to the cause of advancing women's ordination in the universal Church.

Thank you for your attention to this letter.

Sincerely,

Marjorie Reiley Maguire
Dear Father Sivalon and Council Members,

The whole Church is aware and grateful for the long and wonderful contribution of Maryknoll and the truly heroic men and women who have dedicated their lives to spread the message of Jesus throughout the world. The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church--ARCC Board members have known many of them, worked with them, and shared their spirituality, joy, and dedication.

Surely no one has demonstrated this prophetic spirit and clear commitment to the message of Jesus than Father Roy Bourgeois. At baptism we followers of Jesus did not receive a pick and choose commitment to justice—“loves minimum,” according to Pope Pius XI. It was and is clear and unconditional. Roy Bourgeois is a shining Maryknoll light for the world to see, a courageous example of the spirit of Maryknoll’s clear dedication to justice and peace. He is one of your most visible spokespersons.

We urge you to support him as he lives and expresses what is known in the hearts of the people of God, namely, that violence against anyone, not only physical, but psychological or spiritual as well, is contrary to God’s will and a betrayal of our commitment to Jesus.

ARCC has supported the equality of women from its inception over 25 years ago and we support Father
Bourgeois in his courageous stance. We urge you to be true to the Maryknoll charism of Justice and also strongly sustain Roy Bourgeois.

Sincerely,

Leonard Swidler, Ph.D., S.T.L., LL.D., LL.D.
Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue
Co-Founder and Editor, Journal of Ecumenical Studies
Co-Founder and President, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church

Dear Father Sivalon (Superior General), and Council Members,
We, two theologians from Germany, want to express our concern and solidarity for Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who supported publicly women's ordination during an ordination ceremony in Lexington/USA.
We have been struggling for women's ordination already since Vatican Council (1962-1065). In 1963 we submitted a petition to the Vatican Council asking for full equality of women in our church.
Moreover, I (Ida Raming) have written my doctoral thesis on the exclusion of women from priesthood (published in 1973 in Germany, 1976 in USA by Scarecrow Press; second edition: The priestly Office of Women. God's Gift to a Renewed Church (Scarecrow 2004).
We know all to well that the exclusion of women from priesthood is based on a longlasting discrimination. Therefore we cannot give up our aim: full equality of women in our church, as the letter to the Galatians says: "Through faith and by baptism in the name of Christ ... there is no longer Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female.." (cf. Gal 3:25-28).
We appreciate very much that Fr. Roy Bourgeois has given a prophetic homily during the ordination ceremony. We welcome his bold words based also on the text Gal 3.
We stand in solidariy with him and we do wish that more male priests stand up for full equality of women in our church.
My history (Dr. Iris Müller) also has been severely burdened by the inferior position of women in the church: As a protestant theologian I converted to the Catholic Church already in 1958. Although I loved this church, f.i. because of its more "whole" liturgy , I suffered very much from the discrimination of women in this church. Whereas protestant women theologians can become pastors catholic women are excluded from this important ministry. So I lost this perspective after my conversion - until today!
As you know very well protestant male pastors who convert to the Catholic Church can become priests even if they are married and have children!
So you see the injustice if you compare these two ways and situations!
We cannot keep silent in view of this severe discrimination. Our protest is based on the words of the Bible: "We must obey God more than men..." (Acts 5:29).
Blessings and Peace to you and your community,
Ida Raming, Dr. theol., Iris Müller, Dr. theol.

Dear Maryknoll Community,
Peace be with you.
Father Roy participated in my ordination last Saturday. His action was prophetic in much the same way that he demonstrates against violence at Ft. Benning to close the SOA / WHINSEC. The only difference is that the Vatican has not yet made that connection...so this is a prophetic opportunity for you to lead the Vatican and the people of God forward to bring about the Kindom of which Jesus spoke. That Kindom is very palpable in Roy's presence. In Liz McCallister's presence. John Dear's. Joan Chittister's. Frank Cordaro's. Kathy Kelly's. Louis Vitale's. Kathy Boylan's. Jerry Zawada's....

One of my mentors on my journey to the priesthood was Dominican Sister Marge Tuite. I met her in 1981 at a Woman Church Convergence gathering in Chicago and later at Alverno College in Milwaukee. She was able to put into words what I believe Jesus understood: "Make the connections," she said, "between sexism, racism, militarism, capitalism, nationalism and colonialism." It has taken years for her words to permeate my being and for me to understand them.

They are the ways in which we disempower others while Jesus calls us to empower each other. They are the ways in which we enslave people while Jesus calls us to freedom and liberation. They are the ways to exploit other human beings while Jesus calls us to right relationships of a radical egalitarian nature, treating each one as our neighbor. In other words, we are all to be on an equal playing field, according to the teachings of Jesus who we follow.

When our Church does not include feminine images of God, women and our world community suffer. When our Church does not include women on the altar imaging the sacred, women and our world community suffer. When our Church does not allow women's priestly voices to interpret the Gospels from our lived experiences, women and our world community suffer.

There is a direct relationship, dear Maryknoll community, between the violence that continues to wreak chaos and havoc in our world -- and the domination/subordination paradigm imprinted upon our collective and personal consciousness -- that men control women and that women's sufferings remain invisible. If men can still control women, i.e., no inclusive images of God, no women at the altar imaging the Imago Dei, no women's voices to take stock of the Gospels and relate them to our womanly living and dying -- then men can also enslave others, exploit others, make war over others, bully others, abuse others...and Jesus' words go by the wayside.

My hope is that you've already made the connections -- as the Maryknolls are known worldwide for their outspoken protection of the marginalized and oppressed -- and you'll move with the Spirit to free our Church from the brick and mortar that weigh it down... Understand why Roy came to my ordination and where he's at: a place of Light, Transparency, and Hope in Christ that transforms us at every turn. Be gentle with Roy, as he is a man of God...Hear the Spirit (not Church law) when he comes before you.

Your sister in faith,
Janice Sevre-Duszynska

Dear Maryknoll community,
I understand from http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1616 that as a result of his participation in the priestly ordination of my wife, Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Fr. Roy Bourgeois has been summoned "to come home and explain to us what happened.” What a quaint and euphemistic way of expressing the apparent situation. It's even smoother than polite declarations in London newspapers that suspects undergoing rigorous interrogation are "helping the authorities with their investigation." I doubt that police in Montgomery, Alabama were as civil as your superior general and the British press when they placed Rosa Parks under arrest for violating a patently unjust law in 1955.

Am I rushing to judgment in assuming that the leadership at Maryknoll will punish Fr. Bourgeois for acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is utterly devoid of human bigotry regarding gender, race, age, sexual orientation, eye color, blood type and other characteristics of our mortal bodies? Perhaps, but recent statements from the Vatican on women's ordination, together with the apparent failure of the Maryknolls to congratulate Fr. Bourgeois immediately for his courage to act as a true Christian in Lexington on August 9th give me little hope that anyone in your community (except Fr. Bourgeois) places conscience above comfort, coziness and cash flow.

Nevertheless, if you choose to throw Fr. Bourgeois to the wolves, know that you will be forgiven. After all, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" was said in reference to people who treated someone with far less compassion than you are likely to extend to your Maryknoll brother. In the next life, you'll probably get off without a scratch, or maybe with just a slap on the wrist. The only real punishment will come here on earth, from yourself -- and those around you -- who will eventually understand that with your unmitigated collaboration, authorities in the Roman Catholic Church have grievously harmed a brother for doing what is morally right, regardless of the cost to himself.

I hope that I am sorely mistaken about your intentions, and Rome's, when Fr. Bourgeois returns home. Also, I hope that in speaking with him you will keep the story and 1955 booking image of Rosa Parks (below) in mind. I clipped it from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_parks . But most of all, I hope that you will greet Fr. Bourgeois -- and vicariously, all those who love and respect him -- with open hearts, long overdue congratulations for his support of women's ordination, and a symbolic gift. May I respectfully suggest a contribution to SOA Watch from every member of the Maryknoll community in the amount of $14, this
comprising the $10 fine plus $4 court costs that Rosa Parks was required to pay for her conviction on charges of disorderly conduct and violation of a local ordinance while on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955.

May I also request that you reflect upon the terrible consequences of long-standing support by an enormous number of "Christians" for the enslavement of dark-skinned people of African ancestry. This horrific injustice, like the training of terrorists by the U.S. government in the SOA/WHINSEC and the unequal treatment and subordination of women that is relentlessly imposed by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, is among the many unconscionable acts that your Maryknoll brother, Roy Bourgeois, has found the courage to oppose.

The excerpts I've included below deal with the end of an institutionalized injustice against black people in America. Please stand with Fr. Bourgeois in rejecting the institutionalized subordination of women.

Yours sincerely,

Robert A. Pohowsky
Nicholasville, KY


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_n21_v112/ai_17332136
SBC renounces racist past - Southern Baptist Convention
Christian Century, July 5, 1995
The resolution declared that messengers, as SBC delegates are called, "unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin" and "lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest." It offered an apology to all African-Americans for "condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime" and repentance for "racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously or unconsciously."


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/17/opinion/17KRIS.html?ex=1091123060&ei=1&en=1b1984434af9d57b
Many American Christians once read the Bible to mean thatAfrican-Americans were cursed as descendants of Noah's sonHam, and were intended by God to be enslaved. In the 19thcentury, millions of Americans sincerely accepted thisBiblical justification for slavery as God's word - butsurely it would have been wrong to defer to such racistnonsense simply because speaking out could have beenperceived as denigrating some people's religious faith.


http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/14/books/review/14WOODLT.html?ex=1072366633&ei=1&en=790bd4d846ae6623
If anything can take founders like Washington and Jeffersonout of our present and place them back into the particularcontext of their time, it is this fact that they wereslaveholders. Slavery is virtually inconceivable to us. Wecan scarcely imagine one person owning another for life.Seeing Washington and Jefferson as slaveholders, men whobought, sold and flogged slaves, has to change ourconception of them. They don't belong to us today; theybelong to the 18th century, to that coarse and brutal worldthat is so remote from our own.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/26/opinion/26DOWD.html?ex=1078804374&ei=1&en=50d607ba85bdf831
The pols [politicians] keep arguing that institutions can't be changedwhen, in fact, they change all the time. Haven't they everheard of the institution of slavery?

More Letters in Support of Maryknoll Priest Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who co-celebrated the liturgy at Roman Catholic Womenpriests Ordination in KY.

Catherine M. (Scott) Zatsick
6300 N. Wayne Ave #1
Chicago, IL 60660

Dear Priests of Maryknoll,

I have supported the work and ministry of Maryknoll for over 40 years. I am a member of SOA Watch and spoke at the November vigil for closing the SOA in 2007. I am also a member of Women’s Ordination Conference and have been for over 20 years as I, like Janice, hear the call of the Spirit to ordination in the Roman Catholic Church.

I had the esteemed honor of reading from the Gospel of Matthew at Janice’s ordination on August 9, 2008. I adapted the Gospel to speak to women’s experience and that of the People of God within the Roman Catholic Church. We suffer the spiritual and emotional violence of denial of our very being as daughters of God by the Roman Catholic Church. This violence and soul destruction is as real as the emotional trauma and physical violence to the people of South and Central America caused by American training of their national soldiers at Ft. Benning.

Fr. Roy stands with the people of Central and South America in their oppression. On August 9, Fr. Roy chose to stand with women of the Roman Catholic Church in their oppression. I include the Gospel for your reflection as you attempt to listen to and to understand why Fr. Roy made the moral decision arising from his adult Roman Catholic conscience to join us at Janice’s ordination to the priesthood.

Matthew 5: 3-12
Blessed are those who are poor in spirit: the kindom of heaven is ours.
Blessed are those who are mourning: we will be consoled.
Blessed are those who are gentle: we will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice: we will have our fill.
Blessed are those who show mercy to others: we will be shown mercy.
Blessed are those whose hearts are clean: we will see God.
Blessed are those who work for peace: Janice you are a daughter of God. Roy you are a son of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of our struggle for justice: the kindom of heaven is ours.

We are fortunate when others insult us and persecute us, and utter every kind of slander against us because of Jesus. Be glad and rejoice, for our reward in heaven is great; they persecuted the prophets before us in the very same way.

This is the Good News of Jesus, our Brother the Christ.

As you prepare for your Monday meeting with Fr. Roy, I would respectfully ask that you reflect on the passage from Paul’s letter to Galatians 3:26-28:

Each one of you is a child of God because of your faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or citizen, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus.*

This is the kindom of Jesus who is our Way. Come follow Him to justice for women in the Roman Catholic Church. Join Fr. Roy in this work of peacemaking; his life and actions are founded on the charism of Maryknoll to minister with those marginalized by the world and the Church. How could Fr. Roy have made any other choice? How can you?
Your sister in Christ,
Katy
Hospice Chaplain and Member of Pax Christi
773 508 4005
katyzatsick@sbcglobal.net
*The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation: 2007


Dear John Sivalon:
I had two things happen this week that tells me there is hope and a commonsense energy for our church:
1. That finally more priests and brothers are starting to recognize women as equals and refuse to discriminate against them. I dream that Fr. Bourgeois will be given an award for his courage to finally look at women as equals instead of servants. I often wonder whywomen support a misogynistic institution and when I ask this question at dinner parties or even at committee meetings at St. Joan's, they have to think about it and finally come to the conclusion that it is tradition that keeps them (in line, a term that I fear is on the minds of our churchleaders). I'm all in support of having an ordained woman priest be hired at our church. Though there is no talk about this except from me. She would certainly be in communion with me and probably the other 8,000+ members of St. Joan's.
2. I read the book entitled Cardinal Mahony, A Novel by Robert Blair Kaiser.I have two words for the prospect of our hierarchy after reading this bookand they are: IF ONLY. If only the hierarchy was more Christ-like. I heardRobert Blair speak at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis a few weeks agoand all the books he brought with him were sold (sold out) at the firstMass.We ordered one directly from him and my wife and couldn't put it down. Irecommend that you read it and then add multiple copies to your library. You can order directly from www.robertblairkaiser.com He also wrote, A Church in Search of Itself among many more.Put me on your mailing list as I would like to make a donation and help payfor any AWARD that you find fitting for Fr. Bourgeois. I would like to write to him and congratulate him. If you wouldn't mind forwarding this e-mail to him, I'd appreciate it.
My background is that I grew up in the Catholic Church, have relatives that were a bishop (Bishop Brust) and a monsignor (Brust) both in Milwaukee, WI.and a good number of priests in the extended family. I attended the minor seminary for three years. My wife and I both graduated from MarquetteUniversity. I grew up with strong women, grandmothers, aunts, mother,(wife, author of Christian Feminism)two daughters -- one a 1st grade teacher who was influenced by a nun in first grade, and another daughter that is doing very well and living in Chicago and about to have her first baby. That will make 9 grandchildren for us.
The Achilles heel of the church, I feel, is an educated population. Even though my four children went to Catholic schools and all got their degrees from good schools and have traveled the world, they are not church goers.They are good kids but they look for the truth and can't stand hypocrisy.For example: no, divorce but annulment (which is a slap in the female's face if the familyhas children) is O.K., no contraception which is totally unrealistic,celibate clergy (an inhumane required condition for the clergy), etc.Finally, all the man-made laws are reversible. If we go to autochthony, the American Catholic Church would be just fine.
Respectfully,
Joel C. Papa SR.

14 August 2008
Gentlemen,
I write because I understand that Fr. Roy Bourgeois MM has been summoned to an August 18 meeting with you, his Maryknoll superiors. I do not know the agenda of that meeting but i am concerned that, under pressure from the Church hierarchy, you may reprove Fr. Roy for his role in Janice Sevre-Duszynska's recent ordination in Lexington, Kentucky.
Fr. Roy is the founder and universally-respected leader of the SOA Watch movement. For much of the last 15 years I have been passionately involved in that movement. Inspired by Fr. Roy, I have twice gone to federal prison for nonviolently working to expose and close the US Army's School of the Americas. Each November dozens of my fellow Central New Yorkers travel to Georgia to participate in the solemnities commemorating the 1989 slaughter of six Roman Catholic priests by SOA graduates in El Salvador. For some years now that annual event has been attended by between 10,000 and 20,000 people of conscience and people of faith . These include many nuns and priests from all over the United States.
Fr. Roy and SOA Watch are currently campaigning to get Latin American governments to withdraw their soldiers from the SOA. With its several successes thus far, this campaign is a life-saving initiative on behalf of the poor and the Christian in Latin America. In my experience Fr. Roy models dignity, personalism, intelligence and courage. Fr. Roy has been a remarkable role model of Christian action. More than any priest I know of, Fr. Roy models the "reconciling and liberating Jesus" of the Maryknoll mission statement.
Few of us have spent as many years in prison as Fr. Roy. Few of us have so outspokenly proclaimed truth to power. Few of us have so effectively spread truth among we who need to have our consciousness raised and our conscience pricked.
Convinced that women too reflect the image of God, and deeply distressed by the gender inequities within the Church, Fr. Roy, in concelebrating Janice's ordination mass, has publicly aligned himself with the Roman Catholic Womenpriests. By doing so he would refresh an otherwise withering and wrong-headed Church -- a Church some believe has lost its moral compass. He helps nudge the Church into reforming some of its own un-Jesuslike traditions...and helps restore to the Church its standing to speak out against the anti-Christian policies of our rulers.
You are the leaders of your esteemed Order. You have the burden and privilege to act with character and wisdom. When you meet with Fr. Roy on Monday I urge you to embrace him and to pledge to do all you can to encourage and facilitate his prophetic work.
Respectfully,
Ed Kinane

Roman Catholic Womenpriests' Statement of Support for Maryknoll priest Fr. Roy Bourgeois and Letters of Support from People of God

(Fr. Roy laying hands on at ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska)
To express your support for Fr. Roy who is being called to address his prophetic witness on Monday, Aug. 17,2008, by emailing Maryknoll Superiors at:
mkl@maryknoll.org


View Fr. Roy's Homily on google
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8981028910855872604

Priest to meet Maryknoll leaders over role in Womenpriests’ ceremony
By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service
August 14, 2008
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804167.htm

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5589903504827146713
"We are marching, singing, dancing in the light of God" as we issue a new day of justice and equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church.
Join us in the dance of transformation to return our church to Jesus in the Gospels who called women and men to be disciples and equals!

Roman Catholic Womenpriests' Statement of Support for Fr. Roy Bourgeois

Contacts: Bridget Mary Meehan703-283-2929
Janice Sevre-Duszynska 859-684-4247

Founder of the School of the Americas Watch, Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois, co-celebrated with Roman Catholic Womenpriests at an ordination of a womanpriest, on Aug. 9, 2008 in Lexington, Kentucky. He has been summoned to meet with his superior and General Council in Maryknoll, New York on Monday, Aug.18, 2008. Cardinal Egan was involved in this summons.

In his prophetic homily, he stated: "Conscience is what compels Janice Sevre-Duszynskaand the other women to say, ‘No, we cannot deny our call from God to the priesthood.’ And it is our conscience that compels us to be here today. How can we speak out against the injustice of our country’s foreign policy in Latin America and Iraq if we are silent about the injustice of our church here at home? " Roman Catholic Womenpriests stand in solidarity with Fr.Roy Bourgeois, who has served God's people as a priest for 36 years as he meets with his superior and General Council in Maryknoll , New York on Monday, Aug.18, 2008. We affirm his courageous witness in support of women called to priesthood and his work for justice and peace in the world.

To show your support for Fr. Roy Bourgeois and womenpriests,
send emails to his Superior General, John Sivalon at
jsivalon@maryknoll.org
and to the three-member Maryknoll Council at
mklcouncil@maryknoll.org
and/or fax to 914-944-3600
Write to: Maryknoll Council P.O. Box 303 Maryknoll, NY 10545

Visit Roman Catholic Womenpriests:
http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/


Letters of Support for Fr. Roy
To Maryknoll Superior General:
Letter 1
Reverend John C. Sivalon, M.M.
Superior General,
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
P.O. Box 304
Maryknoll, N.Y. 10545-0304

Dear Father Sivalon:

The word on the street is that there is to be some sort of inquiry or trial of Fr. Roy Bourgeois next week. No sense in 'trying to find out' what he did. The whole world knows, and most of have seen the video of his homily and his participation in the blessed, inspiring, valid ordination of another of the Roman Catholic Womanpriests in Lexington this past weekend. He would therefore be guilty of following the example and direction of Jesus and being guided by the Holy Spirit….and indeed, in violation of discriminatory, unjust, man-made laws based on unexamined dogma.

As long time followers and supporters of Maryknoll---men and women---and fans and supporters of Fr. Roy, ever since reading his exemplary history in MARYKNOLL MAGAZINE some years ago, my wife Helen and I have to believe that there is no way that the leaders and community of Maryknoll would ever subject their guy to a 'kangaroo court,' nor let him be 'hanged' or 'burned-at-the-stake,' …..nor 'fired.' I can't conceive of Maryknoll, with its life-long history of interfering with injustice, of being complicit in punishing one of its own for listening to and following his conscience…and Jesus. Maryknoll now has the opportunity lead the Church out of the 'Dark Ages' into the Light of the Holy Spirit in the 21st Century. We pray Maryknoll follows the Spirit's lead.

If these "punishments" do become inevitable in spite of the protests and prayers of many of us, then my wife and I demand that, as staunch supporters of Fr. Roy and what he stands for, be accorded the same "honor," the same 'hanging,' 'burning,' or' firing' that is given to Roy. I am sure many others out there will publicly seek the same honor/punishment, if that is what it takes to follow Jesus and not the laws of men. Therefore, we stand with Fr. Roy and Jesus.

Very sincerely yours, in Jesus,
John H. Duffy

Letter 2
August 13, 2008
Reverend John C. Sivalon, M.M.Superior General,Maryknoll Fathers and BrothersP.O. Box 304Maryknoll, N.Y. 10545-0304
Dear Father Sivalon:
The word on the street is that there is to be some sort of inquiry or trial of Fr. Roy Bourgeois next week. No sense in 'trying to find out' what he did. The whole world knows, and most of have seen the video of his homily and his participation in the blessed, inspiring, valid ordination of another of the Roman Catholic Womanpriests in Lexington this past weekend. He would therefore be guilty of following the example and direction of Jesus and being guided by the Holy Spirit….and indeed, in violation of discriminatory, unjust, man-made laws based on unexamined dogma.
As long time followers and supporters of Maryknoll---men and women---and fans and supporters of Fr. Roy, ever since reading his exemplary history in MARYKNOLL MAGAZINE some years ago, my wife Helen and I have to believe that there is no way that the leaders and community of Maryknoll would ever subject their guy to a 'kangaroo court,' nor let him be 'hanged' or 'burned-at-the-stake,' …..nor 'fired.' I can't conceive of Maryknoll, with its life-long history of interfering with injustice, of being complicit in punishing one of its own for listening to and following his conscience…and Jesus. Maryknoll now has the opportunity lead the Church out of the 'Dark Ages' into the Light of the Holy Spirit in the 21st Century. We pray Maryknoll follows the Spirit's lead.
If these "punishments" do become inevitable in spite of the protests and prayers of many of us, then my wife and I demand that, as staunch supporters of Fr. Roy and what he stands for, be accorded the same "honor," the same 'hanging,' 'burning,' or' firing' that is given to Roy. I am sure many others out there will publicly seek the same honor/punishment, if that is what it takes to follow Jesus and not the laws of men. Therefore, we stand with Fr. Roy and Jesus.
Very sincerely yours, in Jesus,
John H. Duffy
P.S. A short time after writing the above I was led to the memories of the times I stood at the graves of your gals in Chaletenango, and then of Jean Donovan in Sarasota, and then of Oscar Romero's blood-stained alb hanging in his humble apartment in San Salvador, and then at the site where the bodies of the 6 Jebbies, and two women lay on the grounds of UCA, in 1989.....and then I recalled Roy's anointed homily last Sunday in Lexington, as he, like those before him, chose to follow the way of Jesus and stand firm against injustice, no matter the cost. Maryknoll must now, at this pivotal time in history, ask itself the question, as did Roy, Oscar Romero, and the other like-Spirited ones:
Do we seek the approval of the hierarchy of the Church…or…do we seek the approval of Jesus?--
Jack & Helen Duffy103 S. Bowman Rd. # 505Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965 ( May-Oct)(608) 253-2848282 Bainbridge DrNokomis, FL 34275 (Nov-Apr)(941) 483-3262mailto:483-3262jhduffy13@gmail.com

Letter 3:
Dear Father Sivalon:
The Maryknollers have always been ahead of the other religious orders in working for peace and justice in the world. When the rest of us were working comfortably in our US parishes and schools, you were out working with the underprivileged in poor countries. Now I hope and pray that you will again be at the forefront of religious orders in defending therights of women in our church. I applaud Fr. Roy Bourgeois for the courage and love demonstrated in supporting womenpriests. His conscienceled him to do what no other priest has done openly but thousands of laypeople, who have no reason to fear as you do, have done. 70% of Catholicssupport women priests and yet our church won't listen to the Sensus Fidelium.Joan Chittister's Benedictine order supported her when the Vatican ordered her to not speak at the Women's Ordination Conference in 2001. Consequently Joan spoke and continues to write and speak and hercommunity continues to do good works. I pray that your order will support Fr. Roy so that you and he can continue to be a strong voice inour church. May your conscience be as strong as Fr. Roy's and lead youto act justly.God bless you at this difficult time.
Dedicated and loving Catholics,
John and Ellen McNally
Estero, Florida

Photos and Video Links: Roman Catholic Womenpriests Historic Ordinations in Lexington, Kentucky on Aug. 9, 2008

From Left to right: Kathy Redig,

Bridget Mary Meehan, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Bishop Dana Reynolds,

Janice Servre Duszynska

Bishop Dana Reynolds lays hands on Janice
in ordination ritual

Community lays hands on Janice

Janice sharing Eucharist to Bob, her husband




Historic first Southern Ordinations took place at Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington on Aug. 9, 2008

VIDEO CLIPS OF ORDINATION OF JANICE SEVRE-DUSZYNSKA:
Video Clip of Processional: "All are Welcome in this place"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6676687209467906900

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Fr. Roy Bourgeois Homily

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Homily+of+Fr.+Roy+Bourgeois&emb=0#
Video Clip of Janice's Ordination- Prostration before the Altar: Litany of the Saints
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1350776209260830572

Laying on of Hands by the Community

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3199055247886304639

Video Clip of Prayer of Consecration

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3555361321179635589

Video Clip of Communion Reflection Hymn: "Let the Women be there"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=144203776954250987

Video Clip of Recessional: "We are Marching, Singing, Dancing in the Light of God"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5589903504827146713

Articles-Radio-TV Coverage of Janice Sevre-Duszynska's Ordination as a Roman Catholic Womanpriest

View Fr. Roy's Homily on google

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8981028910855872604

National Catholic Reporter's Article on Janice Sevre-Duszynska's ordination as Roman Catholic Womanpriest
In his homily, Catholic Maryknoll Priest, Fr. Roy Bourgeois states that the ordination of women is an integral part of the social justice agenda of the church.
Sixth woman priest ordained this year
Bishop Dana Reynolds lays hands on Janice Sevre-Duszynska during Sevre-Duszynska's ordination Aug. 9 The movement has ordained 32 priests in the United States over the last two years. Saturday’s event was noteworthy because for the first time, a male, Roman Catholic priest in good standing publicly joined the ceremony. Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois concelebrated at the ceremony and was a homilist. (See related story and read Bourgeois’ homily.)
http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1568

http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

National Public Radio Interview with Janice Sevre-Duszynska- Ordination as a Roman Catholic Womanpriest in Lexington, Kentucky on Aug. 9th, 2008
Female Activist To Be Ordained
Bryan Bartlett
WUKY
LEXINGTON, KY (2008-08-08) Although the Roman Catholic Church banned women from becoming priests over two-thousand years ago, a Jessamine County woman will be "ordained" by a church activist group. Bryan Bartlett has the story. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wuky/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1336324

ABC TV NEWS
Lexington Woman Ordained a Priest
Saturday, 09 August 2008 19:13
A Lexington woman goes against centuries of tradition and the Catholic Church to be ordained a priest. Jane Sevre-Duszynska was publicly ordained Saturday afternoon as a Roman Catholic woman-priest. Ten years ago, Sevre-Duszynska asked a Lexington bishop to ordain her as priest. He refused. Even so she never gave up her belief she had been called to the ministry. Saturday, inside the Unitarian Universalist church, she became the first woman in the South to be ordained by the Roman Catholic woman priest.
http://www.wtvq.com/news/1-latest/1185-lexington-woman-ordained-a-priest.html

Links to Local Lexington TV Clips of Press Conference
PROGRAM: LEX 18 News at 5:30 STATION: WLEX-TV NBC 18CITY/STATE: Lexington, KY DATE/TIME: 08-08-2008 at 17:30
Click: http://lex18archives.com/watch?v=3486


WKYT's (ch. 27, CBS) coverage of the press conference was aired in the Lexington area during the 6 p.m. news on August 8.
Click: http://wkytarchives.com/watch?v=3485

Article in Lexington Herald Leader
Jessamine Woman to be Ordained a Priest
http://www.kentucky.com/171/story/475310.html

Vatican Fears Growth of Roman Catholic Womenpriests

Women Bishops in the Catholic Church, Too? Some Are Trying
By Sandro Magister
L’espresso (IT)
August 4, 2008
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/206091?eng=y

"In Rome, in fact, the fear is that the number of ordained women will continue to increase. Roman Catholic Womenpriests is thought to have another 150 women waiting to become priests. Moreover, in some countries, agreement with the ordination of women seems to be on the rise. For example, after her sentencing, the signs of support for Sister Lears multiplied. There is, finally, the suspicion that some of the bishops are assisting the operation. Patricia Fresen, the former sister who is one of the four bishops of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, affirms that she was ordained to the episcopate in 2005 by three Catholic bishops whose names she is keeping secret. The same is thought to be the case for the other three women bishops of the movement. "

Roman Catholic Womenpriests Love and Serve Our Church despite Vatican and Hierarchy's Disapproval

"Francis of Assisi: A Model for Human Liberation" by Leonardo Boff.

Leonardo Boff discusses the reasons Francis did not leave the Church despite its persecution of his vision and practice of simple, transparent Gospel living without the burden of man-made, burdensome, unnecessary rules.

Boff explains: "When someone is evangelic and puts up even with the persecution on the part of the Church in the spirit of the Beatitudes, remaining united to it and loving it, then there is no way of excluding him or her from the ecclesial community, just as there is no way of stopping him or her from renovation and innovation within the Church."

This gives me hope as a Roman Catholic Womenpriest who loves our church. We, in the Roman Catholic Womanpriest initiative, are living the Gospel of Jesus who called women and men to be apostles and disciples, and who criticized and disobeyed the rules of Judaism. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and touched and healed women who, according to the Law, were considered unclean. Like Jesus, Roman Catholic Womenpriests are disobeying an unjust, man-made law that discriminates against women. Like Francis of Assissi, we offer the church a charism that is rejected by the institutional church. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are offering the gift of an inclusive, welcoming, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered Catholic church ,united with the people with whom we serve and whom we serve. In grassroots communities, the church is being renewed now. Nothing can separate us from Christ or from our beloved church, and nothing will stop a renewed priestly ministry and the renewal of the church that is now a reality in our midst in more and more places as we continue to grow. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are walking on water, keeping our eyes on Christ who is leading the way.
Bridget Mary Meehan

ABC/NBC Interviews with Roman Catholic Womanpriest: Gloria Carepeneto of Baltimore Maryland

There is a movement within the Catholic Church to try and pressure The Vatican to allow women to become priests. The Vatican says it goes against Catholic doctrine, and has excommunicated women who say they've been ordained.

ABC
http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=b1c63165-1333-4d07-a96e-8e0ef793f93f

NBC
http://www.wbaltv.com/video/17097022/?taf=bal

Roman Catholic Womanpriest: Gabriella Velardi Ward from New York: Homily on Mary of Magdala

Newly ordained priests from left to right
Judy Lee, Gloria Carpeneto and
Gabriella Verlardi Ward (from New York on far right)

MARY MAGDALINE MASS
DIGNITY NY
JULY 27, 2008
1 Samuel 16: 6 – 13
1 Corinthians 12: 4 – 11
John 20: 11 – 18


I first met Tracy late one summer evening. She was holding the door to the bank open for people as they entered and exited. And she held a cup in her hand to collect handouts. It was a very warm evening and I asked her if she would like some fresh fruit or something to drink. After she said yes, I went a few doors down and got her those things. We got to talking and later, every time we saw each other, mostly at the bank, there was a special greeting. She was a very lost soul. The NYC school system had failed this young African American woman. There had been some family problems. There is much child abuse and societal abuse in the experience of the homeless.

Tracy had two children, an early teen and a toddler. Her mother was raising them. She did not see them often.

I generally met Tracy at night, as I walked home from my nightly meditation in the church. She, who lived on the street, was concerned that I got home safely. So, she would walk me home. It was also an opportunity for her to share her life story with me.

One Sunday morning, as I was getting ready for church, the doorbell rang. It was Tracy. Something had happened and she needed to talk. I told her that I was on my way to church but she could walk with me and we could talk then.

When we got to the Church, I asked her if she would join me at Mass. She was hesitant at first. She wasn’t dressed well. I assured her that she was fine and that she would be welcomed in the church. And so she came in. As I sat in the church with this woman who probably had no reliable shelter for years, I asked God, “What do I do now? How do I help this child of yours?” In that low soft voice, that you only hear when you are very still, in words formed in my understanding, as Julian of Norwich put it, God answered, “I brought her here. Your job is done. I will take care of her.”

After Mass, as she moved around the church, looking at the carved marble statues, I could see something was stirring inside of her. Soon after that experience, Tracy began putting her life back together. Through government programs, she was able to get an apartment. And last I heard, she was working to get her children back……..

God’s preference is for our liberation and for freedom from that which prevents us from being fully human and fully alive. God recognized something in Tracy. God saw into her heart and called her to something larger than the way she was living. God sees and recognizes what is in all our hearts, the gifts we are given as well as the way we use them to bring about a more loving and compassionate society.


In the Gospel reading, we see Mary of Magdala weeping outside the tomb, wondering where they had taken Jesus’ body. She turned and thinking that Jesus was the gardener, asked him where the body of Jesus had been taken. Mary did not recognized Jesus until Rabbi Jesus called her by name. While Mary then recognized her Rabbi, Jesus also
recognized something special in the heart and spirit of Mary. Jesus could have, just as easily, shown himself to Peter who had been there only a short time before. But Jesus chose to show himself to Mary. He must have seen her courage and commitment to him even in the face of scorn. Some scholars believe that the woman at Bethany, in Mark’s Gospel, who anointed Jesus’ head was Mary Magdalene. And, of course, Jesus knew of her strength as she stood at the cross where he was tortured and where he died.

Jesus knew she cared, he knew that she loved; he knew that she understood his message. Jesus knew that even though, and maybe because she was a marginalized person, being female in that culture, she was intellectually and emotionally reliable. She would bring the Good News of his resurrection to the others. He knew that she would be strong enough to withstand the others ridicule and scorn.



Jesus commissioned her to be the Apostle to the Apostles not because of her outward appearance, but because of what she had inside. Jesus knew that her femaleness was not a factor that it was what was in her heart that mattered. Jesus saw her and recognized her gifts. Can you imagine how she must have run to tell the others, Jesus is alive! I saw him! She probable could not stop herself from telling everyone she met on the way. The one she loved, the one who was crucified is alive!

By selecting a woman to bear the good news of eternal life, he allowed Mary to gift us, 2000 years later, with the awareness that women count, that women are capable and are equally chosen. And the strength of that message was so threatening to those in power, as it is today, that in the 6th century, Pope Gregory combined the four women who anointed Jesus into one. And that woman, the one in Luke, named as a sinner, became Mary of Magdala, the prostitute. And the strength and call of women was rendered invisible under the emerging patriarchal culture.

The message in these readings is clear. In the reading from 1 Samuel, God sees what humans sometimes do not. The family of Jesse and probably society, looked on Eliab’s height and stature, on Abinadab’s and Shammah’s appearance but God did not choose any of these. For God looked on what was in the heart of Jesse’s sons and chose David, the youngest.

In Psalm 139, we see God searching us and knowing us, knowing our thoughts and our ways. There is nowhere we can hide from God’s love. For God knit us together in our mother’s womb. God sees us, God knows us, God loves us. And God knows what is in our hearts.

God sees us, not for our outward appearance, but for who we are, for what gifts and talents we possess and God calls us, to fulfill our purpose, to bring love and compassion to the world. God sees our struggles, our joys, and our pain. CAN YOU HEAR God saying, “I SEE YOU, I SEE YOU, I…SEE…YOU”.

For centuries God called women to the ordained priesthood. God sees these women as capable, filled with faith, able to bring the people of God to faith, hope and love and to the understanding of life beyond this plane.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II, with Cardinal Ratzinger, stated in Ordination Sacerdotalis, that the ordained priesthood was definitively reserved for men alone. And, there was to be no more discussion of the topic. For years after that, priests, scholars, people who worked for the institution were afraid to bring up the subject. We know from Paulo Freiere’s book, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, that in any oppressive system there are a number of things present, contradictions, lack of dialogue and fear instilled by divide and conquer tactics. The institutional church was certainly acting as an oppressive system.

In 2002, seven women, on the Danube River, said, no more. We will no longer cooperate in our own oppression. These women, in a God filled, Spirit filled move, were ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood by two Roman Catholic bishops. A year or two later, Roman Catholic male bishops in good standing with Rome, and in full apostolic succession, approached several of these women saying that they felt called to consecrate the women as Bishops so the movement could grow and go above ground.

Last year, when I was ordained a deacon, Bishop Patricia Fresen, the ordaining bishop, said the pectoral cross she was wearing was given to her by her ordaining male bishop. He asked her to wear it whenever she ordains anyone so that he could be present to the women being ordained.

And, God said to the women of Roman Catholic WomenPriests and to all of us, I SEE YOU, I KNOW YOU, I CALLED YOU. We, like Mary of Magdala, have been ridiculed and trivialized and now we are excommunicated. We know that excommunication only has power if you give it power. So, we do not accept excommunication, we do not give it power. We name the oppression for what it is, as sexism, a bias against women and the need to subject women to the all male institutional church’s authority and power. In the history of the world and the church, we have experienced sexual abuse, rape and murder. And yet we claim full humanity.

We know that God sees our struggles, our joys and our pain. God says to us, “I SEE YOU, I HEAR YOU, I KNOW THE INJUSTICE AGAINST YOU AND I STAND WITH YOU.”

In 1969, God stood with lesbian and gay people at the Stonewall uprising. God was there when the community said no more, we will not be intimidated any longer. We will claim who we are as full human beings with dreams and aspirations just as any other human being. The gift of the LGBT community to society, the Roman Catholic Church and ultimately to the world, is that this 5 or 6 day rebellion, forced all of us, gay or straight, to look deeply into what it means to be human. It forced all of us who had been taught to repress our God given sexuality to look at our own identity, to claim it, to embrace it and to live it. We could not deny it any longer. We had to deal with it. As we learned more about what sexuality means, society and the LGBT community identified being bi-sexual and transgendered as ways of being a sexual human being. And God says, loving physical relationships are good and of God. And yet, the LGBT community has been ridiculed, experienced violence and murder. And yet the LGBT community claims full humanity.

And God says: “I SEE YOU, I KNOW YOU, I LOVE YOU.”

Mary stood at the tomb wondering who would roll away the stone. The LGBT community, at Stonewall, rolled away that which blocked the community from full humanity and a fully human sexuality. RCWP women stood at the wall that barred full equality in the church we love so dearly. Roman Catholic women stepped out in 2002, in our own Stonewall on the Danube when seven women were ordained. These women were on a boat so there was no chance of being stormed by the bishops as gay people were by the police at Stonewall. Quite an image!

And God says, “I SEE YOU, I KNOW YOU, I CALLED YOU.” God sees what humans sometimes do not see. God’s preference is for the liberation of the individual, whether poor, homeless, abused or suffering women and men, whether women called to ordination in the Roman Catholic Church, or whether lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered people. God’s preference is for freedom from that which prevents us from being fully human and fully alive.

It is a risk when you step out. It is not easy to experience ridicule and violence. But when our heart says enough, we are commissioned to be prophets. There are many gifts of the Spirit, as Paul’s letter to the Corinthians states, but those gifted with prophecy are called, in the words of Martin Luther King, to a vocation of agony. We have the choice to accept this commission or not. Some, like Harvey Milk, James Baldwin, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Joan of Arc and Patricia Fresen, are called to be extraordinary prophets like Jeremiah. Some of us are called to be everyday prophets and work quietly to bring love and compassion into the world.

So, followers of Mary of Magdala, Roman Catholic WomenPriests and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered people call for liberation from the restrictive understanding of what it means to be human and call for freedom from that which blocks our liberation. Step out, whether extraordinary prophets or everyday prophets, we are seen by God and called to be agents of change, to create a more compassionate and understanding humanity.

So, claim your call, speak out against injustice, step out into your life, acknowledge who God made you, go where you may be ridiculed and proclaim the Good News. God wants us fully alive, right here, right now!

Women Find a Way: The Story and Movement of Roman Catholic Womenpriests

Dear Bridget Mary,
Helen and I have just finished reading WOMEN FIND A WAY, out loud, together. We realized at the first woman's story that this little book was much too profound to race through like a page-turning mystery. There is just too much meat in this powerful book, too much to absorb, to digest, to discuss. I can't find enough superlatives to describe our reaction on reading it. We shared more "Wow!"s, "Fantastic!"s, "Incredible!"s as we went through the twenty-five auto-bio-stories. We were so impressed how God called each of these unique, exceptional, yet, ordinary women…… and how each answered God's personal call. This small, 154- page stack of dynamite could be a real 'game-changer' by showing that God's touch and call could 'explode' into the lives of many of us ordinary men and women, to walk tight with God, be guided by the Holy Spirit, and help bring a renewed Church into being, the kind of Church that Jesus wants for God's world and God's people. This great book shows a new paradigm or modus operandi of how Jesus might like His Church to operate---being more inclusive and bringing His love and healing to ALL. These special women were anointed by the touch of God's Holy Spirit and are doing just that. What a glorious blessing it would be for all members of the Church ----Pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, plain folks in the pews--- to read this book and see clearly what God is doing. This book should be required reading for….like, EVERYBODY! We think we could do more to help the Church and the spirituality of the members by buying copies of this book to give to friends, relatives, anyone, rather than contribute dollars for the expansion of our local parish church building to accommodate the increased numbers the planned priest shortage will bring, nor to tens of millions of dollars planned by our local bishop to rebuild a cathedral, the need for which, at best, is questionable. John H. Duffy DISCLAIMER: The accusation that I do have a biased point of view could well be substantiated by the fact that one of the editors and contributors is also our pastor of the Mary Mother of Jesus House Church in Florida, which we attend. To which I plead: GUILTY.

Article that was published on Google: Worldwide Audience Watch Roman Catholic Womenpriests Ordinations in Boston by Bridget Mary Meehan

Worldwide Audience Watch Roman Catholic Womenpriests Ordinations in Boston
Millions of people around the world watched on television as Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore, Maryland, Judy Lee of Ft. Myers, Florida, and Gabriella Velardi Ward, of New York, New York were ordained priests and Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, New Jersey was ordained a deacon on July 20, 2008 in the Church of the Covenant in Boston. After the women were ordained, Bishop Dana Reynolds, the first U.S. womanbishop , presented the newly ordained to the assembly. They were received with thunderous applause from enthusiastic supporters, a reflection of Catholic attitudes around the world. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are one of the major changes that Catholics want!

Nearly 70% of Catholics in the U.S. are ready for womenpriests. In Europe, there are similar attitudes. Perhaps, the worldwide sex abuse scandals and the closing of parishes in many places explain the people’s readiness for womenpriests. Perhaps, the emperor has no clothes, the people deplore the clerical foot–dragging on gender justice issues and the exclusion of women from decision-making roles in the institutional church. According to canon law, governance is tied to Holy Orders. Therefore, women will never be equal in the Catholic Church unless they are ordained. Catholics who love their sacramental, mystical and social justice heritage, realize they have a right to the sacraments, contemplative prayer and peace and justice-making. Perhaps, the gifts that women bring for healing , community-building and working for justice explain people’s willingness to accept womenpriests now.

It is a well-known fact that in the U.S. women already make up approximately 80% of lay parish ministers . In my view, Catholics are ready to act on behalf of justice for women in the church now. We have opened a path for action. Catholics can go ahead and call forth women in their communities to be priests. There is no shortage of vocations. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are providing a path to a renewed priesthood in union with the people we serve. We are creating inclusive Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered communities.

http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Sometimes, I think that I am living a new chapter of the Da Vinci Code. The first ordinations of seven women took place on a ship floating down the River Danube in 2002. In our new book, Women Find A Way, The Movement and Stories of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Bishop Gisela Forster recounts the excitement of this historic occasion and the role that church officials played in attempting to interfere with the ordinations, such as attempting to rent the ship for themselves the day before the ordinations. Another mystery remains who locked the RC male bishop who had planned to attend these ordinations in his room ? In this book, twenty-five womenpriests share their stories of call and describe the many ways they are serving the people of God in house churches, parish communities, hospitals and hospice chaplaincy, nursing homes, prison ministry, ministering with homeless people, peace and justice work, spiritual direction and sacramental ministry. For more information: http://www.virtualbookworm.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=bookstore&Product_Code=women_find_a_way&Category_Code=

The Vatican promptly excommunicated the Danube Seven . Shortly thereafter, several male Roman Catholic bishops, in full communion with the pope, ordained two of the womenpriests, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger and Gisela Forster, as Roman Catholic bishops .The male bishops granted this ordination in the presence of witnesses, but otherwise in secrecy to avoid Vatican reprisal. Patricia Fresen was ordained a bishop in January 2004 by the same male bishops and by Bishops Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger and Gisela Forster. One of the prophetic male Roman Catholic bishops told Patricia that great day: "We are not doing this for you, but so that justice can be served in our Church .” Thus, the reason that women were ordained as bishops is so that they in turn can ordain priests without risk to the many male bishops who, while courageous and supportive, risked excommunication by the Vatican for their ordinations of women priests and bishops. Women bishops ordained in full apostolic succession now ordain others validly in the Roman Catholic Church.

Jesus set the example by calling women and men to be disciples and equals. “With Jesus went the Twelve, as well as some women… Mary of Magdala…Joanna…Suzanne…and many others …” (Luke 8:1-3). St. Paul called Junia and Andronicus (a married couple) “outstanding apostles “in Romans 16:7. Paul commends deacon Phoebe as a leader and missionary in the church (Romans 16:1-2) and Prisca and Aquila as coworkers in (Romans 16:3). In the early church women presided at the Eucharist. Mary, Mother of John Mark presided over Eucharist in her home which according to some scholars was the headquarters of the Jerusalem community.

Like Mary of Magdala, apostle to the apostles, whom Christ called to be the first witness of the resurrection, and the women deacons, priests, and bishops, who served in the early church up to the 12th century, Roman Catholic Womenpriests are reclaiming our sacred heritage. (For two of the scholarly books on the historical research, read , The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination by Gary Macy and Women Office Holders in Early Christianity by Ute Eisen as well as epigraphic evidence found on tombstones, frescoes and mosaics in the ancient world in the calendars of theologian and archaeologist, Dorothy Irvin.) “The history of Christianity is replete with references to the ordination of women,” concludes Gary Macy, “There are rites for the ordination of women, there are canonical requirements for the ordination of women, there are particular women depicted as ordained.”( The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination, p. 4)

On July 31, 2006, twelve womenpriests were ordained in Pittsburgh, PA .in the first U.S. ordinations. I am one of the women ordained to the priesthood on that historic day. Since then Roman Catholic Womenpriests have grown. In North America, there are 61 in our community which includes 1 bishop, 30 priests, 12 deacons, 18 candidates. Our numbers change frequently with ordinations and the acceptance of new candidates. In 2008, ordinations have taken place and/or are scheduled at 8 locations from British Columbia to Boston.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests do not use titles or the trappings of clerical power, but rather serve the people in a community of equals. This is the reason I do not use the title Mother or Rev. I invite people to call me by name. In our house church liturgies, I invite people to exchange thoughts and spiritual experiences in the shared homily. In addition, the community recites the prayer of consecration/words of institution together. The Eucharist belongs to the believing community and we celebrate Eucharist together. My focus is on affirming the gifts of the Spirit in the community. My role is to serve the community as their priest.

According to a Pew Survey one in ten Americans is a former Catholic. These alienated Catholics might consider coming home to a more open, compassionate, welcoming community of faith that resembles the Christ-Vision in the Gospels. I also know devout Catholics who are tired of the man-made rules and regulations that separate them from their beloved spiritual family. One of my friends refers to the “pay, pray and obey Catholics who are weary of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility and Guilt!” One of my goals, as a Roman Catholic Womenpriest, is to provide a safe, spiritual home that is supportive and nurturing- and at the same time holds in its heart the treasures of Catholicism: the sacraments, mysticism and social justice. I serve now by celebrating a weekly liturgy/Mass in a “house church.” We preside at sacramental celebrations in inclusive communities where all are welcome at the Eucharistic table including those who have been alienated and marginalized by the institutional Catholic church, divorced and remarried, gays, lesbians, and transgendered, women and men who no longer feel at home in their churches.

Many people have asked me about our response to the excommunication that the Vatican issued on May 29, 2008. In some ways, I believe the excommunication has been a plus. It gives us freedom to live our new model until the institutional church decides to transform the structures needed to reform and renew the church into a more open, participatory community in contrast to the clerical model of power and control that it now embraces. The Catholic Church teaches that we must follow our well-formed consciences, and not the leaders of the church, even if that means we must endure excommunication, which Roman Catholic Womenpriests reject. We are not leaving the Catholic Church, but leading our beloved community into a new era of equality and justice for women. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are devoted members of the Catholic Church who are obeying the Spirit’s call to change an unjust law that discriminates against women. St. Augustine taught that an unjust law is no law at all and one has a moral obligation to disobey an unjust law. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are as Catholic as the pope is.

Excommunication does not cancel our baptism or throw us out of the church as some in the media mistakenly report. Excommunication prohibits a person from receiving sacraments, but ,in our case, it has no effect because, as validly ordained priests , we celebrate sacraments. Nothing or no one can separate us from Christ or nullify our baptisms. If God is for us, and I firmly believe that the Holy One created women and men as equal images of the divine, nothing can stop us. As St. Paul writes: “In Christ there is no…male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galations 3:28) In our prophetic obedience we remind the hierarchy that they can no longer discriminate against women and blame God for it. The church is the people of God and all authoritative teaching must reflect the “sensus fidelium” that is “the sense of the faithful.” The papal teaching prohibiting women’s ordination contradicts the Vatican’s own scholarship. In 1976, the Pontifical Biblical Association concluded that there was nothing in the bible that would prohibit women’s ordination.

A few of our role models- in holy obedience to the Spirit in following our consciences and resisting unjust hierarchical authority- are the following holy women who were champions of conscience: St. Joan of Arc, Mary Ward, St. Theodore Guerin, and Blessed Mary McKillop. When Joan was asked whether she was subject to church authorities, she replied, “Yes, but Our Lord must be served first.” She was burned at the stake as a heretic and later declared a saint of the church, a role model for all Catholics to emulate. Mary Ward, founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, endured great persecution and hostility from ecclesiastical officials. She was condemned and jailed for attempting to start a non-cloistered religious order modeled on the Jesuit rule whose aim was to serve people in need , and to avoid being subject to the local bishop. More than 50 years after her death, Pope Clement X1 gave official recognition to her Institute. St. Theodore Guerin (United States) and Blessed Mary McKillop (Australia), founders of religious orders, were excommunicated by their local bishops and later declared holy witnesses by the pope. In fact, Pope Benedict XV1 canonized St. Theodore Guerin several years ago. Like these visionary women of conscience, Roman Catholic Womenpriests are faithful members of the church we love. Perhaps, one day, a future pope will affirm us as role models of faith and courage for bringing the gift of a renewed priestly ministry to the church.
For now, we are living the change we want to see happen in grassroots communities. We are pioneers for equality and justice in the Catholic Church. Each day we joyfully live Christ’s example of Gospel equality, reclaim our church’s earlier tradition of women in ordained ministry, serve God’s people in mutual partnership, lovingly and compassionately wherever they are, and whoever they are. We invite all to join us on our journey to the full equality of women in the Catholic Church! As the Irish say, “ Caed mil a failte”, a hundred thousand welcomes!
Bridget Mary Meehan
Roman Catholic Womanpriest
Spokesperson in the U.S.
sofiabmm@aol.com

Two years after Pittsburgh Ordinations, Roman Catholic Womenpriests in North America Quadruple

On July 31, 2006, 12 women were ordained in Pittsburgh, PA. On July 31, 2008,

we have 51 in the United States, 10 in Canada which totals 61 in North America.

The official count as of today is 61 MEMBERS in North America

United States =51

Bishop 1,
Priests: 31

Deacons: 8
Candidates: 11

***There are many applicants

Glory and praise to our God for the many blessings of support we have received.

Bridget Mary

Press Release+ Article + Poll + Bio. of Roman Catholic Womanpriest: Janice Sevre-Duszynska

Janice Sevre-Duszynska

On August 9, 2008, a Lexington woman who is a peace and justice activist will be ordained a Roman Catholic Womanpriest. Janice Sevre-Duszynska of Lexington, Kentucky will be ordained by Bishop Dana Reynolds of California in the first ordination in the South.

The ordination will be conducted by Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), a movement which is building a renewed model of priesthood for a renewed Roman Catholic Church. Its goal is to achieve full equality of women and men, and to live with inclusiveness, respect and justice for all in a community of open and affirming equals.

Janice says she will be an itinerant priest, speaking out for the voiceless and challenging the powers that be to hear the call of nonviolence and cooperation in our world community. She says Jesus revealed a gracious, compassionate and justicemaking God of abundance. "He was a radical, nonviolent egalitarian who welcomed everyone to the table. He taught us to work for the 'kindom' on earth."

In 2008, Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) are celebrating ordinations in eight locations in the United States and Canada. Our most recent ordination in Boston received worldwide coverage including the following television stations: ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and Public TV as well as many radio stations. Presently in North America there are 30 priests, 12 deacons, 18 candidates, 1 bishop and many applicants. RCWP priests do not take a vow of obedience to bishops but rely instead on an informed conscience.

"We are reclaiming our ancient heritage," Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP spokesperson said. "Roman Catholic Womenpriests are following the example of Jesus who called Mary of Magdala, the first witness to encounter the Risen Christ, to be the apostle to the apostles, and the early Christian tradition of women leaders, like deacon Phoebe, priest Vitalia, and bishop Theodora, who served the church as deacons, priests and bishops. Scholars have documented that women served in ordained ministry for the first twelve hundred years of Christianity."

The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington. Local and national peace-and-justice-makers will be there to support Janice and RCWP, and to remember those who died in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9,1945. Her ordination is close to the feast day of one of her patron saints, Clare of Assisi (August 11) who, along with Francis, worked for the people, the Earth and peace.

Media are invited to a pre-ordination press conference on Friday, August 8 at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, 3564 Clays Mill Road. (For questions regarding the press conference call Janice at 859-684-4247). Media are welcome to cover the ordination ceremony on Saturday, August 9, beginning at 3 p.m. Please be respectful; this is a sacred event. An opportunity for the media to ask questions will follow the ceremony. The press are also invited to the reception and dinner following the ordination.

Article and Poll:

Jessamine woman to be ordained a priest
By Jim Niemi
Herald-Leader Religion Writer

As a young girl growing up in Milwaukee, Janice Sevre-Duszynska often fantasized about becoming a priest while helping clean the sanctuary of the church her family attended.
“I’d sit in the priest’s chair, go to the pulpit, make believe I was preaching and giving communion,” she said. “I thought, ‘Why couldn’t I be up here?’”
Now, 50 years later, she will get her wish, but it could come with a price — excommunication from the Roman Catholic church. On Aug. 9, in defiance of the church’s 2,000-year ban on women in the priesthood, she will be ordained by Roman Catholic Womenpriests, an activist group that has protested the ban since 2002..."

Link to article in Lexington, Kentrucky newspaper on July 30, 2008 and poll

Please vote in the poll Should the Roman Catholic Church ordain women?

http://www.kentucky.com/601/story/475311.html

BIO of Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Janice grew up in the 50s in an extended family in a Polish community on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her mother's parents had immigrated from Waclowek, Poland at the turn of the 20th century.
The oldest of four children, she lived with her parents, brothers and sister in the upstairs quarters of her Busia's (grandmother's) flat. An aunt, uncle, cousins and her Busia lived downstairs. Nearby were aunts, uncles, cousins, and her other grandparents. "I remember a deep sense of belonging, community and celebration," she said. "Our lives revolved around family celebrations, our neighborhood parish and our faith."

From kindergarten through the eighth grade she attended S.S. Cyril and Methodius school where she was taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Every Saturday from the second through the seventh grade she cleaned the priest's sacristy and sanctuary with Sister de Paul. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be an altar girl and newspaper boy. " When I was alone in the church," she said, "I practiced the Mass on the altar as if I were the priest."

Her mother died suddenly when Janice was 16. Despite this devastating event, she graduated from Pulaski High School in January, 1968 and began college at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, the next month. In between work and college studies, she married and had two children. She graduated with a degree in English and Secondary Education in 1974, and in 1985 she and her family moved to Lexington, KY. In 1989 she completed an M.A. in Theatre. The following year her younger son died in an automobile accident when he was 18. A few years later she divorced.

For 15 years she taught English as a Second Language to teenagers from around the world, many of whom were refugees from violence. "I gave the love I had for my own children to them. In doing so, they saved me from the loss of my son."

She is the former chair of the Ministry of Irritation for Women's Ordination Conference (WOC), the national organization that has been working and praying for the ordination of Roman Catholic women priests since 1975. The ordinand has a long history of working for justice for women in the Roman Catholic Church. On January 17, 1998, her 48th birthday, she interrupted the ordination service at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington and asked Bishop Kendrick Williams to ordain her. He did not. However, in her quest for justice for women in the Church she has witnessed to the U.S. bishops at their bi-annual meetings. Her actions included a sit-in at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. in which she took the mike and read her "Statement of Justice for Women in the Church". Before their mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception she publicly challenged the bishops to ordain women.

After witnessing for women's ordination in front of the cathedral in Atlanta, she was arrested for a sit-in inside the church when denied admittance for an ordination. For this action she spent six hours in the Fulton County (Atlanta) jail and was banned from the Catholic churches in the Atlanta archdiocese. She helped promote the Chicago billboard "You're waiting for a sign from God? This is it: Ordain women" to Milwaukee, WI (her hometown), Lexington, KY and elsewhere.

In 2001, with the help of the Women's Ordination Conference, she put up a banner on the edge of the Vatican as bishops from around the world met for a synod. It read: "Ordain Women" in seven languages and it was said it could be seen from the Pope's quarters.

As her unordained priesthood evolved, she "crossed the line" at Ft. Benning, GA in an effort to close the notorious School of the Americas (now WHINSEC), and to make a statement for nonviolence in the world. She consequently lost her teaching job when she was sentenced to three months in federal prison, but the community reinstated her upon her release.

In her priesthood "on the streets with the grassroots" she walked 75 miles in the Sonora Desert in Mexico in six days and five nights in solidarity with the migrant refugees as part of the Migrant Trail Walk. Janice participated with Pax Christi USA and the Nevada Desert Experience in a walk to the Shoshone land on Yucca Mountain to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Earlier this year she participated in an action with Voices for Creative Nonviolence and the Des Moines Catholic Worker Community in Des Moines, Iowa and spent the night in the Polk County Jail with 11 other activists, including Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Kathy Kelly, when they demonstrated in presidential candidates' offices to end the war in Iraq.

Janice is a leader and activist in the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice and its Peace Action Task Group. She holds a B.S. in English and Secondary Education, an M.A. in Theatre and is working on a Doctor of Ministry degree. She writes music, poetry, essays and plays, rides horses and keeps a flower and vegetable garden. Janice shares her life with her husband, Dr. Robert A. Pohowsky, a retired geologist.

Janice was ordained a deacon at first U.S. ordinations of Roman Catholic Womenpriests on July 31, 2006.

Article in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

http://blogs.jsonline.com/faith/archive/2008/07/30/former-milwaukee-woman-risks-excommunication-to-seek-ordination.aspx

Holy Democracy is the RC church's early tradition

"Holy Democracy in the Church"

In Bread Rising, A Report from Terry Dosh, I found the following excellent recommendation.
The Catholic Press Association has given first place in the history division to Robert Mc Clory’s
As it was in the beginning: the coming democratization of the Catholic Church (Crossroad)
In the early church democratic, lay participation was the norm and practice.
Church historian, Brian Tierney writes:
“Early Christian texts are filled with a sense of community meetings, community sharing, community participation in decisions, and above all, they reflect a strong belief that the consensus of the Christian people indicates the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the church… Whatever power prelates possessed in the early church, they possessed it on behalf of their communities and as representing their communities.”
So you mean, that "holy democracy" is our ancient tradition!! Let's reclaim it now, live it in our grassroots communities!
Thank you Terry Dosh for your excellent publication, Bread Rising!

Communication v Excommunication by Theologian Mary Hunt

Insightful and thought-provoking article by theologian Mary Hunt from Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual
http://religiondispatches.org/Gui/Content.aspx?Page=AR&Id=375&sP=1

Worldwide Audience Watch Roman Catholic Womenpriests Ordinations in Boston -

Millions of people around the world watched on television as Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore, Maryland, Judy Lee of Ft. Myers, Florida, and Gabriella Velardi Ward, of New York, New York were ordained priests and Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, New Jersey was ordained a deacon on July 20, 2008 in the Church of the Covenant in Boston. After the women were ordained, Bishop Dana Reynolds, the first U.S. womanbishop , presented the newly ordained to the assembly. They were received with thunderous applause from enthusiastic supporters, a reflection of Catholic attitudes around the world. Roman Catholic Womenpriests are one of the major changes that Catholics want!

Read full article by Bridget Mary Meehan published by Google News

http://news.google.com/news?btcid=4259ac5dbb5c9558