Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Article in Boston Globe "Women to pope: Un-excommunicate us!"

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/01/women_to_pope_u.html

The author, Michael Paulson, wrote two articles about our ordinations in Boston on July 18, 2008 and July21, 2008.
Michael Paulson, in 2002, broke the story of sex abuse the Boston Archdiocese.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests on "IReport" on CNN

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-203113

Go up to link on CNN site and add a comment if you wish.

Bridget Mary Meehan

Roman Catholic Womenpriests call on Pope Benedict to lift excommunications against womenpriests in the Catholic Church

For immediate release
Jan. 28, 2009

From Roman Catholic Womenpriests

http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

CONTACTS:Bridget Mary Meehan: 941-955-2313 (703) 505-0004(cell), 703-671-6712
sofiabmm@aol.com

Roman Catholic Womenpriests call on Pope Benedict to lift the decree of automatic excommunication issued on May 29, 2008 against all in our movement as a gesture of reconciliation and justice toward women in the church. As is well known, the Congregation for Bishops, instructed by the Pope, removed the excommunication of four traditionist bishops on Jan. 21, 2009.

Therefore, Roman Catholic Womenpriests call on the Pope to lift the decree of excommunication against us. This gesture will be a step away from the institutional church’s treatment of women as second-class citizens. We stand firmly in the tradition of Vatican ll which declares:

"Any kind of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language or religion, must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design." Gaudium et Spes, art. 29, 2

No priest pedophiles have been excommunicated.No bishops who were responsible for their continued placement in parishes after their pedophile history was known have been excommunicated.

Theologians who teach and support Vatican II teachings and who support women's ordination are silenced and/or excommunicated.

Women ordained as priests are excommunicated.

Priests and laity who support women priests are excommunicated.

But, priests who reject Vatican II and who deny the holocaust and who openly deny the full equality of women are "rehabilitated" after earlier excommunication.

What's wrong with this picture?

*Bishop Williamson, who denies that holocaust happened, was one of four bishops, who rejected Vatican ll, who were recently re-admitted to the Roman Catholic Church. In this article he writes about girls going to the university:

"Almost No Girl Should Go to University"

http://www.sspx.ca/Documents/Bishop-Williamson/September1-2001.htm

Response Regarding Excommunication Decree
Roman Catholic Womenpriests reject the penalty of excommunication issued by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith on May 29, 2008 stating that the “women priests and the bishops who ordain them would be excommunicated latae sententiae.” Roman Catholic Womenpriests are loyal members of the church who stand in the prophetic tradition of holy obedience to the Spirit’s call to change an unjust law that discriminates against women. Our movement is receiving enthusiastic responses on the local, national and international level. We will continue to serve our beloved church in a renewed priestly ministry that welcomes all to celebrate the sacraments in inclusive, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered communities wherever we are called.

The Vatican confirmed the excommunication of the Danube 7 with a decree in Dec. 2002. The Roman Catholic Womenpriests initiative began on June 29, 2002 with the ordination of seven women on the Danube River. Read our new book , Women Find a Way, to find our more about the history of the movement and stories of some of the women in Roman Catholic Womenpriests. Visit www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: in national news magazine: Ms-"Vatican Justice"

Vatican Justice" by Bill Frogameni

makes a contrast between priests who molest children who are protected by Catholic hierarchy and priests who support womenpriests.
Article highlights Roy Bourgeois who stood with " trailblazers of the female ordination movement in Lexington KY. to make Janice Sevre-Duszynska a Catholic priest."
This article quotes Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, spokesoman for th e U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The church believes that the intent of Jesus ' founding of the priesthood is that it was reserved for men," explained Sister Mary Anne Walsh spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
But speaking for the group Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Bridget Mary Meehan, herself ordained in 2006, and subsequently excommunicated, disputes that teaching:
Jesus never ordained anyone." says Meehan. "And in the tradition, women were ordained deacons, priests and bishops for the first 1200 years." p. 18.

Catholic Renewal Group calls to Pope Benedict: "Be Catholic"

To Pope Benedict: Be Catholic!
The latest move by Pope Benedict XVI to reinstate four schismatic bishops of the St. Pius X Society—which rejects the liberalizing decrees of Vatican Council II (1962-65)—is shocking as it negatively highlights the millions of Catholics he apparently is not interested in reaching out to, including the millions deprived of the Eucharist because of the medieval law requiring that only celibate males can be priests.
Last spring the Pew Foundation found that there are currently 65 million American Catholics—and 30 million former American Catholics! These latter are not Vatican II rejectionists like the Traditionalists, but most likely are either Catholics who are deeply disappointed at the anti-Vatican II Restorationism of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, or never really learned about the Freedom Spirit of Vatican II in the parched years after the appointment of Cardinal Wotyla as Pope in late 1978.
We of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC, founded in 1980 in the wake of the Vatican repression of Catholic thinkers in 1979) welcome the reaching out to the few million Traditionalist Catholics.
We also cry out for a reaching out to the 30 million alienated former American Catholics! (How many more millions of former Catholics are there elsewhere in the world!?) We also look for a reaching out to the untold millions of the 65 million current American Catholics who are barely holding on to their church membership by their fingernails, threatening to swell the ranks of the 30 missing millions.
Personally, I also plead with my former colleague on the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Tübingen, Professor Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, to reach out not only to the right, but also to the left. Make our Church truly catholic, universal!
Professor Leonard Swidler, Ph.D., S.T.L.
President, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church
E-mail: dialogue@temple.edu ; Tel: 513-508-1935
Web: arcc-catholic-rights.net

Leonard Swidler, Ph.D., S.T.L., LL.D., LL.D.
Prof Catholic Thought & Interreligious Dialogue
215-204-7251 (Off.) 215-477-1080 (Home) 513-508-1935 (Mobile)
E-mail: dialogue@temple.edu ; Web: http://astro.temple.edu/~dialogue/Swidler/
Editor, Journal Ecumenical Studies; Pres Dialogue Institute http://jesiiid.org/
Religion Dept Temple Univ Philadelphia, PA 19122 http://www.temple.edu/religion
Pres, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church arcc-catholic-rights.net

Roman Catholic Womanpriest Judy Lee: Ministry to the Homeless- "Jim Died Tonight"

(Roman Catholic Womanpriest standing next to Jim seated to her right)

Jim died tonight. He was 49 years old. I am attaching a picture of us from last July. It is a picture I will send his family. He is the one seated holding my hand.I brought him into Lee Memorial on Friday night from the ministry. His pancreas and liver were shot and he was in much pain as his belly looked like a 12 month pregnancy. He had lain in the woods for two weeks in this awful state but I only learned of it on Wednesday. Finally someone directed us to him on Thursday night. I sent the Salvation Army Nurse there on Friday afternoon but he refused her help. I had her tell him to come to the ministry or I would come get him on Friday night. His best friend put him on the bus from NFM and there he was-so frightened and in such pain. I talked with him until he had the courage to go with me. One of the volunteers drove us up the street and his friend and I somehow got all immobilized 6 feet of him in there. He would not let me leave his side so I went through the exams with him. When they finally sat him in a recliner he said "this IS better, and this is my Pastor, and I love her.I told him that I loved him too and that he was God's beloved son". "I know" he said and the Nurses were crying and so was I. He was finally admitted after many hours in the ER I visited him on Saturday after church and he was agitated( I think also detoxing with tremors) but so happy to see us. We talked about his parents and children in another state. I took his parent's number but he doubted that they would call him. We talked about forgiving and being forgiven. He conveyed his love for them, and I will tell his parents that when I call them tomorrow.How I wish that I had remembered to call them on what was a hectic Sunday. At the end of the visit I anointed him with oil of Chrism and prayed with him. He put his arms around me and thanked me for loving him. He did the same with JudyB. I thanked him for loving us. We had talked about his possible discharge( to SA Med Unit or or Joshua House) and he wanted to make sure we would bring him clean clothes on Monday! I asked my 'elders' to visit him on Sunday but do not know if they did. Well, we spent today settling Brenda into her new home in Port Charlotte and got there about 6PM. We learned that he had recently been taken to ICU. When we got there we were shocked to learn that he had just died. They let us stay with him and I said the final prayers. This was a time of peace and grace. He is free of all the tortures he has faced. And tomorrow I will make final plans with the family and do some sort of a funeral/Memorial Service here soon. But, I can not tell you what this has done to me. I feel like I am running to meet urgent needs like this and can't run fast enough. There is a renewed sense of urgency about this ministry,and the prayer to have more hands to do it. I guess that is the prayer for church to do its work before we lose another one. This is the second one in a year. The first was Tammy who was hit by a car crossing 41. Please keep us in your prayers.

Judy Lee

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Photos of womenpriests in southern region

http://picasaweb.google.com/sofiabmm/UntitledAlbum?feat=directlink

Top Roman Catholic Theologian Supports Womenpriests

"I get the impression that the recourse to sheer power is happening because those who oppose women's ordination are losing the argument on the field of reasoning. These reasons are basically three: the example of Jesus, unbroken tradition , and the need for iconic resemblance."
Read full article on Womenpriests website:
http://www.womenpriests.org/teaching/johnson.asp

Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S. J. is professor of theology at Fordham University and author of many books such as Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology (1992);Women, Earth and Creator Spirit (1993);
She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse (1993). Her most recent work is Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Meeting and Worship at Mary Mother of Jesus House Church Catholic Community

Roman Catholic Womenpriests Community Southern Regional Meeting January 2009



Janice Sevre-Duszynska (left) and Bridget Mary Meehan (right) at Siesta Key
Here we are on the Gulf Sunday evening revering the sunset amid drumming and dancing on the sugar-like sand. It was Bridget's birthday!





Janice Sevre Duszynska (left), Bridget Mary Meehan,
Judy Lee, Eleonora Marinaro (right)
met for prayer, reflection and planning for southern region on Jan. 9, 2009



Judy Lee (left) Mary Ellen Sheehan
(candidate from Atlanta in center),
Bridget Mary Meehan right
(March 2008)

Our RCWP-Southern community met on Friday. What a treat to gather in the warmth of the Sarasota sun and Bridget Mary's home. We began by singing Marsie Silvestro's "Let the women be there." We shared stories of our ministries, our needs, hopes and dreams. Spirit moving freely -- the ideas flowed. We captured them on paper. They include a home and services for homeless women and a billboard campaign for the upcoming RCWP ordination in Atlanta.


Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church Catholic Community
Celebration on the Baptism of Jesus -- Jan. 12, 2009
The Spirit revived us with Her fire as community gathered to pray, share stories of the Good News, ask for healing and celebrate Eucharist with each other. In our liturgy we remembered the Baptism of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, Breath of God,
come and light a fire of love;
love that welcomes truth and kindness,
love revealing God's embrace of all.
(from "Holy Spirit, Breath of God" by Gregory Norbert, 2007. Published by OCP).


Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church Catholic Community
celebrates Baptism of Jesus on Jan. 9, 2009

Roman Catholic Womanpriest: Janice Sevre-Duszynska: War Devastating to Vast Majority of Iraqis

Janice Sevre-Duszynska wrote this Op.Ed. that appeared in the Lexington Herald Leader on January 12, 2209

"....Women have been systematically attacked by theocratic militias on both sides of the sectarian divide, but the most widespread violence has been committed by the Shiite militias affiliated with the U.S.-backed government -- the Badr Brigade and the Mahdi Army. These groups have waged their campaign of terror against women with weapons, training and money provided by the U.S...."

http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/654799.html

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Support Us. Empower Communities. Live Gospel-Equality.

(left to right)

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Bridget Mary Meehan, Judy lee, Eleonora Marinaro




Janice Sevre-Duszynska(left) and Mary Ellen Sheehan (right)


Dear Community of Supporters,
As Roman Catholic Womenpriests in the South grow, we invite you to partner with us on our journey to a renewed priestly ministry united with the people with whom we serve.

The Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement is an initiative within the Church that began with the ordination of seven women on the Danube River in 2002. Reclaiming our ancient spiritual heritage, womenpriests are shaping a more inclusive, Christ-centered Church of equals in the twenty-first century. Women bishops ordained in full apostolic succession continue to carry on the work of ordaining others in the Roman Catholic Church. We are rooted in a response to Jesus who called women and men to be disciples and equals living the Gospel.

We invite you to support our movement in the southern region with your prayers and financial gifts. Some of our current needs are:
-ordination expenses including the upcoming episcopal consecrations, and support of candidates with limited resources
-a billboard in a location close to our next ordination site in the Atlanta area. We plan to use a colorful graphic of women in the early church celebrating Eucharist. The message will read Roman Catholic Womenpriests reclaiming our ancient heritage and include our web site.

-resources including a house for homeless women in southwest Florida. As part of our work for gender justice and equality, we plan to help raise funds to support this outreach of Good Shepherd Ministries SWFL,Inc. (a non-profit ) Roman Catholic Womanpriest Judy Lee, serves in this inclusive, interfaith ministry
We appreciate your generosity. Send your check or money payable to Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Inc. and please write "Southern Region" in the memo section of your check.

Mail to:
RCWP USA/ for Southern region
3311 Rancho Miguel Rd.
Jamul, California 91935
Email sofiabmm@aol.com or call 703-505-0004 for more information and to inform of us of your donation so that we can express our personal thanks.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests-South :
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Justice and Peace Activist, Lexington, Kentucky, rhythmsofthedance@msn.com
Judy Lee, Ministry to the Homeless, Ft. Myers, Florida, judyabl@embarqmail.com
Eleonora Marinaro, Healing Prayer and Spiritual Direction, Port Richey, Florida ,elly@helpwithdreams.com
Mary Ellen Sheehan, Ordinand, Special Education, Caregiver, Atlanta, Georgia,sheehanme@earthlink.net
Bridget Mary Meehan, Bishop Elect, Pastor of Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church , sofiabmm@aol.com
941-955-2313, 703-671-6712
Visit our web site: http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

RCWP-USA promotes and supports the ordination of women and men in renewed priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. Every ministry convened by a Roman Catholic Woman Priest operates separately and independently from the RCWP-USA, Inc. non-profit.)

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Preparing for Retreat in Southern Region

Roman Catholic Womenpriests in the southern region of the United States will meet tomorrow for a day of reflection, sharing, and planning.
As I prepare for our time together, my prayer is that
we see everyone and everything with God's eyes and then choose to love all with God's heart. As we serve the people of God in a renewed priestly ministry, may we set on fire a new Pentecost!!
Bridget Mary Meehan

Excommunication of Fr. Bourgeois will ‘certainly take place,’ Vatican official says

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14655

Jack Duffy's Letter to Editor Published in Sarasota Herald Tribune

Jack Duffy (navy blue) seated next to Helen, his wife at Mary, Mother of Jesus liturgy

Jack Duffy, one of our leaders from Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church Catholic Community wrote this letter to the editor which was published in the paper. It is important that we speak truth to power. Thank you Jack for your prophetic words to our institutional church calling for accountability, transparency and a return of focus to the healing and compassionate love of Christ for all.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090103/LETTERS/901030316/2163/OPINION?Title=Church_fails_to_create_transparency
Jack responded to this article.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081230/ARTICLE/812300346

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: A renewed priestly ministry that cannot be stopped

When God calls us , (and I believe that the equality of women in our church is the voice of God in our time),to renew our beloved Roman Catholic Church, God opens a door that cannot be closed. This is my prayer for 2009!

Bridget Mary Meehan

Roman Catholic Womanpriest

http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

A Blessed New Year

Dad and I are thankful for the many blessings we have received and offer our sincere wishes for a blessed New Year for all.

Bridget Mary and Jack Meehan

Article About Self-Excommunication by Robert Schutzius

ARCC spot LIGHT (analysis of Church issues offered by the ARCC Publications Committee, R. Schutzius, ed.)

What Every Roman Catholic Should Know about Self-Excommunication

Most Catholics are familiar with Excommunication. It is a penalty imposed by Church authorities for having done serious things like abortions, heresies, schisms, and other crimes. The purpose is to seek repentance and protect the faithful. In days gone by it could be deadly as now-canonized saints like St. Joan of Arc, learned the hard way. The two general types are a) AUTOMATIC - the kind that happens just by doing the deed, and b) IMPOSED - the kind that needs to be issued, publically or secretly, by some Church official.

New on the Excommunication scene is the concept of Self-Excommunication (SEx) whereby one excommunicates oneself. There are apparently two different types of SEx:

a) Self Excommunication in the External Forum (SEx-EF) which occurs when a Church official declares that you have excommunicated yourself (even without your knowledge) or after a certain time period (30 days), and

b) Self Excommunication in the Internal Forum (SEx-IF) whereby one excommunicates oneself by doing or believing the same thing as those who have been self excommunicated in the External Forum (SEx-EF). This latter category, (SEx-IF), can be further divided into:

ACTIVE (SEx-IF-Active) which includes those Catholics who are still active in the Church but support such things as the ordination of women, birth control, same sex unions, stemcell research, in-vitro fertilization, Obama for President, shared control of Church property, and more recently, active support for child sex-abuse victims (others to be added later), and

PASSIVE (SEx-IF-Passive) which includes those Catholics who have just passively left the Church and moved on. (The third largest group of Christians in the US).

The above is offered as an observed description of this phenomenon and is not in any way official. A preliminary search finds no official reference in Church Law nor in past documents that deal directly with this, a gap soon to be filled no doubt by the Catholic media. Practically speaking, there is not much defense against the SEx-EF except to repent quickly if possible. Those who fall into the SEx-IF-Active category would be well advise to keep a low profile and avoid going public, until such time as the Spirit calls you to be a more prophetic Christian.

It is obvious to many that our Church is in serious trouble, and that such machinations are only attempts to avoid the inevitable need for reform through accountability, openness, and participation of all. Please pray that the loving Spirit of God who dwells amongst us will prevail and help our poor Church.

REMEMBERING THE WOMEN (This book has the following alternate Sunday readings.)
Jan. 4 - Epiphany 1 Kings 10:1-13, Matt 2:1-12
Jan 11 - Baptism Judith 13:18-20

Support for The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC) is greatly appreciated.
Circulate freely with source acknowledged. Comments welcomed rschutz1@prodigy.net or 1-877-700-ARCC (2722).

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: WWL Radio Interview with Bridget Mary Meehan and Link to Pontification Blog by David Gibson

WWL Radio Interview in Louisiana
9:10am Bridget Mary Meehan...

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 Guest host Don Dubuc and Monica talk to Bridget Mary Meehan, National Spokesperson for Roman Catholic Women Priests (and a priest herself), about the Louisiana priest who is risking excommunication because he believes women should be ordained.
http://audio.wwl.com/m/audio/21422816/11-14-9-10am-bridget-mary-meehan.htm?pageid=59313

Pontifications by David Gibson
"The blowback certainly hasn't died down, and today more than 100 nuns from 22 religious congregations released a letter to the Vatican protesting the threatened excommunication of Bourgeois. The letter was organized by the National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN)."
http://blog.beliefnet.com/pontifications/2008/12/us-to-nuns-to-vatican-we-suppo.html

Excommunication ("sort of") of Fr. Roy Bourgeois by Canon Lawyer Fr. Tom Doyle

There is an excellent reflection by Fr. Tom Doyle on the excommunication ("sort of")of Fr. Roy Bourgeois in the current issue of ARCC Light.
http://arcc-catholic-rights.net/tom_doyle_on_bourgeois.htm

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Mary, Mother of Jesus Christmas Eve Liturgy/ Celebration

A Joyous Celebration of Christmas in Mary, Mother of Jesus Catholic House Church in Sarasota, Florida

On Dec. 24, 2008 our community celebrated the birth of Christ with enthusiastic worship and full participation in a lively gathering which included two presiders: Michael Rigdon, a married priest and Bridget Mary Meehan, a Roman Catholic Womanpriest and serveral visitors including a family from Michigan. The teens in this family shared their gifts in technology, operating the digital camera and music systmes. Special thanks to Aubrey who took this footage, Colette , her sister, is responsible for the digital stills. (soon to follow)
Sheila Carey shared her gift of liturgical dance (in the inspiring act of worship in honor of Mary, Mother of Jesus, that you will see in the clip below.www.sheilacarey.com

Sheila hopes that viewing Sacred Dance will lift thiose watching to prayer with their God.
Jack Meehan, our minister of music, played carols on the sax and trumpet. In our dialogue homily we shared our journey to birth Christ in our world. All of us are called to be, like Mary, "mothers of God."
Like the women and men in the early Christian house churches, our liturgy was held in the context of a meal. After our eucharist, we continued to celebrate with a festive supper of Irish chowder, brown bread, korn bread, and tea.

Clip of Liturgical Dance;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3KQz1LbxLQ&feature=channel_page

O Emmanuel 23 Dec.

*(O) Emmanuel...our Guide and Source of All Law ,the One that ev'ry land is longing for,O Saving One once promised to the house of Israel,Come! and save us ! Be our Christ, our God!*/
My Dear Friends and Colleagues, Sisters and Brothers,Blessed peace...and rest...and quiet...be with you this day...and this night!Now our time of watching in the fertile, but sometimes frightening, darkness of night is drawing gently to a close. We slowly begin to taste and savor the continuing fulfillment of the promise in the person of the Promised One, Emmanuel, The Christ, who has been guiding our hearts and minds through the fecund wilderness of Advent.We have longed for the radiance of Emmanuel, who comes bearing gifts to the gift bearers, to shine upon us and within us. We have longed for the Source of All Law to hand us anew the light of the pure Law of Love. This sacred Law of Love flows from the heart of God into our hearts and seeks to fill us to overflowing, desiring beyond all desire to be our rule and our guide...so that in, with and through The Christ, in the unity of the Spirit, we become great lovers of God, of one another and of all creation.Emmanuel waits for us...and waits within us...for us to give the gift of receiving the gift, in surrender to Love's enfolding embrace. We follow now the star to all the places and hearts where Love waits to love and to be loved. There we will find Emmanuel; and there, as we adore The Christ, we will become mirrors of Emmanuel among our brothers and sisters.May it be so.Thank you for being both sign and presence of Emmanuel to me.
With love as Advent draws softly to a close,
Olivia of the Western Region - RCWP-USA

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: More NCR articles on Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois and Quote from Bishop Gumbleton's homily

Ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska Fr. Roy co-celebrates liturgy, Bishop Dana Reynolds in red vestments, Janice on right, Bridget Mary Meehan, next to Roy on left. and Ree Hudson on far right)

Bourgeois has long drawn inspiration from women
By LINDA COOPER AND JAMES HODGE
Published: December 23, 2008

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2945
Humbled by the torrent of support he’s received after refusing to disavow his belief that God calls women to the priesthood.

(Quote from Bishop Gumbleton's homily at Jane Donovan Peace Center, Philadelphia, Pa.)

http://ncrcafe.org/blog/34

"We are aware that our church is lacking in ministers, those who can speak prophetically in our public liturgy, those who can be pastoral leaders in our communities. But they are available and Father Roy has made the plea and a public statement through his action by being present at the ordination of a woman, and has urged our church and proclaimed to our church, “Go back to the beginning” when house churches -- places like we are assembled here today in a home with a small community gathered -- were led, we learned from the letters of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, by women.
We must open ourselves to this reality, take us back to the beginning, so that we flourish in the church with new ministers, ministers who can be that prophetic voice as these women were in the beginning..."

Sixth O Antiphon

Sovereign of all the Nations...and Desired One of all,the Cornerstone that binds the two in one,you fashion us from out of clay, we live among the poor:Come! and save the ones who wait for you!*
/My Beloved Sisters and Brothers,Greetings of Peace!
Now, with this sixth O Antiphon, we increasingly are aware that our Light, The Christ, already present...also continues to come to save us.And so we wait with hope, trust and expectation...and as we wait, we keep watch in the night, the night fertile with promise, seeking that first and early glimpse of the breaking light that is sure to come...not a moment too soon, not a moment too late.We have been waiting together in the spacious union of our hearts this Advent Season...and may that be the space in which the Light shines most brightly. It is the space between us and among us that holds us and makes us one, binding us together in the Love of Christ, fashioning us into the image of The Christ, creating us into The Christas and The Christos, to walk among the poor and learn of God.The lessons taught us by the poor, whether poor in spirit or poor in earthly goods...yes, the poor themselves...light our pathways as we journey toward harmony and peace among the nations, beginning with peace in our own hearts.Blessed be the One whom we desire, the One whose heart we seek...Blessed be the Desired One of all...the One sought by seekers and by those who do not know they seek. Blessed be the Light that is breaking forth.With prayerful love,
Olivia of the Western Region - RCWP-USA

O Antiphon for Fourth Sunday of Advent

*O Rising Dawn...and radiance of the light that never ends,O Sun of Justice shining for the world,our days are filled with terror, we are frightened by the night:Come! and chase the shadows from the dark!*
/My Dear Brothers and Sisters on the Holy Road of Advent to Christmas,
Peace on this Winter Solstice Day, on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, on what was once known in ancient times as the First Day of Christmas!
Lighting my Advent wreath at 4:00 a.m. this day, I had a sense of the increasing presence of light, of the Rising Dawn and of the Sun of Justice, both of whom today's O Antiphon sings. I felt the warmth of Light shining in many darknesses...my own, the local corner of the world, RCWP, the Vatican, territories and nations, across the mountains and valleys and deserts of this earth...springing forth from and returning to the ever recreating cosmos found in the heart of God...in a never ending cycle.Light is victorious, accomplishing what it is created to do...yet it requires of us the courage to see through its eyes, to walk by its light. In our seeing, we are invited to walk by meeting the challenge to become light, to be the light we are, and to shine in the darkness of the terrors and fears of our brothers and sisters in, with, and through whom we serve.As vessels of Light, immersed and bathed in The Light, in The Christ, we dare to dream the dreams of God, even to invite God to dream through us, and by grace to live into the vision shining on our pathways. May it be so! Yes! Amen! We are ready!
With prayerful love,Olivia of the Western Region - RCWP-USA__._,_.___

Google News Alerts for Roman Catholic Womenpriests

Gloria Carpeneto in the middle, Judy Lee on left and Gabriella Velardi Ward on the right at Boston ordinations 2008

Andrea Johnson (second from right) Patricia Fresen in middle, Eleonora Marinaro, Bridget Mary Meehan at New York ordinations 2007

From Google News Alerts

in Baltimore newspapers:

Roman Catholic Womenpriests
Stained-glass ceiling

Baltimore Sun - Baltimore,MD,USA

"In the United States, 33 women have been ordained as priests, six as deacons and one as a bishop, according to Roman Catholic Womenpriests"...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.priest21dec21,0,27947.story

Area women set sights on stained-glass ceiling

Baltimore Examiner - Baltimore,MD,USA

"There are Roman Catholic bishops in good standing with the Vatican in ... said she was ordained earlier this year in Boston by Roman Catholic Womenpriests, ...

http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/people/1221emsCorrigan.html

O Antiphon for 20th day of December 2008

/*O Key of David...scepter of the house of Israel,you open and you close without contest.To us who sit in darkness and the shadow of the grave,Come! unlock our prisons and our chains.*/My Dear Sisters and Brothers,Peace be with you this 20th day of December 2008
!It has been written that when God opens a door, no one can close it; and when God closes a door, no one can open it.Thus the Key of David, The Christ, without contest closes and opens doors to shepherd us and free us along our spiritual pathways.Closing the door of complacency and ignorance...Christ leads us instead through the gates of fruitful wisdom.Closing the door of worry and anxiety...Christ leads us instead through the gates of inner peace and trust.Closing the door of self-will...Christ leads us instead though the gates of true obedience, the surrender to Love.Opening the door of the prison of non forgiveness...Christ sends us forth to be reconciled in peace with ourselves and with one another.Opening the door of the prison of isolation...Christ sends us forth to taste communion with self, one another and the Spirit.Opening the door of the prison of fear...Christ sends us forth to love and to be loved without measure.May we with gratitude and thanks accept the closing of doors so that we might discern and discover new directions.May we accept the grace given us to recognize and enter the doors that stand open within the heart of God so that we might know freedom from darkness and walk as Children of the Light.Blessed be God forever!
With love and kind thoughts of you,Olivia of the Western Region - RCWP USA

Catholic Church Moves to Excommuniae Priest-Sexism in the Catholic Church: Letter to Editor by Tom Hill, Olympia

December 18, 2008Catholic Church moves to excommunicate priest (Original title was Sexism in the Catholic Church)
Sexism, like racism, often is right before our eyes and we fail to recognize it or chose to ignore it.Many will not recognize sexism in the case of Father Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest of more than 36 years who is about to be excommunicated by the Vatican because he gave a homily at the ordination of a woman to the Roman Catholic priesthood last August.Rome is against the ordination of women even though the pope's own Pontifical Biblical Commission could find no scriptural reason for denying women the right to all seven church sacraments. Then in the tradition of men unable to formulate a reasonable theological argument against women's ordination, Catholics have been told the matter is not open for discussion.Most incredible is how quickly Rome reacted to Father Bourgeois' public support of women's ordination. Rome took less than three months to threaten this brave priest with the church's most severe punishment for confronting the sexist position that women are not good enough to serve God's people in an ordained capacity.Only three months! It has taken Rome years to react to predator priests in our church and not one of these criminal priests (or bishops) has been threatened with excommunication.Sexism will continue in the Catholic Church as long as we Catholics ignore what is happening and continue to support this bad behavior.
(Edited out of the original letter: Try sending your weekly tithe to a Catholic reform group and see how long it takes Rome to react to that one!)Tom Hill, Olympia

Roman Catholic Womanpriest, Olivia Doko, shares Third O Antiphon

/*O Root of Jesse...standing as a sign to all the world,

before you ev'ry ruler silent bows,

and to you ev'ry nation will one day return for help.

Come! and save us, we can wait no more!
*/

My Dearly Loved Sisters and Brothers,

Peace this Third O Antiphon Day!

Ringing in the ears of my heart as well as in the ears of my mind is the
word "root". The Christ was and remains deeply rooted in God, inviting
us into a silent awareness of our rootedness in, with and through him,
our beloved brother.

How many false roots of ego, sown in the darkness of our ignorance of
the Light, are we invited to uproot, first of all in ourselves, in order
to stand as the signs to all the world we have been created to be? How
willing are we to return to the taproot, The Christ, for help and
recreation?

So often we are busy saving the world, saving the Church, saving
others. Yet the greatest gift we can give to all, to and with whom we
are called by God, is first to allow ourselves to be saved from our
false selves so that we might come home to our true selves, and thereby
help show others the way.

Indeed, in openness may we pray, "come and save us...we can wait no more!"

With love at Advent and always,
Olivia of the Western Region - RCWP-USA

Roman Catholic Womanpriest Olvia Doko shares O Antiphon for Dec. 17th, 2008

(Olivia Doko with husband Slavo)

(Olivia Doko on the left and Juanita Cordero on the right)

*O Adonai...and tender of the house of Israel,appearing as a fire in the bush,who from the mountain top has handed down the Holy Law,Come! and hold us in redemption's arms! */My Much Loved Sisters and Brothers...Moses saw a flaming bush and recognized Whose Spirit was in that bush...and so he removed his sandals...and, grounded on the earth and its energy, opened his heart and his intellect to receive that which the Spirit would give...give not only for Moses, but for all humankind.We, too have seen a burning bush, sent to instill in each of us the vision for a renewing Church where all can know the healing of their lives' journeys, be welcomed at table, and be empowered to serve one another and the world...even the cosmos. How can we do other than to sing a hymn of gratitude and praise!As we sing, may the fire of Adonai burn with strength in our hearts so that we become living, flaming burning epistles through whom the Good News, which fulfilled the law, is preached with our every breath.

Olivia Doko

RCWP - Western Region - USA

Women Religious Raise their voices to "Break the Silence" on women's ordination

Fr. Roy holding chalice, Bishop Dana Reynolds, Janice Sevre-Duszynska holding bread, left Kathy Reddig, Bridget Mary Meehan and on far right Ree Hudson

Interview Transcript with Fr. Roy on CNN on Dec. 14th, 2008
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0812/14/sm.01.html


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Saiz Hanna, office: +1 (202) 675-1006
ehanna@womensordination.org

Women religious raise their voices to "Break the Silence" on women's ordination

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, over 100 women religious go public in their support of women's ordination and Roy Bourgeois, the Maryknoll priest who was informed by the Vatican that he would be excommunicated if he did not recant his support of women's ordination within 30 days. He did not recant, and no further communication has been received. In collaboration with the campaign spearheaded by the Women's Ordination Conference (WOC), titled "Break the Silence. Shatter the Stained-Glass Ceiling." the National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN) wrote the letter addressed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The 113 signatures add to the over 200 women religious that signed two petitions in conjunction with the "Break the Silence" campaign since November 11, when WOC opened the first petition. "Catholic women religious are among the most prophetic people within our Church," stated Aisha Taylor, executive director of WOC. "The Vatican has intentionally created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, and the women who signed the letter and our petitions add their voices to the thousands of WOC members who, for over 30 years, have called for women's full inclusion in the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the signers have been members of WOC since the first conference in 1975." Among the signers are Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, who defied the Vatican in 2001 and spoke at the first Women's Ordination Worldwide conference in Dublin; Sr. Theresa Kane, RSM, who made national headlines when she publicly requested, with Pope John Paul II sitting near-by, that he ordain women; Sr. Ivone Gebara, CND, one of Latin Americas leading theologians. Bourgeois' threat of excommunication is the second attempt this year in silencing the voice of women and men religious who prophetically stand in support of women's justice and equality in the church. On June 26, Sr. Louise Lears, a Sister of Charity who dedicated her entire life to serving the Church, was penalized by Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis for attending the ordination of two Roman Catholic women. The Pontifical Biblical Commission found in 1976 that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit the ordination of women. The Bible describes how women were prominent leaders in Jesus' ministry and early Christianity. In all four gospels, Mary Magdalene was the primary witness to the central event of Christianity-Christ's resurrection.

"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 as priests in an accountable and inclusive Catholic Church," Taylor concluded.

###


NATIONAL COALITION OF AMERICAN NUNS
FOUNDED TO STUDY AND SPEAK OUT ON ISSUES OF JUSTICE
IN CHURCH AND SOCIETY12434 Klinger St., Detroit, MI 48212, 313-891-2192
Via FAX: 06.69.88.34.09

December 12, 2008Cardinal William Joseph LevadaCongregation for the Doctrine of FaithPiazza del S. Uffizio 1100193 Roma, ItalyDear Cardinal Levada:
The Vatican's threatened excommunication of Fr. Roy Bourgeois because of his belief in the priestly ordination of women has diminished our Church.
As women religious who love our Church and who have served the People of God for decades, we support our brother Roy. As a Maryknoll priest for 36 years, he has followed the Gospel of Jesus in his ministry for peace and justice by speaking out against the war in Iraq and against the torture of countless human beings, aided and abetted by the U.S. government's School of the Americas. He has been a prophetic voice for thousands in our society.
Roy is now a prophetic voice in our church because of his support for women's equality in all Church ministries. Excommunications depend not on edicts or laws, but on compliance. We do not believe Roy is outside the community and we embrace him wholeheartedly. Like Roy, we know women who testify that they are called to priesthood. We know that Jesus did not discriminate in calling both women and men to ministry. And we know that our church needs the gifts of everyone called.
So we join Fr. Roy Bourgeois and the majority of U.S. Catholics, who believe that women are called to priestly ordination in the Catholic Church. We look forward to the day when Catholic women, following in the footsteps of Mary Magdalene who announced the Resurrection to the male Apostles, will minister as full equals in our church.


Sincerely,
Jean Ackerman, OP
Louise Akers, SC
Alice Baker, IHM
Barbara Battista, SP
Barbara Beesley, IHM
Marlene Bertke, OSB
Ruth Bockenstette, SC
Mary A. Bodde, SC
Mary E. Boesen, SL
Mary Ellen Brody, RSM
Julie Brown, RSM
Mary Peter Bruce, SL
Jeri Cashman, OP
Joan Chicoine, IHM
Joan Chittister, OSB
Benita Coffey, OSB
Carol Coston, OP
Mary Ann Coyle, SLMary Ann Cunningham, SL
Beth Davies, CND
Marie Cyril Delisi, IHM
Kathleen Desautels, SP
Jo Ann Dold, OP
Maria S. Dowhaniuk, SFCC
Suzanne Dunn, SFCC
Gwen Farry, BVM
Maureen Fenlon, OP
Sheila Ferraz, SC
Maureen Fiedler, SL
Mary Kay Finneran, SC
Arlene Flaherty, OP
Victoria Marie Forde, SC
Susan Fortier, OSB
Ivone Gebara, CND
Rita Clare Gerardot, SP
Marian Gibbons, OP
Joan Glisky, IHM
Paula Gonzalez, SC
Jeannine Gramick, SL
Joan Groff, SC
Katrinka Gunn, SC
Patricia A. Haire, CSJ
Ann Halloran, OP
Doris Hamerl, CSC
Mary Harvey, RSM
Eileen Haugh, OSF
Joan Henehan, CSJ
Grace A. Hogan, OP
Margaret Hughes, IHM
Ruth Hunt, SC
Marion Irvine, OP
Florence Izzo, SC
Therese Jilk, OSF
Deidre G. Jordy, SP
Elizabeth Joyce, SP
Theresa Kane, RSM
Connie Kelly, SC
Esther Kennedy, OP
Betty Kenny, OSF
Pamela S. Kobasic, IHM
Kathy Komarek, OP
Anna Koop, SL
Linda Kors, CSC
Janet Kramer, SOSF
Marie LaBollita, SC
Cita Lamb, SND
Jean Ann Ledwell, OSU
Janet Lemon, IHM
Rose Annette Liddell, SL
Denise Lonergan, SFCC
Lystra Long, OP
Marian McAvoy, SL
Anne McCarthy, OSB
Kathleen McClelland, RSM
Bridget Mary Meehan, SFCC
Virginia Miller, SP
Mary M. Miner, RSM
Kate Moriarty, RSM
Maureen Murray, RSHM
Patricia Nagle, IHM
Betty Olley, OPMichele Olley, OP
Madonna Oswald, IHM
Patricia Otillio, RSM
Elizabeth Pardo, IHMClaudine Picard, RSM
Katharine Pinto, SC
Helen Marie Plourde, SSND
Marie-Anne Quenneville, OSU
Meg Quinlan, RSM
Donna Quinn, OP
Susan Rakoczy IHM
Diane Rapozo, BVM
Marie Regine Redig, SSND
Roberta Richmond, IHM
Carol L. Ries, SNJM
Marie Romejko, SND
Dolores Russo, SCH
Christine Seghetti, RSM
Gerry Sellman, SCMM
Ann Shaw, CSC
Maureen Sinnott, OSF
Julie Slowik, IHM
Rita Specht, RSM
Florence Speth, SC
Mary Sugrue, SC
Lenore Sullivan, IBVM
Maureen Tobin, OSB
Susan Vickers, RSM
Jacquie Wetherholt, CSJRebecca White, OSU
Alice Zachmann, SSND
Joanne Marie Zavadsky, SSND

For more information,
please visit
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ojXaxiLLmLyyWt4WwqkctuyR6kisZol8wO_gqTpcl9sQGwWpOJAcalDt4pXTRGtDFKnlPmAY9Rjk1b_tDM31qDK5VXBI7hj7qaEbD_kRFV4V02xkusuNv_XnUtdTOLp-
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 Catholic church. WOC represents the 63-70 percent of US Catholics that support women's ordination. WOC also promotes new perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests return to Liturgical Celebration of the Early Church

Judy Lee, rcwp, presiding at Good Shepherd Community Liturgy/Ft. Myers, FL.

Bridget Meehan, rcwp, and Lee Breyer,married priest sitting next to Carol, his wife(couch from left to right) preside at liturgy/Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church in Sarasota, Fl.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests , in grassroots communities, are embracing the liturgical celebration of the early church that John Chuchman describes in the following reflection:

A Return to Liturgical Celebration of the early Church

During the years following the ascension of Jesus,
the model of community worship by the early Christians
was that of the house Church.
The followers of Christ would gather in small groups
in the home of one of the Christian believers
and celebrate a memorial service of Our Lord's last supper.
The community of believers would call forth one of its members
to preside at this memorial service.
This person could be either man or woman, married or single.
This person was a baptized member of the early Christian community
with no special designation except being chosen or called forth
to leadership by the community.
Priesthood in the house churches of the early Christian community
did not come into existence until after the year 200 A.D.
For most of Christianity's first two hundred years
there was no perceived need for a formal clerical hierarchy,
or a centralized organization to define and enforce orthodoxy.
Each gathering of Christians was nearly autonomous,
and the various communities elected one (or several) of their members
to act as spiritual leader(s) in ministering the locally interpreted teachings of Jesus.
The Eucharistic celebration that the early Christian community celebrated
was a memorial service of the last supper.
The celebration of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist
was the result of the presence of Christ in the Community.
The community members were the concelebrants
and the leader was the presider.
It was the conscious expression of the faith by the whole community
that brought about the presence of Christ in the elements of the Eucharist.
Speaking the words of consecration was not the exclusive right of anyone
but rather belonged to the whole congregation.
The presence of Christ in the community
precedes the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Karl Rahner has said that the presence of Christ in the community gathered
precedes the possibility of the presence of Christ in the Eucharistic elements.
Only after we probe the presence of Christ in the community
will we find the deepest meaning of the real presence in the sacred elements.
Edward Schillebeeckx stresses the importance of seeing Christ's presence
as ultimately directed not toward the bread and wine,
but toward the community.
If participants want to understand the Eucharist as sacrament,
they should understand themselves first as the Body of Christ.
The bottom line and conclusion of all this
is that in the house church of the first two hundred years
it was first in the Christian Community
where the presence of Christ was to be found
and it was the Christian Community
that brought the presence of Christ into the Eucharistic Celebration.
In view of the many closing of parish communities because of the lack of celibate priests,
the lesson for the Christian community or house churches of the 21st century
is that as Our Lord has told us:
Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am present among you.
Like the house church of the first two hundred years,
it is the community of believers who can concelebrate
and bring about the presence of Christ in the Eucharistic Celebration.
Let us embark on the journey as a community of believers
in the modern day house Church.
Let us be true Traditionalists.
John Chuchman

poetman@torchlake.com

http://www.torchlake.com/poetman/main.html

Pink Smoke Over the Vatican/New documentary film on Roman Catholic Womenpriests

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6uUC0zGShk&feature=related

Jules Harts, a documentary producer from California, has spent 3 years working on this new documentary film.
The trailer is now up on youtube.
Go up and check it out and write your comments on youtube.
Bridget Mary

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Interview on "Your Turn" on FOX TV in Tampa

From left to right) Judy Lee, Roman Catholic Womanpriest, pastor of Church in the Park and Good Shepherd House Church, Ft. Myers, Florida
Bridget Mary Meehan,(Roman Catholic Womenpriest, pastor of Mary, Mother of Jesus Catholic House Church in Sarasota, Florida) Kathy Fountain, (host of "Your Turn) Kevin Murray, theologian and married priest

Mozella Mitchell, chair and Sr. Professor at the University of South Florida, an African American Theologian

Debate on FOX on Roman Catholic Womenpriests on Dec. 11th, 2008

Roman Catholic Womenpriests Judy Lee and Bridget Mary discussed the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement, highlighting the example of Jesus who chose women and men as disciples and apostles, the twelve hundred year church tradition of women as deacons, priests and bishops, and the call for a more inclusive, Christ-centered RC church in the 21st century. Kevin took the institutional RC church's view that women were not ordained in the magisterial tradition and that the RC bishops, by their silence, were supportive of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests' movement. Bridget Mary responded that RC male bishops would indeed welcomed by the movement who now has the couragous witness of Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest facing excommunication for his participation in a womanpriest ordination. Mozella Mitchell gave an overview of the movement from a historical, feminist view, placing it in the context of liberation theology, and citing it as an example of people empowerment.

Roman Catholic Womanpriest: The Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community Launches, Ft. Myers, Florida

Roman Catholic Womanpriest Judy Lee of Ft. Myers, Florida gathers with community to bless Good Shepherd House.

The Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community

2621 Central Ave. Fort Myers, Florida,33901

Mass: 3:00 on Saturdays and other special times of celebration.

Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP

239-454-7426

Here are some pictures from our first House Church Mass of the Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community-12/6/08-Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
Presiding in a communitarian Mass. The people were joyful, prayerful and thoughtful. And we were all thankful for our church-for one another

In the pictures you can see us preparing for the Church Blessing withwater; A joyous Advent celebration; and some shots of the community at worship and serving the Eucharist. It was a wonderful beginning attended by seventeen people for the full celebration and two others additionally. Ten were members of our Church in the Park and four of those are now housed next door in our Joshua House. Nine CTA members were also present. It was a joyous time for all of us.

"What a moving and delightful day this was! Hank, one of our CTA members, surprised us with a Communion solo. We didn't know he had such talent! The liturgy was beautiful and seeing the men's new house was especially thrilling. How happy they are with their simple home. It sure beats the woods!" Ellen McNally

Heaven's Gate by Stephanie Salter

By Stephanie SalterThe Tribune-Star
The place: Heaven's gate.
The time: Around 2028, give or take a few mortal years.
The scene: A large crowd of newly dead, not yet liberated from their earthly forms, is trying to maintain order despite a cluster of men who shout, wag their fingers and, occasionally, shove.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen! For pity's sake, please!" one of the non-combative people in the crowd cries out. "What in God's name has you behaving in such an unholy way?"
A man whose body is of average size, but whose essence emanates a royal purple aura, whirls around with a contemptuous look. Pointing to another man, also of ordinary physical dimension, but whose aura seems made of sunlight, the angry man barks:
"What is he doing here? He has no right whatsoever to stand among us at the gates of heaven. Don't you know? He was excommunicated!"
The non-combative person, who is long-limbed and thin, appears to be male, but he has an androgynous quality that sets him apart from the others.
"You mean he's Roman Catholic, and he so offended the church leadership that he was officially denied the sacrament of Communion?" the gentle man asks.
"Correct!" booms the purple-aura man.
"What did he do?" the quiet man asks. "Was he among the thousands of mentally sick Catholic clergy who sexually abused children? Was he among the hierarchy who knew of these men's illness but, in the name of protecting the church, continued to assign them to parishes and contact with more children?"
The purple-aura man grows more purple. In a low voice, heavy with fury, he responds: "He was indeed a priest. His name is Roy Bourgeois. But his excommunication had nothing to do with that unfortunate subject."
The non-combative man smiles broadly and embraces Bourgeois. "Father Roy!" he exclaims. "I know of you. Your tireless efforts to bring peace and justice to the oppressed of Latin America are legendary among good people of many faiths. Your courage in non-violent protest of the military training facility known as the School of the Americas is much admired."
Bourgeois bows his head. "Thank you," he says, humbly. "I became a Maryknoll priest in 1972 after I was in combat in Vietnam. I served for 36 years until …"
The quiet man asks, "What did you do to warrant the ultimate deprivation of Christ's body and blood in Communion?"Father Roy sighs and answers, "I concelebrated a religious ceremony with a woman priest. I publicly advocated the ordination of women priests. I refused to recant my belief that God calls women and men to priesthood and that Catholic teaching to the contrary was wrong and unsupported by Scripture."
At this, the purple-aura man explodes: "I am a cardinal, the head of the Vatican office that warned Roy Bourgeois in 2008 to recant or face excommunication!"
"You were," the thin, non-combative man says.
"Were what?" the purple-aura man snaps.
"You were a cardinal and the head of an important Vatican office," the quiet man says. "Your earthly life is over. You're just another soul here, waiting to pass through the gates of heaven. All wait regardless of their mortal status: Catholic popes, Anglican archbishops and Episcopal bishops, directors of the mighty Southern Baptist Convention, television evangelists, pastors of megachurches. And the admission criteria are deeds, not job titles."
A man who hasn't spoken but who had been among the arguing, shoving cluster steps toward the thin, androgynous man. He, too, emits a purplish aura, but it is more violet than royal.
"What do you know about Anglicans?" he says, with noticeable irritation.
"I know some of them in the Episcopal province of the church pulled away from the Anglican Communion about the same time Father Roy got into trouble," the quiet man says. "Four bishops in the United States and thousands of U.S. and Canadian laypersons, formed their own province, the Anglican Church of North America. Their objections centered around ordination of homosexuals and church blessings of same-sex unions."
The quiet man continues: "As I recall, two of the bishops also shared the Catholic hierarchy's prohibitive view of women priests, even though the Episcopalian Church had been ordaining women since 1976. Funny, if only Father Roy had been Episcopalian. He would have been celebrated by most of his church instead of excommunicated. Aren't religious rules fascinating?"The violet-aura man looks as if he's been slapped.
"Rules?!" he fumes. "We are talking about morality. God's will. How dare you trivialize that by calling it 'rules'?"The thin, quiet man raises his hand in reconciliation.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I meant no offense. By chance, were you one of the dissenting bishops?"The violet-aura man nods.
"Did you also agree with some of your fellow dissenters that women never should have been ordained in the Episcopal Church?" the quiet man asks.
"No, I did not," says the violet former bishop. "The bishop who presided over the entire U.S. Episcopal Church in 2008 was a woman. She did a perfectly fine job."
The thin, gentle man mumbles, "rules," turns back to Bourgeois and asks, "Father Roy, what did you tell the Vatican when you were given 30 days to recant?"
Bourgeois pulls three sheets of paper from the breast pocket of his coat and says, "This is my letter."
The quiet man takes them and begins to read to himself. Tears well in his eyes. He says to the crowd, "Listen," and reads aloud.He quotes Bourgeois' citation of a 1976 report, commissioned by the Vatican and conducted by Scripture scholars who found "there is no justification in the Bible for excluding women from the priesthood." He reads Bourgeois' question, "Who are we, as men, to say to women, 'Our call is valid, but yours is not?' Who are we to tamper with God's call?" His voice rising, the thin, gentle mans reads on: "Sexism, like racism, is a sin. And no matter how hard or how long we may try to justify discrimination, in the end, it is always immoral." The recitation continues, of Bourgeois' process of "prayer, reflection and discernment," the compulsion of his conscience "to do the right thing," and of the realization through his social justice struggles that there "will never be justice in the Catholic Church until women can be ordained."
The thin, quiet man finishes reading, presses Bourgeois' letter to his own heart and, finally, hands it back to the former priest."Look," he says, pointing to the gates. "They open for you, Father Roy."
Bourgeois seems overwhelmed. He moves toward heaven, then stops abruptly.
"Wait a minute," he says. "I just realized. There are only men in this crowd. Please, don't tell me heaven is as sexist as mortal life?"
The thin, quiet man actually chuckles. "No, no, Father Roy," he says. "Most of the women are already inside."


Stephanie Salter: A Catholic priest is about to be excommunicated; guess why
http://www.tribstar.com/opinion/local_story_341222123.html/resources_printstory
Stephanie Salter can be reached at (812) 231-4229 or stephanie.salter@tribstar.com.
Used with Permission

Female Priests Altar the Rules

http://www.indypendent.org/2008/12/11/female-priests/

Homily of Janice Sevre-Duszynska: Walking with Mary in Prophetic Obedience

Janice Sevre-Duszynska conversing with Fr. Roy Bourgeois who co-celebrated ordination of Janice as a Roman Catholic Womanpriest in Lexington, Kentucky on Aug. 9, 2008
This photo was taken at SOA Watch in Ft. Benning, GA. (above)

Liturgy SOA Watch: Janice Servre-Duszynska gave homily and presided. (photos below)

Homily for the Friday Night Mass at Ft. Benning (Progressive Catholic Coaltion): November 21, 2008

...And Fr. Roy accepted my invitation to participate in my ordination ceremony as a Roman Catholic woman priest.

Join with me: How sweet to my taste is your promise! How sweet to my taste is your promise!

We the people of God welcomed Fr, Roy to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Lexington, KY, where he co-celebrated my Ordination Mass with women priests and the non-ordained. He laid his hands on me in blessing after woman Bishop Dana Reynolds ordained me the 33rd Roman Catholic Womenpriest in the United States. (tambourine)

Then in a homily that shook the Earth all the way to the Vatican -- which will never be the same -- he proclaimed: "We need the wisdom, sensitivity, experiences, compassion and courage of women in the priesthood if our church is to be healthy and complete."

It is written: "As many of you as were baptized into Christ, you have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Paul in his letter to the Galatians 3: 27-28. (tambourine)

And every day Fr. Roy was teaching about women priests. And whenever and wherever he spoke about the School of the Americas, the people of God grew excited and were full of joy (tambourine) as they clapped for his courage to walk alongside women . And with tears of joy in their eyes they asked him questions about his participation in my ordination -- his solidarity with women priests and, truly, women everywhere... (tambourine)

And everyday he has also been teaching his fellow priests who live in fear of the Vatican, (while Christ calls us to liberation, not fear) asking that "we break our silence and address this issue of the ordination of women in our homilies, in our clergy meetings and with our bishops." "Silence is the voice of complicity," says Fr. Roy.

Many of the chief priests, bishops, cardinals and the pope, meanwhile, were seeking to muzzle him through excommunication, but they could find no way to keep him quiet because all the people were hanging on his words and rising up (tambourine) ...rising up (tambourine)...rising up (tambourine).

Fr. Roy -- who has ears which hear the Living God -- will not recant what his conscience tells him Jesus would do.

For after witnessing the atrocities of the war in Vietnam, Fr. Roy had taken the scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and land. Yes, he took it and swallowed it and ....hmmmm (tambourine) hmmmm....it tasted as sweet as honey...the vision of a just and peaceful world where human beings live into the fullness and richess of God's glory....
(tambourine)

But, when he had eaten it, what? His stomach did turn sour and churned with the chaos of the injustices, the inequalities, the sufferings of the poor, the exploited, the killings, the lack of peace...the crucified Living Christ , the Living Christ crucified...especially in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Columbia, Iraq...within the United States Government, within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and, yes, within the Vatican.

Now as then, the voice from heaven continues saying to him: "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings"...even those who sit on the throne in Vatican City. (sound of The Wind).

So Fr. Roy goes up to the angel. You know our Fr. Roy. He tells the angel, Okay, give me that small scroll." (The Wind) . He swallows it...(tambourine)

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Today is a day of much meaning for justice and peacemakers. Today the Church celebrates the feast day of The Presentation of Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. Some Jewish parents, not content with the general conscecration of their children to God, brought them to the temple at three years old. Joachim and Anna took Mary to live in the Temple for the next nine years of her life. (Introduce archaeolgist/theologian Dorothy Irvin's calendar on Women's Leadership in Early Christianity and show pictures). Here these girls and boys were dedicated to divine service and learned how to prophesy...through song and dance as well as with the harp, tambourine and lyre...

Let's make a noise unto our God now as we prophesy as justice and peacemakers this weekend. (Feel free to stamp your feet, shout out, sing out...)

In the first centuries, in both the eastern and western churches, Mary was considered a priest in addition to a prophet.

We remember her also today for a poignant prayer for the oppressed throughout the ages that came to her through the prophetesses Hannah and Anna. I think I'm going to rename The Magnificat -- "Dominican Sister Marge Tuite's Prayer." Like she taught me in the early 80s, it makes the connections between sexism and racism, sexism and militarism, sexism and imperialism...

This prayer has taken on even more meaning since Fr. Roy's prophetic action for me as a woman priest and all women called to ordination, for our Roman Catholic Church and the discipleship of equals to which Jesus calls us.

Today I ask you -- prophets of justice and peace -- to pray with me, this modern version. I prayed it daily in federal prison for crossing the line at Ft. Benning...

The text is from Margaret Cessna of the Sisters of the Hearts of Mary.
It is based on the prayer of Mary, woman of all women. Let us join our hearts and spirits with hers as we sing a new song to celebrate the women of all times and places. (tambourine)

Let us begin:

My soul magnifies the Word...And my spirit rejoices in God who loves me....For this God, Who is, has done great things for me...My heart and my body give breath to the world...My spirit, courageous, gives meaning to hope...The God Who Is tender lives deep in my heart, holds close the children, my gift to creation...Fills friends who hunger with goodness and peace...The God Who Is mercy forgives when I fall...Welcomes my efforts...Heals deepest pain...The God Who Is promise gives life to my word...Gives glory to my life, the life of the world...My name is called blessed on the lips of all ages...Holy is God's gift...Holy is God's name.

Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church Retreat and Liturgy on Dec. 6, 2008

Welcome to Mary, Mother of Jesus, Catholic Community/House Church.

On Sat. Dec. 6th, 2008, members of Mary, Mother of Jesus community,(some of our snowbirds are not in Fl. yet) met for prayer, reflection and discernment. Our prayer and sharing led us to conclude that our ministry in the local church in Sarasota/Venice is to reflect God's love embracing all by living this vision of inclusivity and compassionate care and outreach to our sisters and brothers. We are called to "shepherd"-- to give comfort to God's people now.

We consecrated ourselved to be the hands and feet of Christ in our local communities. One of our prayers is that our brothers, priests, religious and bishops, will embrace Jesus vision of justice for women in the church and work for a renewed priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church as an inclusive, renewed discipleship of equals.

Tomorrow, Dec. 8th is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mary, Mother of Jesus is the role model of our local Sarasota House Church Catholic Community. Our work for justice, equality and a renewed priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church is rooted in the prophetic vision of Jesus which is echoed in Mary's prayer for justice, equality and empowerment. Mary’s prayer, the Magnificat, reflects the prophetic vision of Jesus who rejects domination and injustice and calls us to mutual service and empowerment. Mary prays to the Holy One who has done great things for her and portrays God as the liberator of the marginalized and oppressed. “God raises up the lowly and puts down the mighty from their thrones.” As we know, women continue to be the oppressed of the oppressed in our world to this day.

In praying the Magnificat, we stand with Mary, the simple teenaged, pregnant, but unmarried woman of faith, in her clairvoynat perception of God's relationship with us, through the strong langugage of her prayer. In this prayer, Mary is a symbol of strength, comfort, and power for the disinherited and powerless of the world. She is companion, champion, and change-agent for the righteous poor, who will triumph over oppression and experience the justice promised to them by God. (Praying with Women of the Bible, p.105)

Jesus, Mary's child, called women and men to be disciples. "With Jesus went the Twelve, as well as some women he had healed of evil spirits and sicknesses; Mary of Magdala, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Suzanna; and many others who were contributing to the support of Jesus and the Twelve with their own funds. " (Luke 8:2-3)

It is obvious from the archaelogical evidence that the early Christian community upheld Mary, Mother of Jesus, as mentor of women leaders and office holders in the early church. In St. Priscilla’s catacomb, there is a beautiful frescoe of Mary, dressed in bishops’ robes and seated on a bishop’s chair, present at the ordination of a woman priest. Mary is also depicted in a group portrait with Episcopa Theodora in a mural in St. Praxedis Church in Rome.

Mary, Mother of Jesus, may we live your prophetic call as witnesses to justice, equality, mutual service and empowerment.