Roman Catholic Womenpriests : "Port Richey woman calls herself a Catholic priest"

http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/port-richey-woman-calls-herself-a-catholic-priest/1041146

PORT RICHEY, Florida —" The Rev. Eleonara Marinaro ministers out of duty to — and in defiance of — her church."

Article in St. Petersburg Times by Mindy Rubenstein

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : Interview with Fr. Roy Bourgeois and Sr. Louise Akers on "All Sides "on WOSO radio

The issue of women’s ordination in the Catholic priesthood, and the response of the Catholic Church to dissent, with Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Office of Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation Coordinator Sister Louise Akers, and School of the Americas Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois
http://www.wosu.org/allsides/?archive=1&date=10/01/2009
Enjoy this great interview in which two prophetic leaders speak out for justice for women in the Roman Catholic Church.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : Third St. Louis are Roman Catholic Womanpriest to be ordained

PRESS RELEASE

Third St. Louis area Roman Catholic Womanpriest

to be ordained

Release Date: October 1, 2009

Contacts:

Rev. Rose Marie Hudson, 636-208-5598

Rev. Elsie Hainz McGrath, 314-477-6089

Deacon Marybeth McBryan, 314-277-3212

Deacon Marybeth McBryan, of St. Louis, will be ordained a priest on November 1, 2009, All Saints Day. The celebration will be in her home community of Therese of Divine Peace, with Bishop Joan Clark Houk officiating.

Marybeth has been heavily involved in parish ministries in the Archdiocese of St. Louis for nearly 30 years. A mother and grandmother, she is a former teacher in both parochial and public schools, and has also served on the Board of Education of the St. Louis Public Schools. Marybeth has a Master’s in education with secondary degrees in administration and counseling, and has accrued 40+ hours in theology, liturgy and religious education. She is currently a part of the music ministry and serves as deacon at Therese of Divine Peace, and will continue on the ministerial staff there following her ordination as priest.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests continue to validly ordain women and marginalized men to the Roman Catholic priesthood in an effort to bring reform and renewal into an unjust hierarchical structure that is increasingly misogynous and misoneist. Rather than looking backward and inward, Roman Catholic Womenpriests continue to look forward and outward in the spirit of Vatican II. We are here. We are ministering. We are growing. We are not going away.

The ordination is at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2009, with the Therese of Divine Peace Inclusive Community. The Therese community meets at First Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Louis, 5007 Waterman Blvd. The ordination will take place in the sanctuary, and a light reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.

Therese of Divine Peace Inclusive Community celebrates together every Sunday at 5 p.m. Regular services take place in Hope Chapel, at the rear of the First Unitarian complex. Our liturgy has continued without interruption since December 1, 2007, because we strive to imitate Jesus, who always and everywhere made clear to everyone that ALL ARE WELCOME.

Further information is available at www.thereseofdivinepeace.org.

#30#

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : "Vatican Asks Catholics to Fund Inquisition-like Investigation against Women Religious"

Call To Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2009
Media Contact:
Jim FitzGerald,
Executive Director: 773.404.0004 x262
Nicole Sotelo,
Communications Director:
773.404.0004 x285

Vatican asks Catholics To Fund Inquisition-like Investigation against Women Religious

The Vatican has requested that U.S. Catholics contribute $1.1 million to fund an investigation of women religious in the United States. The Vatican claims this investigation is to evaluate the "quality of the life" of women religious.

This request for funding is deeply problematic. First, many dioceses already suffer from a lack of resources causing many parishes to be closed. Catholic families are struggling to make ends meet during this economic recession. Those same families and parishes are now being asked to donate their money to investigate the very sisters who have faithfully served them for years.

"Surely, during this time of economic struggle the Vatican could use $1.1 million to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our society," says Jim FitzGerald, Call To Action Executive Director.

Secondly, Mother Mary Claire Millea, head of this investigation, admitted that those who have already financially contributed to this investigation do not want their names publicized. As a matter of justice, those being investigated have the right to know who is funding such an investigation and the real reasons why this inquiry is being conducted.

"We are also concerned that the Vatican and some bishops may take money that has already been donated for other causes and use it to fund this inquisition-like investigation," says FitzGerald. "The lack of transparency is very disturbing."

Call To Action is calling on its 25,000 members to contact their bishops and request that their dioceses not fund this investigation. We believe financially contributing to this unnecessary inquiry perpetuates the abuse of power that is so prevalent within the Church hierarchy.


###

Call To Action (CTA) is a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society. An independent national organization of over 25,000 people and 53 local chapters, CTA believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the whole church, not just its appointed leaders. Visit our website at www.cta-usa.org.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : " Ignore the bells and the smells and the lovely Raphaels, the Pope's visit to Britain is nothing to celebrate"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/29/the-pope-visit
"Ignore the bells and the smells and the lovely Raphaels, the Pope's visit to Britain is nothing to celebrate"
by Tanya Gold
The Guardian

"In May 2001 he wrote a confidential letter to Catholic bishops, ordering them not to notify the police – or anyone else – about the allegations, on pain of excommunication. He referred to a previous (confidential) Vatican document that ordered that investigations should be handled "in the most secretive way . . . restrained by a perpetual silence". Excommunication is a joke to me, perhaps to you, but to a Catholic it means exclusion and perhaps hellfire – for trying to protect a child. Well, God is love."

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : "Mercy Theresa Kane criticizes the Hierarchy"

http://ncronline.org/news/mercy-sister-theresa-kane-criticizes-church-hierarchy

"Mercy Theresa Kane criticizes the Hierarchy

"In the context of resistance she talked about women’s ordination in the Catholic church today." “'The Roman Catholic women priesthood is small, highly criticized, and not going away,” she went on. “No one controls our future but ourselves.'”
Sister Theresa Kane

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : Homily by Elsie McGrath RCWP/St. Therese of Divine Peace, St. Louis

Elsie McGrath (left with red stole) at ordination ceremony of Marty Meyer-Gad

9.27.09 Homily

26^th Sunday

Would you say this is kinda outta character for Jesus? Kinda crass? Kinda gross? Whatssup with this trash talk, anyway? And especially after it started off so well: Whoever is for us isn’t against us. Would that everybody would prophesy, as Moses said. Would that everybody would be Spirit-filled and drive out demons and share cool refreshing life-giving water.

But everybody isn’t, and everybody doesn’t, and there is very little heaven on earth. And so, in an about-face such as we are quite unaccustomed to, Jesus preached hellfire and brimstone in order to try to get his point across. And the denseness of his so-called apostles was the trigger for this outburst. They were trying to stop somebody who was doing some fine miracle-working because the healer wasn’t “one of them”? This on the heels, you might recall, of their argument over which of them was the “greatest.” And all this in the context of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem … while he’s telling these clods, over and over again, what is about to happen to him. No wonder Jesus lost it!

Jesus said [quote 1]. Jesus may very well be thinking of the Samaritan woman at the well when he used that example of one giving a drink of water out of what we might call “Christian charity,” even though she did not then know Christ. The clods who were with him that day, who returned to find him engaged in peer theological discussion with this woman, saw nothing except an infraction of the law. But what was really happening? Those same clods have, of course, been touted throughout the centuries as “the” apostles – but the nameless woman really WAS one.

Jesus said [quote 2]. I thought of pedophiles hiding under the guise of holy men of God, and of their enablers, who call them “mere sinners” while women priests are called destroyers of the system. Is everyone current with this week’s news stories about the priest who had been convicted for abusing some 30 children over the years of his “ministry”? He is being released from jail less than 5 years after his incarceration. I love the juxtaposition of words for water in Jesus’ quote – from life-giving drink to death-dealing drink. Two sides of the same coin, so to speak. Like two sides of the same story, in a way. As in, the pedophile may deserve to be released from prison because what he really needs is confinement in a safe place – which won’t happen. But the enabler really needs to be in prison because he is responsible for ruining the lives of at least 30 people – which also won’t happen. Such a thin line between right and wrong, between life and death.

I had strange recurring dreams last night, most of which I cannot remember, but what I woke up thinking each time was, “What did that mean? Who were those people?” And as I mulled over everything that I could recall to mind before I arose this morning, it came to me that nothing and no one was as it seemed. It was like we were “living” Halloween, disguised from the realities of who we were and what we were called to accomplish.

And then I realized that my dreams were metaphor for what really IS going on in our world. And that it has always been so.

I thought of inquisitioners hiding under the guise of seekers of the truth, who dare to question the faith and ministry of those women religious most responsible for walking with the least of these throughout their lifetimes without honor or recompense. On Friday night, Ree & I were with several such women -- Louise Lears, Jeannine Grammick and Donna Quinn among them. And I was once again struck by something that I used to consider a phenomenon – they were all very obviously glowing with love & peace & forgiveness. Such phenomena are becoming less and less rare, sisters and brothers. More and more people are owning up to their apostleship in the face of growing opposition. Like the guy in the cult movie, Network, we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. These valiant sisters are women who, in earlier times, would have been thrown to the lions or burned at the stake. They have been uprooted and maligned and cut off from their communities. But they remain true to who they are and to what they are to do. They are among today’s apostles.

And perhaps, when the current “visitations” have concluded, perhaps some of their communities will be joining them.

Jesus said [quote 3]. I thought of predators, pimps & pushers. And I thought of fat-cat CEOs, big-money insurance brokers, smooth-talking swindlers, armed warriors & renegades & pirates & terrorists & murderers & burglars. I thought of a whole world collapsing under the weight of greed and graft and self-centered arrogance & misplaced pride. I thought of freak floods & fires & devastating winds, and the systematic destruction of our earthly flora and fauna. And, yeah, thinking of such enemies of the earth and its peoples, I thought hell was a pretty good place for them.

But is Jesus seriously talking hellfire and brimstone for those whose hands grab for the wrong things, whose feet walk on the wrong paths, whose eyes focus on the wrong prize? The all-forgiving Jesus?

The word some like to translate as “hell” is actually Gehenna, and Gehenna was a place of hellfire and brimstone – but not in the guise that has been presented to us over the centuries. (Note that I said “was” a place.) Child sacrifice, which should have been discontinued, recall, with the lesson taught by the Abraham/Isaac story, had rather recently continued in the Hinnom Valley, very near Jerusalem. As a result, and in an effort to atone for such abominations, the people literally turned that area into a trash dump and set the place on fire to keep disease and decay at bay. The fires were stoked, and burned 24/7, and everyone in the surrounding areas knew of Gehenna. Imagine the stench, carried on the winds for miles and miles. If you’re as old as me, you might remember burning ash pits, an acrid smell that I can still remember. It brought tears to my eyes and burned my nostrils. Everyone Jesus spoke to knew of Gehenna. Absolutely, the so-called apostles knew of Gehenna. What better place to dispose of “trash” like lecherous eyes, stampeding feet or grubbing hands?

So let’s be clear on what we hear … and know … and do. Jesus’ condemnation of those who aren’t what they appear to be is NOT a forever-be-damned condemnation. It is a wake-up call. LOOK at what you are doing, what you are feeling, where you are going. LOOK at who you really are … and at who you really are called to be. Get rid of the shams and the shames and the sins that are corrupting your true identity as a child of God. Be an apostle.

Tonight our Jewish sisters and brothers begin their celebration of Yom Kippur. This is the day the people, as a community, atone for everything that fractures their oneness with God. Jews learned that divided they fall centuries ago. It was why they burned Gehenna … a whole nation in mourning, atoning for the sins of the few. This corporate responsibility for the sins of the world is what sets Jews apart from the individualism that we tend to take such false pride in, albeit our penchance for blind obedience to whatever mob mentality is set before us for mindless emulation.

But did anything else come to mind as we heard this gospel being proclaimed? Did we hear any “good” news?

Jesus said [quote 4]. Did you think about yourself … here … in communion with – her … him … them … us …? Did you think of the miracles we’ve shared together … life-giving waters of baptism … healing oils of anointing … holy vows of matrimony … bread blessed & broken & shared & eaten …? Did you think that maybe … just maybe … we are among those whom Jesus is validating …?

Would that it be so, always and in every circumstance, for each of us and all of us. Amen.

1. If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and bear his name, that one will be rewarded.

2. If anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and sin, it would be better for that one to be thrown into the sea.

3. If your hand causes you to err, cut it off. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. And if your eye is your downfall, tear it out.

4. No one who works a miracle in my name can soon after speak bad of me.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : Homily by Roberta Meehan, RCWP

Roberta Meehan, RCWP

Homily for the 26th Sunday Cycle B – 27 September 2009

Numbers 11:25-29
Psalms 19:8, 10, 12-14
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-43, 47-48

Today’s readings have a wonderful sense of unity to them! They also give us a wonderful sense of separation from the frivolous and a sense of total adherence to the essentials of who and what we are as Christians (or even just as God-people or human bei ngs). The frivolous? Yes, watch and see.

In Numbers we hear about the Spirit coming down on some people who were all gathered together. These people received the gift of prophecy and were then prophesying under Moses. But, the Spirit was not limited by the physical location of those gathered and the Spirit also imbued two other people with this gift. They also began prophesying. Joshua began whining to Moses (the Boss), telling Moses to make the others stop! After all, these OTHER prophets had not fulfilled the rubrics of the time.

(Keep in mind that prophesying does not mean “fortune telling” and today prophesying is what we would generally classify as “insightful preaching.”)

Nevertheless, what does this story of Joshua and Moses remind you of? I think it sounds like someone is trying to tell God what to do, don’t you? It always amazes me when people dictate what God can and cannot do. Joshua was essentially saying, “God, you can’t possibly have given your gift to those persons because those persons weren’t in the right place at the right time according to MY rules.” Have you ever heard any modern variations of this script? Of course! We all have! And most of us have probably worked from this very premise on occasion. It is human nature – but we can go one step beyond.

Moses,=2 0being a very wise leader (most of the time), quickly put a stop to Joshua’s complaining by declaring his wish that EVERYONE would be bestowed with the gift of prophecy! Moses definitely did not try to limit God.

Meanwhile, the first line of the Psalm today tells us that the Law of the Lord is perfect. Now we are beginning to see the problem. The Law of the Lord is perfect and some people are prophesying without the permission of the leadership. But, the leadership recognizes the validity of other prophesying – or that the Lord could possibly have given the gift without the leadership’s approval and/or permission.

But, what is the Law of the Lord – the Law that is perfect in every way?

Take a look at that reading from James. James is reprimanding the rich. He is particularly upset with the tendency of certain people to withhold wages from the workers, and to ignore the cries of the harvesters, and to condemn, and to even put to death the righteous one.

At first the reading from James does not seem to fit with the reading from Numbers – or the reading from Mark, which we will look at in just a moment. But, think about it! It does fit! The Psalm tells us the Law of the Lord is perfect. And what is the Law of the Lord? What was their Lord? Not God, that’s for sure! And, what were they telling20God? They were saying (or doing) the same thing as Joshua – only they were using different words. They were telling God that they knew the right answers, that they knew how to do it, that they did not have to listen to the true Law of the Lord – the Law that was/is perfect in every way. Withholding money, ignoring cries, condemning, etc., etc. – all of these things were the right way – even though the Law of the Lord was something different!

And finally we come to Mark. In this passage from Mark we find numerous verses that can be used in or out of context and all of them are extremely powerful. But, let us look instead at a picture of one of the unifying messages of this gospel. The passage begins with, “John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.’"

What does that sound like to you? To me it sounds like a “My god is better than your god” spitting contest!

Now picture Jesus looking with love (and probably a bit of exasperation!) at the disciples and saying, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, a men, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”

Do we get so bound up in legalities (our own human legalities) that we forget the one God-legality? Do we forget the Law of the Lord that is perfect in every way?

Are our churches so bound up in the letter of the law that they forget the spirit of the law? Do our churches forget that the Spirit transcended regulations in the time of Moses and Joshua? Do our churches forget that Jesus transcended regulations? Do we become so entwined with the minutiae of the law – the strict letter of the law – that we forget the law that is perfect in every way? In the opening we heard the word “frivolous” and now it is time to ask if our adherence to the letter of the law might be frivolous in the eternal domain.

Jesus tells us right here that everyone might not be following the official rules exactly – but that does not mean that those people are not madly in love with Him and are not working in His name. Read it again! No one can perform a mighty deed in Jesus’ name and still speak ill of Him. No one can give a cup of water in Christ’s name and loose his reward.

Jesus told us what the only law is – the law of Love. And we wonder about the law of Love??? Where does that come in???

Oh, that is the Law of the Lord, the Law that is perfect in every way! That is the Law that says that the Spirit will give gifts at will – and not at our will but at God’s will! That is the Law that says that we must treat others with justice and fairness because that is the ultimate Law. That is the Law that says that it matters not whether the person has duly followed all of the human rituals and regulations. That is the Law that is perfect in every way. Love God above all things and love your neighbor as yourself. In that are fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets – even the modern prophets!

-- Roberta M Meehan

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : "Reflections of a Quiet Revolutionary: Ida Raming" by Lorraine Nagy

Ida Raming holds pastoral staff after ordination of U.S. bishops on April 19,2009

Reflections of a quiet revolutionary : Ida Raming recalls the ‘first days’ on the occasion of the ordination of four American bishops: Santa Barbara, California April 20, 2009

Interview and recollections by Lorraine Lynch Nagy

In Santa Barbara, California an historic gathering of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests took place this year on April 19, in a quiet, rustic setting and a small chapel. Within this sacred space the first episcopal ordination within the United States, and the second in history was conducted amid joyous singing and prayer. With full liturgical splendor four women humbly accepted the signs of their calling: a Book of Gospels, ring and cross. Dana Reynolds, Womenpriests’ first American bishop, sent her blessing but was not able to preside. She and her sister bishops in the United States: Bridget Mary Meehan, Joan Houck, Andrea Johnson and Maria Regina Nicolosi have now entered a new stage in the movement, with regional representation and responsibilities for the growing cadre of candidates for the priesthood. I wonder what must have been going through the minds of the presiding bishops during this ceremony. They had come a very long way in a remarkably short time span. Christine Mayr Lumetzberger, Ida Raming and Patrician Fresen stood together at the entrance to the chapel, in readiness for what all realized to be something bigger than themselves or any of the faithful in the pews. These bishops (including Gisela Forster who remained in Germany) were the first to (in the words of the Civil Rights Spiritual) ‘wade in the waters’ of this deeply challenging issue and by doing so to ‘trouble’ the institutional church’s intransigence over who in the world may ‘image Christ’ in the sacrament of Holy Orders. From the ordination of the Danube Seven in 2002 to this ordination of four American womenpriests – now womenbishops-an epic battle has been waged, quietly and with the full weight of the magisterium pitted against the determination of revolutionaries who are equally set to remain with the Catholic Church even as they struggle by example to bring it in line with the inclusive spirit of church of Holy Scriptures. . As they lay prostate before their bishops on that warm spring afternoon in California, these four women, priests since 2005-2006 and veterans each one of them of the struggle to reform ‘from within’ one could feel the energy of a powerful transformation in the making. With this passing down of apostolic succession, a rallying cry for justice, and all of the books , meetings and lectures that prepared for this moment, were quietly transforming them, from prophets to disciples of this vision of a church in the world. . As each was called to give witness to her intention to be consecrated as bishop, the story of 2002-2003 played out in continuity for the movement and its prayerful, spirit filled protest against an unjust exclusion from the priesthood. How did this happen and why now? To answer this question one must follow the journey of those answering this call, and especially those called first. This ceremony was the culmination of thirty years of hard work, painful conflicts and profound personal sacrifices suffered in making this vision of an inclusive priesthood a reality for this generation.

What were these leaders thinking when they set off to take on the Roman Catholic Church on this issue? The many documents written in support of this reform, to include women in sacramental ministry, and the few published historical accounts beg more questions about the motivation of these leaders. In light of the impressive growth of the movement it is obvious that the Womenpriests have touched a deep chord in the religious sensibilities of the faithful. As I followed the intricate liturgy of this episcopal ordination ceremony, I was struck by what I didn’t know about ‘in the beginning’ A brief conversation with Ida Raming at the reception following the service inspired me to learn more. Ida tried to explain more details about the earliest days of their reform efforts, but we were interrupted and could not continue. Quakers use the term, “a leaning” to define moments when the Holy Spirit guides the person to say or act upon an inspiration from within the heart. I had such a ‘leaning’ the next day when I called the house where Ida was staying, and asked to speak with her. She graciously agreed to meet with me for one hour, to finish our conversation of the day before. Fortunately for me, I had the privilege of speaking at length that day with Dagmar Celeste whose experience as one of the ‘Danube Seven’ and comprehensive history of the movement steered me on the right path to getting the answers I sought. There were practical questions to raise in the privacy of guest quarters’ living room, such as how did it come about that Christine, Gisela and Ida (priests from the 2002 Danube ordination and the first to be excommunicated) were within one year approached by three male Roman Catholic bishops in full Apostolic Succession, to enter into ‘full ordination’ as bishops? Whose decision was it to take the their ordination to the next level?

Ida revealed a statement by the ordaining bishop in 2003 that may shed light on his motivation. He told her that these ordinations were part of a larger goal, not about them and their personal calling, but something more. Perhaps in the spirit of a ‘leaning’ for him, he told her, “You must have full ordination, to be able to ordain priests in apostolic succession”. By coming forward to assume this role, she was told, she would be accepting a very difficult mission, to ‘save the Church ‘which in practical terms meant returning to the practices and values of the founders. In ordaining Christine and Gisela, he passed on full power and authority (potestas) to ordain priests, establish communities of faith and nourish those living out this heart wrenching mission. In accordance with canon law, three bishops were needed to perpetuate the movement through the ordination of more womenpriests. It was simply too dangerous for him to continue to do so . Ida was approached to join the rank of bishop at this time but due to reasons of health was unable to do so. Later that same year, 2003, Patricia Fresen accepted ordination and left her Dominican order to work with Gisela in preparing the theological foundation of Womenpriests. & nbsp; Patricia was also told that this ordination was “not about you but for the Church” as she accepted the call to become the third bishop of Womenpriests. The movement then embarked on the next phase, a revolution for women by women and for the ‘good of all the church’.

For Ida, the personal connections worked hand in hand with her academic preparation to mold her image of a Roman Catholic priesthood without the barrier of gender. She understood that the roots of this idea are found in the seminal20documents of Vatican II. In addition to her dissertation, “The Priesthood of Women- God’s Gift to a Renewed Church” her concept was developed under the guidance of leading theologians ( Iris Muller among them) historians (including Dorothy Irwin) who helped her find her way from research to activism.=2 0 What, I asked, what moved you, Ida, to take the actions needed to finally ordain women as priests? Doing so would mean great losses, both personal and career, not to mention the separation from tradition, at the heart of Catholicism? The answer was surprising, as it is a story that is sometimes overlooked in the recounting of what happened between 1975 and the Danube ordination of 2002. In 1994 John Paul II decreed that women were to be permanently barred from the priesthood in that they “did not image Christ”. The irony of this statement struck Ida who knew well of the ordination of women ‘behind the wall’ in Czechoslovakia and in more modern times, the ordination of women within the Anglican Communion. She and others were convinced that women in fact and in history do ‘image Christ’ in sacrament and ministry. This inclusion of women in full sacramental priesthood was for her at the core of church tradition. Starting with the earliest disciples, many of them women, in house churches, living their faith in service to others. In the years leading up to the ordination on the Danube much was being done, to lay the foundation stones, in keeping with earliest church practices. But it was frustrating work, with many disappointments. As in the reformation of the 16 th century, the spark that ignited the fires of this revolution came from an academic exercise which put scholars in a direct path of opposition to a top-down clergy dominated ‘imperial’ church. For Ida, Christine and the priest candidates who would follow them, they had all had enough of “no” Once they had exhausted all channels of appeal she perceived that it was their duty to act.
As the story of her own election as bishop unfolded, Ida first reminded me of the importance to her of the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), starting with their first convocation in Detroit, Michigan, 1975. She recalled that WOC helped her understand that defiance of an unjust law was a divine calling. Some laws need to be broken to allow the Church to be true to its mission, given by Christ, to take people at the margins into full communion in the ‘kingdom of God’. This understating of Scripture and tradition would lead her group, known now as Roman Catholic Womenpriest s, to take the final step of ordaining women to the priesthood. The curriculum of formation, prepared by Christine, would be used to guide the first class, Ida among them. She was joined by students from the US, Canada and Europe. The Danube Seven were on their way….

Three years later, on Pentecost Monday, June 5 , 2006 Ida was ordained bishop in a private ceremony within her apartment in Stuttgart. As Christine, Gisela and Patricia followed the ancient rite that day, it was for the first time in written church history that women alone called forth a sister bishop, ‘in full apostolic succession. Ironically, what might seem to future historians as a “Hegelian moment” was not central to Ida’s thinking or her decision to accept episcopal ordination during this Pentecost weekend. She had to think through the question, “Did you realize that you were the first bishop ‘of woman born’? When I translated the American (Irish) turn of phrase, she responded that yes, this is historically correct. For her, the ordination to priesthood, this breakthrough was the defining moment, and her willingness to serve as bishop had most to do with the needs of the growing movement for a theologian. She was qualified to do so and now healthy enough to take on this role, so she agreed. Whit Sunday morning was also a practical choice, for these women who needed to travel at some distance, and to begin the work week the next day. This poignant reflection helps me realize how silently, and sometimes more practically than not, momentous changes take place. Looking back we are able to understand the meaning, but to those in the vortex of this change, the flow of events is often perceived quite differently. Someday, the faithful may barely recall that there were no women bishops before 2003 or that Ida was the first to be ordained by women, but the revolution that made this happen, she insists, was the result of careful planning. Following this ordination, she insisted, a new definition of ‘called to serve’ took shape. Ida reminded me that Womenpriests is not only about ordaining women priests and bishops, but about what her ordaining bishop exhorted her to remember, the reformation of the priesthood, and a model of service and full inclusion of the people of God in the work of transformative Christian principles.

In watching each bishop lay hands upon the American priests, joining with the congregation in asking the blessing of the Holy Spirit to guide their ministry, I understand Ida’s injunction, to think about this movement as a means to recapture the divine spark of the early church and its close knit communities of faith and service. The real revolution is a quiet one, as womenpriests and bishops leave the sacred space to create communities and to lead by example, a new church, and a church in desperate need of them.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : "Nuns on the run: Why is the Pope targeting women?"

http://trueslant.com/susantoepfer/2009/09/22/nuns-on-the-run-why-is-the-pope-targeting-women/

Nuns on the run: Why is the Pope targeting women?
by Susan Toepfer

"It is a story worthy of a Dan Brown thriller, replete with secret ceremonies, powerful adversaries and hidden motives. Yet this high-level plot is playing out in real time, right under our noses, and it all begins with a modern-day inquisition into the lives of nuns..."

Roman Catholic Womenpriests: "Catholic Women Answering Priesthood's Call " Article in Denver Post

Peter and Sheila Dierks, Bridget Mary Meehan (left to right)

"Colorado Women Answering Priesthood's Call They are Colorado's second and third women to be ordained in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion." By Electa Draper The Denver Post "Sheila Dierks paused a beat before answering an old acquaintance's question about what she'd been doing lately." " 'I'm going to be ordained as a Catholic priest this weekend,' the 66-year-old Dierks told her." http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_13371026 Congratulations to Sheila and Teri on this historic occasion. I had the honor of spending a weekend with Sheila Dierks and speaking at two events sponsored by the ECC community in Colorado. I was the guest homilist for the liturgy at the Church of the Holy Family in Aurora, Colorado on Sept. 5th, 2009. See post on Sept. 7th for my article.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests : Panel Discussion by Women-Church Convergence Leaders on Vatican Apostolic Vistation of U.S Religious Orders

Panel discussion by Women Leaders in the Roman Catholic Church
in response to Vatican Apostolic Visitation of Religious Orders in the U.S.




Sister Louise Akers, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, said that
"women's ordination is a justice issue."



Diann Neu, Co-Director of Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual
addressed participants.

Women-Church Convergence Panel Discussion on Apostolic Visitation of U.S. Religious Orders
By Janice Sevre-Duszynska, RCWP
The apostolic visitation of U.S. religious orders was discussed on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 12th in Cincinnati by a panel of members of Women-Church Convergence who met for a weekend gathering which was open to the public. The panel was introduced by Carolyn Farrell of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Dubuque, Iowa.
Louise Akers, a sister of Charity of Cincinnati, spoke first. She was recently told by Archbishop Pilarczyk of Cincinnati that because of her support for women's ordination she could no longer teach in any Catholic institution in the Archdiocese. In her power point presentation she quoted writers and activists who are working to transform a world dominated by a paradigm of masculine power and control to one of dignity and equality for everyone. "We must especially work on God language," she said, "to make it inclusive."

Said Akers: "Women's ordination IS a justice issue. Its basis is the value, dignity and equality of woman person. I believe this in my very core. To publicly state otherwise would be a lie and against my conscience."

Donna Quinn, a Dominican Sinsinawa from Chicago is being investigated for escorting women to a women's reproductive clinic. "My role is to be a peacekeeper from car to clinic," she said, "and to provide a safe passage for women." She compared the Vatican's attempt to control women to a tent held down with four stakes: The ordination of women; inclusive language; reproductive choice; and women's right to vote -- within the church.

Beth Rindler, a Franciscan Sister of the Poor. talked about her journey working with the poor, overcoming fear, earning her M.Div., as well as her experiences doing pastoral ministry in parishes with and without male priests. "I had problems with priests in the parishes," she said, "because I told the media 'as it is.' We are the church. We are the archdiocese. Not too many priests wanted somebody with an M.Div. They started closing churches rather than let women be ordained."

Diane Neu, co-founder of Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) thanked the panelists for breaking silence, for being faithful and for being church as well as for standing with women and supporting gay and lesbian issues. "We of Women-Church Convergence send you greetings of solidarity and respect. You are the public witness of the Spirit of God with us, with courage and calm in the midst of this oppression." She identified the vast amount of good accomplished by religious orders in the United States. "You are Ecumenical women who created a Catholic school system, established hospitals, cared for and spoke out for poor immigrants, embodied and taught a rich spirituality and respect for ecology, you opposed nuclear weapons, war and torture...Who else is church if you aren't."

Neu said that after the clergy abuse of children and the episcopal cover up, the Vatican's Apostolic Visitation of women is an "indictment of all U.S. Catholics who strive to live out a discipleship of equals..."

The panel discussion was followed by questions from participants. Later, everyone participated in a dialogue naming characteristics of various generations, led by Kate Childs Graham. The afternoon session closed with liturgy led by Ruth Steinert Foote, a feminist spiritual leader, Janice Marie Mappin, a local woman Orthodox Catholic priest, and Janice Sevre-Duszynska of Lexington, Kentucky who is an ordained Roman Catholic Womanpriest.

September 21, 2009
For Immediate Release Contacts: Susan Farrell 908-753-4636
Donna Quinn 708-974-4220
Carolyn Kellogg 415-847-2076

Women's Coalition Connects The Apostolic Visitation of U.S. Women Religious to the Vatican's Oppression of All Women

Cincinnati: Women-Church Convergence, a Catholic-rooted Coalition of 27 groups of women begun in 1983 met with 80 interested women and men on September 12, 2009 to discuss the issue of the recent Apostolic
Visitation and how this oppresses all women..
A Panel of four presented their insights on this topic:
Louise Akers a member of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati,
Donna Quinn Co-Ordinator of the National Coalition of American Nuns,
Beth Rindler a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor and
Diann Neu Co-Ordinator of Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and
Ritual (WATER)
The theme of the Day was presented by Louise in a quote of Catherine of Siena - a Saint and Doctor of the Church who lived in the fourteenth century:
"Cry as if you have a million voices, it is silence that kills the world."
Louise Akers continued her story with Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati who has banned her from any teaching activity in the Archdiocese due to her support of women's ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. She will not in conscience change her position on this issue..
Donna Quinn spoke of the four issues used against women by Vatican
Church but which can also be used by women to create a Church for Our
Daughters..These four are Ordination of Women, Inclusive Language in spoken and written word, Women's Reproductive Health Issues and Women's Right to Vote in the Church..
After Beth Rindler told her story of persecution by the Church in Detroit Diann Neu lifted up and thanked Women Religious for their courageous stands against the continued gender discrimination by Vatican Church.
The overflowing room of participants left this discussion with new insights and a resolve never to give up, continuing to lift up our voices against the violence of gender discrimination and to create a Church which welcomes all people equally..