A Prayer Service in Support of Maryknoll Priest Roy Bourgeois/Women Priests

Prayer Vigil in Support of Maryknoll Priest Roy Bourgeois/ Women Priests
Columbus, Ohio: Tuesday: April 19, 2011

Introductory Prayer: Holy One: You have given us a prophet in our midst. A man who is willing to hear your word and follow his conscience. A man who has the courage to speak truth to power. A man willing to stand up for the Gospel equality that Jesus proclaims.
Our response will be: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That our brother priests in the Vatican roll away the stone from their hearts.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That our brother priests hear the Word and feel the Movement of the Spirit calling us
to a discipleship of equals.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That our brother priests hear the Spirit moving in our grassroots communities/church.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: To recognize that God calls men and women to the priesthood.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: In gratefulness for Roy’s support of women priests.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That the Maryknoll Order support Roy and the Spirit’s movement for women priests.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That all priests hear the Spirit and “Be Not Afraid.”
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That priests follow God’s law over the Pope’s and man made law.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That all of us People of God follow the primacy of our conscience,
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: For Roy’s family and their continued understanding and support of his actions.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: For our brother priests to support and speak out for women priests in our church.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: That we may all continue to be friends of God and prophets.
Response: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Please feel free to add your prayer and we will respond: Loving God, hear our prayer.
Prayer: Loving God, we thank you this Holy Week for your Son, the Christ, who continues to teach us Gospel love and equality. We thank you for giving us Roy as a prophet for the People of God to move us into a new era as we do the Work of Your Healing Hands bringing about the Kin-dom. May we see You in each of us as we support the rising up of prophetic women and men.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, RCWP,

rhythmsofthedance@msn.com

859-684-4247

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

"At Easter, Church Expels Women's Advocate, Keeps Pedophiles in the Fold" by Angela Bonavoglia/Huffingtonn Post

Fr. Roy joined women priests

at ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska

in Lexington Kentucky on Aug.9, 2008

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angela-bonavoglia/at-easter-church-expels-w_b_850257.html?ref=email_share

..."And neither excommuniaton nor laicization has been threatened against any of the scores of Philadelphia priests who Cardinal Justin Rigali, under public pressure, was forced to relieve of duty, following the recent release of a second damning Grand Jury report. ... even after the diocesan authorities knew of the horrific allegations against them -- that they had repeatedly raped and sodomized children, turning one child into a sexual slave who they pimped out from priest to priest..."
"This same Rigali in 2006 castigated Eileen McCafferty DiFranco for daring to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest, accusing her of causing "confusion and discord," charging that if she celebrated a sacrament, she would "further exacerbate the public scandal." This was at the time of the first Grand Jury report, which described one of the most astounding histories of child sex abuse of any diocese in the country. The list of crimes by more than 60 priests included a teenage girl groped by her priest while she lay immobilized in traction and a boy who awoke intoxicated in a priest's bed to find the priest "sucking his penis while three other priests watched and masturbated."
"Bourgeois was incredibly engaging and moving on the Barnard panel, as he is in the film -- humble, deeply committed to women's rights in the Church, immovable in his position of support. But what struck me, what touched me most deeply was his concern, his wish and his deep disappointment that his fellow priests have refused to step forward and join him in this fight. They remain silent, despite knowing in their hearts how unjust and discriminatory is the Church's position, which flies in the face of church history, archaeological evidence and even a Pontifical Biblical Commission that found insufficient Scriptural grounds to exclude the possibility of women's ordination..."

Bridget Mary's Reflection

Angela Bonavoglia hit the nail on the head! The hierarchy's strong arm tactics in response to women priests and our supporters, including Fr. Roy Bourgeois, is a last ditch effort to resist the movement for the full equality of women in the church. It is is doomed to failure. The real scandal is the failure of the Vatican to make the structural changes that will address the pedophile crisis. The real scandal is the church's protection of pedophiles who have harmed raped, sodomized and sexually abused Catholic youth. Fr. Roy is a prophet leading the way toward justice for women in our church. While only a handful of priests are following his example in the United States, there are a few glimmers of hope that the tide is changing. The Irish Priests Association and German theologians have raised the issue of women's equality in the church. In South America, a priest, stood with us as we ordained the first women there. It is my hope that the example of Fr. Roy Bourgeois will inspire more priests to come forward and support Roman Catholic Women Priests. As Martin Luther King reminds us that injustice anywhere, threatens justice everywhere! Like Rosa Parks, who refused to sit in the back of the bus, Roman Catholic Women Priests are refusing second class status in our church. We are leading the way toward a new era of justice and equality for women in the church. This Easter, we celebrate the courage of the women who stood by Jesus during his sufferings and death, and were the first witnesses to the resurrection. We are following the path of Mary Magdala, the apostle to the apostles, who was called by the Risen Christ to go and tell the good news. So too, women priests are good news for the people of God who are ready for partnership and equality. Like the male disciples- locked up in fear-the hierarchy is afraid and resists, but a new Pentecost will come!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

sofiabmm@aol.com
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Catholics Rally in U.S. for Fr. Roy Bourgeois and Women Priests/Television Coverage

(Florida Ordination-4 RCWP deacons)


Catholics Rally in Venice, Florida in support of Fr. Roy and women priests
http://www.mysuncoast.com/content/news/7SouthNews/story/Protest-held-outside-Venice-Catholic-church/9fdAQsXQzk6CgUOuHeb1Vw.cspx

Catholics rally in downtown Syracuse in support of priest who ...
Syracuse.com... on Tuesday in support of the ordination of women priests in the Catholic Church. ... in the Roman Catholic Church, has refused to recant his position. ...

Catholics protest for women in priesthoodWGNtv.com

Protest Held Outside Venice Catholic Church Support of Fr. Roy/Women Priests/ABC Coverage/April 19, 2011

http://www.mysuncoast.com/content/news/7SouthNews/story/Protest-held-outside-Venice-Catholic-church/9fdAQsXQzk6CgUOuHeb1Vw.cspx

Protest held outside Venice Catholic church

Josh Taylor/ABC Suncoast
VENICE -

"Holy Week in the Catholic Church was met with protests Tuesday in Venice in an effort to let women become priests. A group named "Call To Action" along with others held signs in a peaceful protest outside Epiphany Cathedral this morning. They greeted churchgoers and more than 200 priests from across the diocese who were celebrating Mass.Protesters are upset over the news a priest will be removed from the priesthood, because of his support for women becoming priests.That’s something protestors say will one day be accepted. “I think that female Roman Catholic priests are leading the way to a new renewed catholic church. The Vatican is kicking and screaming right now about us, but one day they too will recognize us as faithful witnesses to the gospel," says Bridget Mary Meehan."

A Vigil for Justice and Equality
Tuesday April 19, 2011
The Holy Week mass to bless the chrism oil for baptism, confirmation, and ordination was held today in the Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Florida. As the procession of 200 priests, the bishop, and many other dignitaries prepared to enter the church, our vigil for justice and equality began.
Call to Action leaders requested quiet and peaceful vigils at chrism masses across the country to support Fr. Roy Bourgeois and the ordination of women. As a priest and member of the Maryknoll community for 44 years, Fr. Roy was threatened with expulsion from Maryknoll and laicization unless he recanted his support for women’s ordination. In his written response, Fr. Roy held fast to the primacy of conscience and his vision of women’s ordination as an issue of justice within the Church. Isn’t this how Jesus would deal with these issues today? The vigils were a way to support Fr. Roy who respectfully asked that his “fellow priests, bishops, Church leaders in the Vatican and Catholics in the pews speak out and affirm God’s call of women to the priesthood.”
Thirty-nine supporters of Fr. Roy and women’s ordination lined the sidewalks next to the cathedral. They represented the members of Southwest Florida Chapter of CTA, the newly-formed Peace River branch, the Venice Area Voice of the Faithful, and Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community. Vigil participants were an impressive group that included vested women priests and Bishop Bridget Mary, as well as individuals from West Palm Beach in Florida, Ontario in Canada, and snowbirds from many states.
The Diocese of Venice made certain that we were greeted by a Venice police captain and lieutenant. The police cars expanded to four when one of the vigil participants offered Fr. Roy’s letter to a staff person from the bishop’s office. He immediately informed us of the private property boundaries and his intention to enforce them. We remained quiet and respectful. Thus we were relegated to the sidewalk on one side of the cathedral. Our signs could be seen by the priests, but we were disappointed that we were not allowed close enough to give each one of them Fr. Roy’s letter. As the procession continued into the cathedral, many of the priests looked toward the vigil participants with varying positive and negative nonverbal communications. Most of the people attending the mass had the opportunity to talk to us and see our signs. Their responses were mostly indifferent. Several were curious or friendly.
Supporting Fr. Roy and women priests in this way was the first Call to Action for the new Peace River branch of the CTA Southwest Florida Chapter. We believe it was a great success. And it could not have been so without the members of CTA, Venice area VOTF, Mary Mother of Jesus, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, and each of the vigil participants. Thank you!

Signs included:
I support Fr. Roy and all priests
Justice for Fr. Roy and Catholic women
Father Roy: priest and prophet
Save our Church--Ordain women
Wome n are equal images of God
Support Fr. Roy & Justice in the Church of Jesus

Imogene Rigdon, Co-Chair CTA Peace River Florida
Branch of SW Florida Chapter

ABC News Atlanta Ordination of 4 more Roman Catholic Women Deacons in Sarasota, Florida Interviews plus raw footage

Interview with Bridget Mary/Raw footagehttp://bcove.me/b8bahg4d
Interview with Diane Dougherty/Raw footagehttp://bcove.me/y8t8mcbz

Television Interviews that aired on ABC News
http://www.wsbtv.com/video/27590829/index.html http://www.wsbtv.com/video/27589754/index.html

ABC News Atlanta Covers Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests Ordination of 4 Deacons in Sarasota, Florida on April 2, 2011

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/27590829/index.html http://www.wsbtv.com/video/27589754/index.html

ATLANTA -- A Roman Catholic would recognize the sights, sounds and actions inside the Sarasota Church of Christ, but the Roman Catholic Church did not approve of what happened on a Saturday afternoon this month. Four women maintain they became deacons and eventually will become priests after a ceremony inside the central Florida church. One of them, Diane Dougherty, is a second-grade teacher from Newnan. The devout Irish Catholic said she first had the calling 44 years ago. “I always knew I had a calling and in my time the only way that calling could be expressed was through my sisters,” said

Dougherty. 5 p.m.: Woman Hopes To Become 1st Female Priest From Ga. 6 p.m.: Ga. Woman Joins Movement To Become Catholic Priest READ: Statement From Archbishop Wilton Gregory "Dougherty followed that call for 23 years, then left the sisterhood, but still felt there was something more so she decided to become a priest. “Aren’t you afraid of excommunication?” asked Channel 2 Action News anchor Monica Pearson. “I believe that the law that has kept me and so many wonderful and brilliant women from priesthood is unjust,” responded Dougherty. brightcove.createExperiences(); The Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests organized the ordination into the diaconate. Bridget Mary Meehan is a bishop with the group but she doesn’t want to be called bishop. Meehan told Pearson, “We are trying to deconstruct the clerical hierarchal church.” “This is our Church, we belong to it, we are as Catholic as the pope is,” Meehan told Pearson. The issue of women’s ordination has been the subject of fierce debate. The Vatican recently condemned the action as a grave sin, on par with the sexual abuse of children. The Archdiocese of Atlanta declined requests for an interview..."

Call Maryknoll and Express Your Support of Fr. Roy and Women Priests

"Maryknoll leadership needs to hear your support of Fr. Roy and women's ordination today! Join the national call-in day by dialing 914.941.7590 and tell Maryknoll "I support women's ordination and Fr. Roy. I hope Maryknoll will, too!" Fr. Roy has given nearly 40 years of his life to Maryknoll as a priest and prophetic leader for justice in Central and South America. He should not be removed from the priesthood because of his beliefs in women's equality! It is heartbreaking to see the reports this weekend that Rome has only sanctioned but not removed a pedophile bishop but church officials want to remove a priest who support's women's equality as priests." Jim Fitzgerald/Call to Action

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2065579,00.html

Bridget Mary's Reflection: Support Fr. Roy and call Maryknoll today-914.941.7590. The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests call on the Maryknoll Order to resist Vatican oppression and support Fr. Roy in his call for justice for women in the Catholic Church. It is time for Catholics to challenge the Vatican who keeps pedophile bishops and priests and excommunicates women priests and our supporters. This is the real scandal- an outrageous abuse of power- by the hierarchy! Fr. Roy is a prophet who is leading the way toward justice and equality for women in the church. How can Maryknoll go along with this spiritual charade?

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/ sofiabmm@aol.com

Local Catholics in Florida Join Protest Vigils Across the Country to Support Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois and Women Priests

On a sunny morning on April 19th, at 10 am, an enthusiastic gathering of Catholics held a Protest Vigil before the Chrism Mass in front of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice Florida in support of a well-known Maryknoll priest, Roy Bourgeois for his support of women women priests in the Catholic Church. This prayerful vigil was scheduled to concide with the Chrism Mass where the male priests gather with the bishop who blesses the oil for use during sacramental celebrations. Michael and Imogene Rigdon from the new chapter of Call to Action Peace River and Ellen McNally from Call to Action Southwest Florida organized the Vigil.Roman Catholic Women Priests, Katy Zatsick and Bridget Mary Meehan dressed in their albs and stoles, joined the assembly waving signs and banners that expressed solidarity with Fr. Roy and women priests. Protest Vigils were scheduled across the U.S. in front of Cathdrals in a dozen dioceses.
Fr. Roy Bourgeois has been threatened with dismissal from the Maryknoll Order. This vigil come in response to news last week that Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest and founder of the School of the Americas Watch, refused to recant his views on women’s equality in the church and will be removed from the priesthood.

A recent New York Times poll shows 60% of Catholics in the United States support women's ordination as priests and the Pew Forum in Religion and Public Life shows that 39% of people who leave Catholicism do so over the way the Church treats women.

The Vatican is putting pressure on Maryknoll to laicize Fr. Roy to intimidate other priests ,who support women priests, from going public. At the end of the day, this is all about power and control. And this tactic is backfiring! More and more people are supporting our movement.

Yesterday I received a letter from Kelly, a woman who has ten children. She is leaving the institutional church because of the sexual abuse scandal and the hierarchy's treatment of women. When she heard about women priests, she contacted me and asked if there are any women priests in her area. Fortunately, there is a woman priest community not far away from her.

For Catholics who are heart sick with the institutional Church's treatment of women as second class citizens, women priests offer hope. We share women's experiences and claim women's power as spiritual equals. This is helping to heal centuries of misogny. Women priests are visible reminders that women are equal images of God, and therefore worthy to preside at the altar. This is the Vatican's deepest fear, -women as equal images of God- but with God's grace, our presence in communities of faith are helping to transform our beloved church into a more open, transparent, inclusive, community of Christ's love with us.

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

sofiabmm@aol.com

Catholics Rally for Priest, (Fr. Roy Bourgeois) Who Could Be Excommunicated/Fox 4 News -- Ft. Myers, Florida

http://www.fox4now.com/Global/story.asp?S=14456902

"Some Catholics in the area are rallying behind a priest who could get excommunicated from the church. Father Roy Bourgeois faces expulsion by the Vatican for his support of women joining the priesthood. Bourgeois has been a Catholic priest for 38 years but he could get excommunicated from the church for his support of women's ordination. Ellen McNally is the president of the call to action in Southwest Florida. It's a Catholic movement which works for equality and justice in church and society. She echoes Bourgeois' feelings that the time has come for women to be ordained as priests in the catholic church. McNally says, "But a woman is as qualified, she's as holy and dedicated and can accomplish as much as anyone else."

Belgian Bishop Admits Abusing Second Nephew: Contrast with Vatican's Excommunication/Dismissal of Maryknoll Priest Roy Bourgeois and Women Priests

BRUSSELS (AP) — "A former Belgian bishop at the center of one of the Roman Catholic church's biggest pedophile scandals said Thursday that he had abused two nephews and insisted he had no plans to abandon the priesthood. In his first television interview since the scandal broke a year ago, Roger Vangheluwe claimed he paid one nephew he abused for years tens of thousands of euros in support, but denied it was meant to keep him silent. He called 13 years of sexual abuse of one nephew which started at age 5 as no more than "a little piece of intimacy." He said the abuse of a second nephew was very short...Sex abuse victims accuse the church of letting off the hook bishops who molested minors and see Vangheluwe's fate as a prime example.Pope Benedict XVI will eventually decide his fate. He could be stripped of his priesthood."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:

Contrast the treatment by the Vatican of Roger Vangheluwe, a bishop pedophile, with the Vatican's threat to force Maryknoll to dismiss Fr. Roy Bourgeois for his support of women priests! Observe the Vatican is not threatening the bishop pedophile with excommunication or dismissal from the priesthood, but is pushing Maryknoll to dismiss Fr. Roy from the Order. (The Vatican has already excommunicated Fr. Roy.

The real scandal here is the Vatican who places women priests in the same serious crime category as pedophiles! The real scandal here is the institutional church's abuse of power - demanding that Fr. Roy recant his support for women's equality in our church. Since when is God's call to women to serve the church as priests and justice for women in the church a crime? The global sexual abuse crisis and its coverup has gutted the moral credibility of the institutional church. This is the real crime here. The silver lining in this crisis is that God is doing something new to renew the church. Catholic communities worldwide are calling forth women priests, married priests, and in some cases celibate male priests. (In Clevland, a pastor is continuing to serve the community after the parish was closed.)

This new model is rooted in the example of Jesus who called women and men to be disciples and equals. See Luke 8 : Among Jesus disciples were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Suzanna and "many others." In all four Gospels, Mary of Magdala is the only one who is present at both the cross and tomb. The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala and called her to "go and tell" which is the job description of an apostle. So Mary, the apostle to the apostles proclaimed the the good news to the other disciples - including the male apostles. It is time for the Vatican to follow Jesus' example of Gospel equality and partnership as this renewal is already taking place in grassroots communities.

In Romans 16:1-16, Paul greets the women leaders of the house churches. Scholars conclude that women presided at Eucharist in these house churches, and that women were ordained to serve their communities for 1200 years.

As we move into Holy Week, let us reflect on how we can follow Jesus' example of total self-giving in service to others as a more open, loving, compassionate and just community of faith.

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

Roman Catholic Women Priests Association

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Catholic Church Has Age-Old Devotion to Mary as Priest by John Wijngaards

http://www.womenpriests.org/mrpriest/mpr_tab.asp

Mary, Mother of Jesus, who turned the Spirit of God into the Body and Blood of Christ, pray for us. The Catholic Church has an age-old devotion to Mary as priest.

"With our short ecclesiastical memories we have almost forgotten that in the run up to its dogmatic definition in 1854, Mary’s Immaculate Conception was often justified on the grounds of her being a priest. Tradition frequently applied Hebrews 7,26 to her: "It is fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens." The Benedictine prior Jacques Biroat wrote in 1666 that “Paul’s reasoning” in Hebrews 7,26 “is relevant to Christ’s mother. She shares in the priesthood of her son and is the origin of our reconciliation to God. Therefore, she had to be entirely innocent and separated from sinners. She had to be preserved from original sin.” Mary was immaculately conceived because she had to be a priest without stain." "The Fathers of the Church pointed out that Mary belonged to a priestly family, as her relationship to Elizabeth shows. She was "Aaron’s staff which has budded forth as a guarantee of the eternal priesthood" (St. Methodius)... The Fathers loved calling Mary ‘the sanctuary’, ‘the ark of the covenant’, ‘the golden thurible’ and ‘the altar of incense’, implying her priestly dignity. .." At the presentation in the Temple, for instance, Mary functioned as ‘an ordained virgin who offered Jesus for our reconciliation as a victim agreeable to God’, in the words of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). Ubertino of Casale (1259-1330) added that there was no other priest. Only she could offer Jesus, and she was, after Jesus himself, the greatest of all priests..."

Bridget Mary's Reflection: As we contemplate Mary as Priest, we observe her on mosaics and frescos in Rome. Mary, Mother of Jesus, is depicted in bishop's vestments in St. Priscilla's catacomb. There she is present at the ordination of a woman priest. In St. Praxedis Church in Rome, Mary appears in a group portrait standing next to St. Praxedis who is standing next to Bishop Theodora. So, Roman Catholic Women Priests are doing nothing new. We are reclaiming our sacred tradition of women in ordained ministry in our church. Mary, Mother of Jesus, the first woman priest, is our mentor and model of service to God's people. Let us pray that Mary, Mother of Jesus, will guide our church into affirming its own sacred tradition of women deacons, priests and bishops! Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP, Roman Catholic Women Priests Association http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Vatican Served with Court Docs in Wis. Abuse Case

April 12th, 2011

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (AP) - "The Vatican has been served with court papers stemming from decades-old allegations of sexual abuse against a now-deceased priest at a Wisconsin school for the deaf, attorneys for the accuser and the Vatican said Tuesday. "Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the man making the allegations, said he had been notified the papers were successfully filed through official diplomatic channels. " "Every time we make a step forward, as long as that takes, we are going in the right direction," Anderson said. "And the direction we're headed is a measure of accountability. We really believe that we need to put some heat on the Vatican to bring some light." ..."The lawsuit was filed nearly a year ago in federal court on behalf of Terry Kohut, now of Chicago. It claims Pope Benedict XVI and two other top Vatican officials knew about allegations of sexual abuse at St. John's School for the Deaf outside Milwaukee and called off internal punishment of the accused priest, the Rev. Lawrence Murphy."

Bishops Attack Book by Elizabeth Johnson / God is Neither Male nor Female, but Female Images are in Bible and Christian Tradition/Bishops Awake!

By Paul Vitello

"Is God male? The Old Testament uses the masculine pronoun to describe him. Jesus refers to the divinity as Father. So does that make the creator a masculine force — and mean that men are more godlike than women? These are questions that theologians like Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson, a Fordham University professor, have been mulling for years. At 69, Sister Johnson is among the pioneers of a generation of feminist scholars who examine how cultural biases among biblical scribes may have led to women’s diminished roles in Western religious traditions, especially the Roman Catholic Church. The passages drawing the harshest admonishment, however, concerned Sister Johnson’s proposal that feminine as well as masculine imagery be used in prayers referring to God, a recommendation that has been debated and rejected by the bishops before. Still, the book persisted, “all-male images of God are hierarchical images rooted in the unequal relation between women and men, and they function to maintain this arrangement.” Wrong, the bishops said: If the Gospels use masculine imagery, it is because divine revelation would have it that way. “The names of God found in the Scriptures are not mere human creations that can be replaced by others that we may find more suitable,” the bishops wrote. “ Dr. Tilley, the Fordham theology chairman, described that argument as “approaching the incoherent.” “All revelation is received through language, and all language is culturally conditioned,” he said. “All they are saying here is that they have the truth and Sister Johnson doesn’t...”

Bridget Mary's Reflection:

Are the bishops really saying that God is male and the definitive argument is because the bible says so! Whatever happened to the basic teaching in the Baltimore Catechism that God is pure spirit! As Mary Daley observed years ago, that if God is male, then the male is God! But, bishops awake to the Divine Feminine. "Her "finger prints are all over our sacred tradition! Elizabeth Johnson is an outstanding theologian who has enriched theology with new and deeper understanding of the divine. In her award-winning book, She Who Is (New York, Crossroad, 1992) Johnson introduces us to a rich array of overlooked female metaphors in the Christian tradition. Here are a few biblical images in Johnson's landmark work: "Whether hovering like a nesting mother bird over the egg of primordial chaos in the Beginning (GN. 1a;2), or shelthering those in difficulty under the protective shadow of her wings (PS. 17:8, 36:7, 57:1,61:4m 91:1, 4, Is. 31;50 or bearing the enslaved up on her wings toward freedom (Ex. 19:4, Dt.32:11-12) divine Spirit activity is evoked with allusion to femaleness." (She Who Is, p. 83.) I wrote several books that present feminine imagery of God for prayer and contemplation: Exploring the Feminine Face of God, Delighting in the Feminine Divine, Heart Talks with Mother God (co-authored with Regina Madonna Oliver). In each of these books, I introduce readers to feminine images of God in the bible, Christian Tradition, and contemporary authors. Holy women and men throughout the ages have delighted in the feminine divine. Hildegard of Bingen uses feminine imagery to refer to the Spirit, Trinity and Wisdom. In Hildegard's first vision of the feminine divine, Hildegard describes a radiant woman surrounded by angels. Use of maternal imagery to describe God and Christ appears to be popular in the works of male saints like St Bernard Clairvaux. In several places, St. Augustine uses St. Matthew's image of mother hen:"Let us put our egg under the wings of that Hen of the Gospel." In her Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich provides us with the most comprehensive development of the Motherhood of God in the Christian tradition. According to Julian Divine Motherhood, is related to compassion and leads to compassionate living. Let us join the saints in delighting in the feminine divine, She Who Dwells Among Us!

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP Roman Catholic Women Priests Association www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Take Action for Justice and Peace: Close the School of the Americas

Call-In Day to Close the SOA - Call 202-224-3121

Today, SOA Watch activists are swarming Capitol Hill, urging Members of Congress to join the chorus for the closing of the School of the Americas and to ad their signature to the Congressional sign-on letter that is urging President Obama to shut down the SOA/ WHINSEC by executive order.
Please take 3 minutes right now to amplify the voices of those who are making the lobby visits today:
Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask to be transferred to your Representative's office (you only need to know your ZIP code). Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant.

Take careful notes during the call, and let us know about how it went! A possible call script could look like the following: "As a constituent living in _________, I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to urge him/her to contact Rep. McGovern and ask to sign the Congressional sign-on letter directed at President Obama, urging him to shut down the School of the Americas, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Just like the School of the Americas, WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two of five countries that have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Despite demands by Congress to have oversight over the curriculum and promote human rights, the Pentagon is now denying all requests to provide information to human rights organizations and the public about students and graduates of the school. I urge you to contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern's office and ask that you r boss be a signer to the Congressional sign-on letter to President Obama. I hope you will represent my views and support this letter." Remember to contact SOA Watch Legislative Coordinator Alison Snow at asnow@soaw.org with any response you receive! Thank you! We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as rhythmsofthedance@msn.com. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA
Our telephone: (202) 234 3440

"For New Mass, Closer to Latin, Critics Voice a Plain Objection/Women Priests Offer Inclusive Catholic Mass

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/us/12mass.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
April 11, 2011
"Throughout much of the English-speaking world, the Roman Catholic Church is preparing its priests and parishes for the most significant changes to the Mass in the more than 40 years since the church permitted English in place of the Latin. But after getting a glimpse of the texts in recent months, thousands of priests in the United States, Ireland and Australia have publicly objected that the translation is awkward, archaic and inaccessible...“What we are asking of the bishops is to scrap this text,” said the Rev. Sean McDonagh, a leader of an Irish group, the Association of Catholic Priests, which represents 450 priests — about 1 out of 10 — in that country. “I know people are not going to use it..."
Roman Catholic Women Priests use inclusive language in our liturgies. We are leading the church into its future, and the people love it! Those who do not like the current translation should take a look at our liturgical resources. Perhaps, they will find a better fit for their communities. Some day, in the not so distant future, I predict that Catholcs will adopt our prayerful, poetic, inclusive liturgies!
Even some in the Vatican may sneak a peek!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
Roman Catholic Women Priests Association www.assoiationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Bishop Patricia Fresen Presents "Transformed By Compassion" at Mary Mother of Jesus Catholic Community in Sarasota, Florida

(left to right) Lee Breyer, Patricia Fresen Bridget Mary Meehan Katy Zatsick Michael Rigdon) On April 9, 2011, Dr. Patricia Fresen, a Roman Catholic Woman Bishop, presented "Transformed by Compassion" to Mary Mother of Jesus Catholic Community at St. Andrew UCC in Sarasota, Florida. Utilizing a powerful vision of St. Hildegard of Bingen and an icon of Mary, Mother of Compassion, she demonstrated the power of compassion to break down political, dogmatic, ideologial and religious boundaries. She connected the principle of compassion to all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, and recommended that all support and sign the Charter for Compassion. All of us can release the energy of compassion into our world in prayer, reflection and activity.

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Czechoslovakia’s Secret Church: Married Priests and Women Priests Were Ordained

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/161042

Christa Pongratz-Lippitt

"Throughout the 41 years of Communist rule in the former Eastern bloc country, an underground network of groups and individuals kept the Catholic faith alive, even to the point of ordaining married men and women. Last week, their achievement was belatedly honoured It was at a moving ceremony at Vienna’s UN-City Church on Saturday last week, 21 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, that the largest and best-known underground circle in the former Czechoslovakia – called “Koinótés” and founded by the late Bishop Felix Maria Davidek – received the Herbert-Haag-Foundation Award for Freedom in the Church, which is bestowed annually on persons and institutions “for courageous actions within Christianity”.

"Although a disputed and controversial figure, Felix Maria Davidek’s charisma and his extraordinary gifts have since been recognised by many Catholic churchmen, including bishops and cardinals. Davidek recognised the signs of the times and his response was prophetic. Desperate situations, in this case severe persecution by one of the most relentless atheist regimes, merit desperate remedies and Davidek ordained married men and women to the Catholic priesthood. The survival strategies he undertook illuminate the Church’s potential for reform, which never ends with the death of the reformers. Already before the Communist takeover in 1948, Davidek was fascinated by Teilhard de Chardin’s idea of an evolutionary progression towards greater and greater consciousness. He was convinced that, as well as studying philosophy and theology, seminarians should have a broad university education and also study the humanities and sciences. While he was a seminarian in Czechoslovakia under German occupation during the Second World War, he dreamed of founding a Catholic university. After ordin­ation in 1945, Davidek continued with his university studies. He read medicine and eventually acquired a doctorate in psychology. At the same time, he founded the “Atheneum”, a preparatory course for young Catholics, men and women, who had not been allowed to attend secondary schools during the German occupation, with the aim of preparing them for matriculation and thus enabling them to study theology. In 1948, however, the Communists took power. Davidek continued with his Atheneum courses in secret but soon came under police scrutiny and was imprisoned. Fellow prisoners say he was a particularly audacious and trucu­lent prisoner who frequently rebelled and consequently spent long periods in isolation. During his 14 years’ incarceration he jotted down on bits of lavatory paper his meticulous plans for the Church’s survival in an atheistic, Communist dictatorship. The 1950s were the worst period of church persecution in Czechoslovakia. The theological faculties at universities were closed. Only two Catholic seminaries were allowed to remain open and both were put under state control. The bishops had forbidden seminarians to attend these state-controlled seminaries and soon many of them were imprisoned. One see after another became vacant and the secret police watched all church activities closely. When he was released in 1964..."

"Davidek immediately began to put his plans into action. He was soon able to gather many committed Catholics around him. They called their group “Koinótés” (derived from koinonia, the Greek word meaning community) and met regularly in secret at night and at the weekends as it was compulsory to have a job in the daytime. Davidek taught a wide range of subjects and secretly invited prominent churchmen as guest speakers. Thanks to friends who had smuggled them in from abroad, he was also able to study the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council and the works of Karl Rahner, Yves Congar, Henri de Lubac and other well-known theologians of the time with his pupils. The biggest challenge was to secure a sufficient number of dependable priests who could be relied on not to collaborate with the regime. Up to 1967, candidates were sent abroad to be ordained clandestinely in Germany or Poland."

"Both Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Cracow, later to become Pope John Paul II, and Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne, then Bishop of Berlin, clandestinely ordained Czechoslovak priests at that time. "Davidek knew he would never get permission to leave the country, so he sent Jan Blaha, a young chemist who attended conferences abroad and was a member of Koinótés, to Augsburg where he was clandestinely ordained by Bishop Josef Stimpfle. "

"A few months later, in Prague in October 1967, Blaha was consecrated bishop by Bishop Peter Dubovsky, a Slovak Jesuit, who had himself been clandestinely ordained. Bishop Blaha then consecrated Felix Davidek. All these ordinations and consecrations have since been fully recognised and declared valid by the Vatican. "

"From then on, Koinótés became the nucleus of a clandestine network of He also ordained married men, at first for the Greek-Catholic rite, where it is the custom. The Greek-Catholic Church had been dissolved by the Communists and forcibly incorporated into the Orthodox Church and both its bishops imprisoned. Many of its ­members became martyrs but some escaped and went underground. Koinótés worked closely with these..." "Later, Davidek also ordained Latin-rite married men as bi-ritual priests who were permitted to celebrate in both rites. He even consecrated one married bishop. One of the chief reasons for these initiatives was that the authorities were highly unlikely to suspect married men of being priests in Latin-rite Catholic Moravia. .." Davidek also went so far as to ordain a small number of women. For some time now, he had been discussing women’s role in the Church at the Koinótés meetings. He was convinced that as women had baptised, distributed Communion to the sick and had their place as women deacons in the Church’s hierarchy in the first millennium, they were only excluded from the priesthood for historical and not dogmatic reasons."

"His main reason for ordaining women was pastoral. Women in women’s prisons, especially women Religious who were imprisoned on a large scale and often exposed to horrible sexual torture, had no one to care for their spiritual needs, whereas in men’s prisons there were usually several priests among the male ­prisoners. In December 1970, he called a special ­“pastoral synod” to discuss women’s role in the Church, but when he put women’s ­ordination to the vote, half of the Koinótés members who attended voted against it. The issue split the community and became a benchmark in its history."

"A few days later, nevertheless, Davidek ordained Ludmila Javorová, a prominent member of Koinotes, and later made her his vicar general, which she remained until his death in 1988. "I remember discussing Bishop Davidek and his ordination of married men and women with the late Archbishop John Bukovsky in Vienna in the late 1990s. Bukovsky, who had by then retired, told me that the Vatican had sent him on a fact-finding mission to Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1977. He had been able to talk with Bishop Davidek for several hours, he said, and knew that Davidek had ordained both married men and women. “I was most surprised to be welcomed by his woman vicar general dressed in white and wearing a cross,” he added. The ordinations were illicit but valid, he underlined at the time, and said that Rome had been fully informed... "

Maryknoll Priest Roy Bourgeois' Letter to Fr. Dougherty, Maryknoll Priest Superior General: A Passionate Call for Justice and Equality for Women

Rev. Edward Dougherty, M.M.,

Superior General

Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers P.O. Box 303 Maryknoll, NY 10545

April 8, 2011

Dear Father Dougherty and General Council,

Maryknoll has been my community, my family, for 44 years, so it is with great sadness that I received your letter of March 18, 2011 stating I must recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women, or I will be dismissed from Maryknoll. When I was a young man in the military, I felt God was calling me to be a priest. I later entered Maryknoll and was ordained. I am grateful for finding the happiness, meaning and hope I was seeking in life. For the past 20 years I have been speaking out and organizing against the injustice of the School of the Americas and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. Over these years I discovered an injustice much closer to home - an injustice in my Church. Devout women in our Church believe God is calling them to be priests, but they are rejected because the Church teaches that only baptized men can become priests. As a Catholic priest for 38 years, I believe our Church's teaching that excludes women from the priesthood defies both faith and reason and cannot stand up to scrutiny for the following reasons: (1) As Catholics, we believe that we were created in the image and likeness of God and that men and women are equal before God. Excluding women from the priesthood implies that men are superior to women. (2) Catholic priests say that the call to be a priest is a gift and comes from God. How can we, as men, say: "Our call from God is authentic, but your call, as women, is not"? Who are we to reject God's call of women to the priesthood? I believe our Creator who is the Source of life and called forth the sun and stars is certainly capable of calling women to be priests. (3) We are told that women cannot be priests because Jesus chose only men as apostles. As we know, Jesus did not ordain anyone. Jesus also chose a woman, Mary Magdalene, to be the first witness to His resurrection, which is at the core of our faith. Mary Magdalene became known as "the apostle to the apostles." (4) A 1976 report by the PontificalBiblical Commission, the Vatican's top Scripture scholars, concluded that there is no valid case to be made against the ordination of women from the Scriptures. In the Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian and other Christian churches, God's call of women to the priesthood is affirmed and women are ordained. Why not in the Catholic church? (5) The Holy Scriptures remind us in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither male nor female. In Christ Jesus you are one." Furthermore, the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on The Church in the Modern World states: "Every type of discrimination ... based on sex. .. is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent." After much reflection and many conversations with fellow priests and women, I believe sexism is at the root of excluding women from the priesthood. Sexism, like racism, is a sin. And no matter how hard we may try to justify discrimination against women, in the end, it is not the way of God. Sexism is about power. In the culture of clericalism many Catholic priests see the ordination of women as a threat to their power. Our Church is in a crisis today because ofthe sexual abuse scandal and the closing of hundreds of churches because of a shortage of priests. When I entered Maryknoll we had over 300 seminarians. Today we have ten. For years we have been praying for more vocations to the priesthood. Our prayers have been answered. God is sending us women priests. Half the population are women. If we are to have a vibrant and healthy Church, we need the wisdom, experience and voices of women in the priesthood. As Catholics, we believe in the primacy and sacredness of conscience. Our conscience is sacred because it gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing. Conscience is what compelled Franz Jagerstatter, a humble Austrian farmer, husband and father of four young children, to refuse to join Hitler's army, which led to his execution. Conscience is what compelled Rosa Parks to say she could no longer sit in the back of the bus. Conscience is what compels women in ourChurch to say they cannot be silent and deny their call from God to the priesthood. And it is my conscience that compels me to say publicly that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is agrave injustice against women, against our Church and against our God who calls both men and women to the priesthood. In his 1968 commentary on the Second Vatican Council's document, Gaudium et Spes, Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, said: "Over the pope ... there still stands one's ownconscience, which must be obeyed before all else, if necessary, even against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority." What you are requiring of me is not possible without betraying my conscience. In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe that God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I cannot do, therefore I will not recant. Like the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement and the right of women to vote, the ordination of women is inevitable because it is rooted in justice. Wherever there is an injustice, silence is the voice of consent. I respectfully ask that my fellow priests, bishops, Church leaders in the Vatican and Catholics in the pews speak out and affirm God's call of women to the priesthood.
Your Brother in Christ,
Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
P.O. Box 3330 Columbus, GA 31903 Tell Fax 706-682-5369

We Stand With Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll Priest, Who Stands for Justice and Equality for Women in the Catholic Church

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2011 Contact: Erin Saiz Hanna , Executive Director 202.675.1006 (office), 401.588.0457 (cell) A Roman Catholic priest faces dismissal from the priesthood for his public support of women's ordination. But he is not just any priest. Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas (SOA) Watch, is internationally known for his work to end U.S. government-funded combat training of Latin American militaries. Today, he will risk nearly 40 years of priesthood to end sexism in the Church. On March 29th, 2011, Fr. Roy Bourgeois received a canonical warning from the leadership of his community, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Fr. Bourgeois has been given fifteen days to recant his belief that women, along with men, are called by God to serve as Roman Catholic priests. Failure to recant before Tuesday, April 12th, will result in a second canonical warning from his superiors, whereupon, Maryknoll leadership will submit their charge for dismissal to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) with a request for removal from the priesthood. "The Maryknoll community prides itself on being a voice for social justice," stated Erin Saiz Hanna, Women's Ordination Conference's Executive Director. "The threat to dismiss Fr. Bourgeois is not only a misuse of church discipline, but a betrayal to all those the Maryknoll community hopes to serve. It will not intimidate those of us who dare to shatter the stained glass ceiling." At 4:30 EST this afternoon, Catholics will join Fr. Bourgeois outside the Vatican Embassy in Washington, DC as he publicly responds to Maryknoll leadership. In his response, Fr. Bourgeois states, "It is my conscience that compels me to say publicly that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is a grave injustice against women, against our Church and against our God who calls both men and women to the priesthood.... In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe that God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I cannot do, therefore I will not recant." Read his full repsonse here. An online petition, sponsored by the Women's Ordination Conference, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, Call To Action-USA, and Roman Catholic Womenpriests-USA, and endorsed by 15 church-justice organizations, has garnered over 6,000 signatures of Catholics across the globe and will be delivered to the Vatican embassy at today's vigil. "Jesus himself welcomed women as well as men into ministerial leadership," said Jim FitzGerald, Call To Action's Executive Director. "We urge Maryknoll leadership to also stand in solidarity with their brother, Roy, and Catholics across the globe who know that a church with women and men as equals makes for a better church." In 1976, the Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded that there is no valid scriptural reason for denying ordination to women. However, the Vatican ignored this finding and in 1994, Pope John Paul II officially forbade discussion of women's ordination A statement released by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and Roman Catholic Womenpriests - USA affirms Fr. Bourgeois as "a true champion of justice for all." "Regardless of personal consequences, he refuses to be cowed by men who support an unjust law that knowingly discriminates against half the Body of Christ. He sees the face of Jesus in his sisters." ### Join Fr. Roy & Church-Justice Community Today, Friday, April 8, 2011 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Vatican Embassy 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008-3610 Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, 8th Day Center for Justice, The Federation of Christian Ministries' Roman Catholic Faith, Community Council, Call to Action USA, Catholic Women's Ordination UK, Hotline Human Rights Bangladesh Trust , Mary Magdala - Germany, National Coalition of American Nuns, New Ways Ministry, Pax Christi Maine, RAPPORT, Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Southeastern Pennsylvania Women's Ordination Conference, St. Anthony's Community-Santa Barbara, Voice of the Faithful-New Jersey, Womenpriests.org, Women's Ordination Conference, Women's Ordination Worldwide The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests are ordained women who live and minister in the United States and South America. The Association prepares and ordains qualified women to serve the people of God as priests and uses equal rites to promote equal rights to achieve justice for women in the church. Contact: Janice Sevre-Duszynska: 859-689-4247 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 in its appointed leaders. Contact: Nicole Sotelo, Director of Communications, 773.404.0004 x285 Roman Catholic Womenpriests - USA's mission is to spiritually prepare, ordain, and support women and men from all states of life, who are theologically qualified, who are committed to an inclusive model of Church, and who are called by the Holy Spirit and their communities to minister. Contact: Janice Sevre-Duszynska: 859-689-4247 Women's Ordination Conference, founded in 1975, is the oldest and largest national organization that works to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic church. WOC represents the 63 percent of U.S. Catholics that support women's ordination. WOC also promotes perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity. Contact: Erin Saiz Hanna, Executive Director 202.675.1006 (office), 401.588.0457 (cell)

A letter to Fr. Dougherty, Superior of Maryknoll, "Do not abandon your brother, Fr. Roy Bourgeois"

Dear Fr. Dougherty, I am sad and disappointed with the news that you are caving in and not supporting your brother Fr. Roy when he needs the support of his brothers. In the past I have had great respect and admiration for Maryknoll and the great missionary work they have always done to bring the Gospel message of peace and love to the poor and disenfranchised through out the world particularly in South America. I have relatives who belong to Maryknoll and know a number of Franciscans who worked with Maryknoll in South America. There was always a strong bond between both the men and women who worked together to serve the poor. He was there for Sr. Maura Clark and the other women raped and murdered serving the poor. I am sure she would be here for him if she had lived. Fr. Roy has devoted his life to the message of the Gospel. He has been a man for peace and justice. He has been against unjust wars. He served his country in Vietnam and was wounded for it. He protested against war and served time in prison for his support following his conscience. We both know that women have long been treated as second class citizens by a male dominated church. Now when he stands up for equality for women instead of supporting him you are throwing him out of Maryknoll. Even if you don't agree with his opinion you should still support your brother. Is that what Jesus would do? The men ran from Jesus when he needed them. The women stood by Him. Fr. Roy is doing no less than than Jesus. Maryknoll is about to celebrate 100 years of service. I hope and pray that the supporters of Maryknoll don't show up for any of your celebrations and support Fr. Roy a true man of the Maryknoll man and follower of Jesus. Shame on you and the other men of Maryknoll who are cowering when you should be living up to your mission. Sincerely, Bill Taylor

Roman Catholic Women Priests Association: Movies of Ordination of 4 Deacons in Sarasota, Florida on April 2, 2011

Presentation of Wanda Russell by Daughter Monica http://http//youtu.be/GcMVh24kYZY

Clip of Homily by Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan http://youtu.be/gcsw5U5fTTs

Litany of Saints http://youtu.be/2_2cSH6I7f8 Ordination of 4 more deacons in Sarasota http://youtu.be/2_2cSH6I7f8

Laying on of Hands http://youtu.be/nHNR3MKPyZ8

Deacon Ordination, Stole, Gospel Book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwrxGfZAAqE

Presentation of New Deacons to Assembly http://youtu.be/NjWGJlFKDPk

New Deacons Set Table/Prepare Altar for Eucharist http://youtu.be/ONvOB73WCkQ

Liturgy of Eucharist/Deacon Ordination http://youtu.be/tIUjPdtL8NY

Prayer after Communion http://youtu.be/W2DJpV7pCp0

Deacon Ordination: Recessional http://youtu.be/D6GyHkv7MXc

Sign the Petition in Support of Fr. Roy Bourgeois- Link

http://www.womensordination.org/component/option,com_chronocontact/chronoformname,form/

Roman Catholic Women Priests Invite You to Stand With Fr. Roy Bourgeois to Resist Vatican Oppression and to Proclaim Equality for Women in the Church

You are Invited to Stand With Fr. Roy This Friday Outside the Vatican Embassy
WHERE: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008-3610
WHEN: Friday, April 8, 2011, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM RSVP on Facebook or kconmy@womensordination.org.

Vigil Sponsored by Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Call To Action, Roman Catholic Womenpriests -USA, Women's Ordination Conference

The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World 1965 (Gaudium et Spes) states clearly that women and men are equals: "All women and men are endowed with a rational soul and are created in God's image; they have the same nature and origin, and, being redeemed by Christ, they enjoy the same divine calling and destiny; there is here a basic equality between all, and it must be accorded ever greater recognition. " Sadly, the Vatican and hierarchy in 2011 ignore their own authortative teaching. The call for the full equality of women in church and society is the voice of God in our times and one that the Second Vatican Council affirmed. Roman Catholic Women Priests are visible reminders that all women are images of the divine. I wonder if this is the reason, the Vatican is a state of panic over the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. The threat to dismiss Fr. Roy Bourgeois from Maryknoll is a last ditch effort to stop the movement of the Spirit for the full equality of women in the Catholic Church. Like Rosa Parks, who refused to sit in the back of the bus, women in the church today will not accept second class membership any more. We call all to join us in solidarity for justice for women in our church. Jesus calls us not to be afraid. Let us step forward in courage and support Fr. Roy and all those who face the wrath of the Vatican! Bridget Mary Meehan RCWP Roman Catholic Women Priests Association http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

April 2nd, 2011 Ordinations of 4 more Deacons by Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

Roman Catholic Women Priests Statement of Support for Maryknoll Priest Roy Bourgeois

Media Release Roman Catholic Womenpriests USA Inc. and Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Contact: Barbara Zeman: 312-305-1053 elke@rcn.com
Suzanne Theil: 503-784-3330
suzthiel@yahoo.com
Janice Sevre-Duszynska: 859-689-4247 rhythmsofthedance@msn.com
Bridget Mary Meehan: 703-505-0004, sofiabmm@aol.com

Roman Catholic Women Priests stand in solidarity with Fr. Roy Bourgeois. We challenge Maryknoll and the Vatican to support Fr. Roy’s prophetic stance rather than dismiss him from his order. Edward M. Dougherty, the Superior General of the Maryknoll order has given Fr. Roy fifteen days to recant his public support of women’s ordination or face dismissal from the order and laicization, labeling support of his sisters in ministry as “contumacy” and accusing him of giving “grave scandal” to the Christian faithful. The behavior of the Maryknoll order and of Fr. Dougherty stand in stark contrast to the Erie Benedictine sisters and their superior, Sr. Christine Vladimirov, who stood behind Sr. Joan Chittister in 2001 when she was directed to refrain from speaking at the first worldwide conference held in support of women’s ordination. When threatened with penalties for disobeying the directive not to speak, Benedictines wrote to the Vatican saying that whatever punishment the Vatican meted out to Sr. Joan should be applied to all of the sisters. The Vatican backed down. It is time for all to speak truth to power! Roman Catholic Women Priests urge everyone of good will to stand with Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a true champion of justice for all. Regardless of personal consequences, he refuses to be cowed by men who support an unjust law that knowingly and persistently discriminates against half of the Body of Christ. He sees the face of Jesus in his sisters. Roman Catholic Women Priests are at the forefront of a model of service that offers Catholics a renewed priestly ministry in vibrant, grassroots communities where all are equal and welcome. As we watch the closure of parishes in a scandal-ridden Church with a shortage of priests, we remain committed to model Jesus and the inclusive Gospel message. Our ordinations are valid because we are ordained in the line of apostolic succession within the Roman Catholic Church. We recognize and claim our right to full equality as members of the church who are entitled to all seven sacraments. The time for asking permission is over! We challenge and have broken Canon Law 1024. This unjust law discriminates against women. The continued refusal to recognize women's calls to priesthood is an issue of sexism, oppression and gender discrimination. The time for renewing our beloved Church is now! The voice of the Catholic people----the sensus fidelium---has spoken. Catholic people accept us as their priests and continue to support us as we grow from the seven bold women first ordained on the Danube River in 2002 to over 100 worldwide. Ordained women now minister in over 25 states. We are here to stay. We are not going away

Dr. Patricia Fresen: Prominent Roman Catholic Woman Bishop Will Speak in Sarasota on April 9th, 2011, "Transformed by Compassion"

As part of U.S. tour-- Roman Catholic Woman Bishop and Theologian to speak on "Transformed by Compassion" Sarasota, Florida –

Roman Catholic Bishop Patricia Fresen, one of three bishops ordained by a male Roman Catholic bishop with apostolic succession, will deliver a lecture at St.Andrew United Church of Christ on Sat. at 4:00 PM.

Bishop Fresen, who was involved in helping to end apartheid in South Africa, will show that compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Releasing the energy of compassion into our world is possibly the most important calling each of us has, whoever we are and whatever our life situation may be. The principle of compassion is at the heart of all religious traditions and is a spiritual resource for healing polarization. A Dominican sister for 45 years, Fresen was ordained as a Catholic bishop in 2005. After teaching in convent high schools, Fresen moved to Rome, studying theology at the University of St. Thomas and at the Gregorian, where she earned a Licentiate in Theology. She has served on the faculty of the National Seminary in Pretoria and the Catholic University in Johannesburg, and earned a doctorate in theology at the University of South Africa. When Dr. Fresen was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2003, she was forced to leave the Dominicans and leave her position at Catholic University. She also moved to Germany, where she lives today and serves as theologian and advisor for Roman Catholic Women Priests Worldwide. Fresen’s visit is sponsored by Mary Mother of Jesus Catholic Community in Sarasota.

Location: St. Andrew United Church of Christ, 6908 Beneva Rd. Sarasota, Florida 34238,
April 9th, 4 PM -5:30 PM.

Her talk will be followed by a liturgy of Mary Mother of Jesus Catholic Community at 6:00 PM
For more information, email: Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP at sofiabmm@aol.com, 941-955-2313

Roman Catholic Women Priests Association: Ordination of 4 More Deacons/ Homily "Let's Shine a Light on Justice and Equality for All"

By Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

Today, let’s shine a light on justice and equality for all. Today, Diane Dougherty of Newman, Georgia, Adele Jones of San Antonia, Texas, and Miriam Picconi and Wanda Russell, both of Palm Coast , Florida are being ordained as deacons by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. They are walking into history in solidarity with our sisters and brothers throughout the world who are rising up to shine a light on human rights. Women’s rights in the church are human rights. Our motto is justice for all, justice for the poor, justice for women, and justice for women in the Catholic Church. Like the blind man in the Gospel, RCWP have been “thrown out’ of the Temple. In July 2010, the Vatican placed Roman Catholic Women Priests in the most serious crime category, “delecta graviora”, right along with the pedophiles. The only difference is that the Vatican excommunicated the women priests, but not the pedophiles. This week we learned that the Vatican is pressuring the Maryknoll Order to dismiss Fr. Roy Bourgeois for his support of Roman Catholic Women Priests. Perhaps, the response of the Pharisees fits the Vatican too: “You are not calling us blind, are you?” Sadly, our religious leaders are blind to women as equal images of the divine. Jesus challenges us, including the Vatican, as he challenged the religious leaders long ago, not to limit God. The Holy One of Endless Surprises is not bound by man-made rules, like canon law #1024, which mandates only men can be ordained. No matter what punishment the Vatican metes out to our movement, RCWP are blessed beyond measure as more candidates come forward to join us. Adele Jones, who will be ordained today decided that the latest Vatican punishment was the last straw. So that is why I say, the Vatican is the gift that keeps on giving! In the Hebrew Scripture today, we read that Jesse presented seven of his eight sons but God chose only David, the one Jesse did not present. The lesson is clear no one can control God’s call. Unfortunately, the Vatican does not get it! The institutional Roman Catholic Church limits God’s call to men for ordained ministry. But now a new day is dawning, God is calling women to a renewed priestly ministry in which we see our world with the eyes of the heart, listen to and affirm women’s and men’s experiences, share our experiences as women, promote women’s rights as human rights in all areas of life and society. Who are the pope and hierarchy to say that men only have a call to priestly ministry? The Pope and hierarchy cannot limit God’s call with religious decrees, and rules like canon law. If they do, they will remain blind? As St Paul reminds us we are called to live as children of the light. This means that in Christ, we are the light. We are called to reflect the Christ vision of Gospel equality in our thoughts, words and actions. Like Rosa Parks, who refused to sit in the back of the bus, Roman Catholic Women Priests demonstrate by our actions of prophetic obedience to the Spirit that an unjust law must be broken in order to be changed. We are disobeying an unjust law that discriminates against women. Sexism is the root cause of the institutional church’s exclusion of women from priesthood. The Vatican teaches that it has no authority to ordain women priests as if God is suddenly impotent before women. This discrimination against women contradicts the Second Vatican Council document, The Church in the Modern World that states “Every type of discrimination… based on sex is to be eradicated as contrary to God’s intent.” The tragedy is that sexism is a major factor in the physical, emotional and spiritual abuse of women and too often leads to violence against women worldwide. In 1975, an international group of Catholic Scripture scholars, the Pontifical Biblical Commission, concluded that the ordination of women could not be excluded on the basis of Scripture. The church’s ban on women priests contradicts its own scholarship. In the Gospel Jesus calls us to shine the light of justice, equality and love on all: to see with the eyes of faith, to contemplate God’s call anew with a fresh spiritual vision. Jesus demonstrated Gospel inclusiveness because he chose women and men from the margins and from the–in group to be his disciples. According to all four Gospels, Mary of Magdala was the only one who was present at both the cross and tomb. The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala and called her to “go and tell” the good news to the others. For centuries, Mary of Magdala was known as the apostle to the apostles. Therefore, it is time for the institutional Catholic Church to follow the example of Jesus and treat woman as equals in all areas of church life including ordination to the priesthood. According to scholars Gary Macy, Ute Eisen, and Dorothy Irvin, women served as deacons, priests and bishops in the early church’s history. There is a fresco depicting a woman deacon and a bishop laying hands on a woman priest in St. Priscilla Catacomb in Rome. Apparently the Pope and hierarchy have not seen it! Perhaps, we should suggest a pope mobile tour of the many tomb inscriptions, mosaics, and frescoes of ordained women leaders in Rome and Southern Italy. Then, will the light dawn on them as it did at St. Paul’s conversion?! Remember, there is always hope! It gives us great joy to share that The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is shining a light for justice and equality for women in South America. On March 20, 2011, I ordained Martha Lulita Soto a priest at an ecumenical center for justice and peace in Latin America. The priest director who welcomed us, pointed to the large painting behind our makeshift altar that revealed haunting faces of the many women and men who were killed during the time of holocaust in war zones as indigenous farmers protected their land. Many nuns, priests, missionaries and lay ministers were among them. In this sacred space, the first Latin American woman was ordained. As Martha stepped forward to serve her people as a priest, our movement joined in solidarity with the holy people of Latin America who had given everything in the pursuit of justice and human rights as a constitutive dimension of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are on a long march to freedom from sexism in our church with the wind of the Spirit at our backs. Let us rejoice that inclusive women priest led communities are shining a light for justice and equality. People are responding enthusiastically to the birthing of a renewed Catholic Church that is open, inclusive and ecumenical, where all are always welcome to receive sacraments. Some of our grassroots communities have partner priests, married priests serving vibrant communities. Some minister in an ecumenical setting like Mary Mother of Jesus here at St. Andrew and Good Shepherd Ministries in Ft. Myers, a ministry to the homeless and poor supported in part by Lamb of God Episcopal-Lutheran Church. Our women in the Association of RCWP serve communities on the margins, the homeless, Gays, Lesbians and Transgendered, hospitals and hospices, peace and justice ministries and elder care. Our goal is to serve in a renewed priestly ministry united with the people with whom we serve. The following are a few more hopeful signs that the light of justice and equality is growing stronger, like the stars that suddenly appear and glow in a night sky: - Roman Catholic Women priests began with 7 brave women in 2002 who were ordained on the Danube, we are now approximately 120 and growing. - - After our ordination in South America, we met with five women who expressed interest in our movement. They have years of experience as pastoral leaders serving the poor. - –Some of our brother priests are indeed co-celebrating with us. For example Oblate of Mary and peace activist Karl Cabot co-presided with one of our women priests, Janice Sevre Dusynska at the Catholic Worker retreat in Chicago last spring. And, Franciscan peace activist Jerry Zawada co-celebrated with her at the School of the Americas Watch gathering at Ft. Benning last November. Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois continues to talk up women priests whenever he speaks to grassroots communities. We ask our other brother priests to join us! - Recently, over 200 German theologians signed a public statement that included women priests on the list of reforms needed in the Catholic Church. I wonder how well that recommendation went over with Pope Benedict! – - Bishop Christine Mayr Lumetzberger, one of the Danube 7, who was ordained in 2002, presided at two funerals in Austria with Catholic clergy as co-presiders in a Catholic Church. - We heard that a Latin American Archbishop responded to a young woman’s question about women priests stated that the groundwork was being laid and that she could see it in her lifetime! Now it is time to let the light of justice and equality shine for all who are here to support our ordinands today: Today we rejoice that courageous women, like Adele, Miriam, Wanda and Diane, are pastorally prepared to serve as deacons from years of experience serving the people of God in grassroots communities. My sisters, you are crossing the church’s line to let the light of justice and equality shine for all. You are breaking an unjust church law, not to LEAVE the church you love, but to LEAD our beloved church into a new era of justice and equality for women in the church. You will be excommunicated. Like St. Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake for following her conscience, and later canonized by the church who had earlier condemned her, Adele, Miriam, Wanda and Diane, you are following your consciences. When questioned whether one had an obligation to obey the church, St. Joan of Arc, replied that we must obey God first. Obeying God always trumps obeying the Pope or Church Law. Let us rejoice that Pope Benedict canonized two excommunicated nuns, Mother Theodore Guerin from the United States and Mother Mary MacKillop from Australia. One could claim that our pope has made excommunication a new fast tract to canonization! Vatican II reminds us of the primacy of conscience. According to official church teaching “the final authority in any moral decision-making must always be one’s conscience, even if said decision is contrary to church teaching. (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes GS 16,41) Together with the man born blind, let us affirm the Christ-vision that opens us to limitless possibilities as prophetic witnesses to the Gospel. Today, Miriam, Wanda, Adele and Diane, God is doing magnificent things in our midst as your consecrate yourselves as deacons, women of faith, in service of God’s people in renewed, vibrant Catholic communities. Bridget Mary Meehan, D.Min., a Sister for Christian Community, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 31, 2006. Dr. Meehan is currently Dean of the Doctor of Ministry Program for Global Ministries University, and is the author of 20 books, including "Praying with Women of the Bible”, and “Living Gospel Equality Now”. She presides at liturgies in Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community in Sarasota, Florida and in N.VA. She was ordained a bishop on April 19, 2009. Dr. Meehan can be reached at SofiaBMM@aol.com. The website: www.association of romancatholicwomenpriests.org