An Open Clergy Rebellion in Austria's Catholic Church, 40 Priests in Kenya Defected Over Celibacy

http://www.worldcrunch.com/open-clergy-rebellion-austria-s-catholic-church/3652
"Hundreds of Austrian priests are challenging the standing leadership of Pope Benedict XVI and the local bishops, demanding modern-day answers to issues like communion for divorced people, women in the church hierarchy, and the taboo of priests who have a partner and children.
The 300-plus supporters of the “Priests’ Initiative” have had enough of what they call the Church’s “delaying” tactics, and they are advocating pushing ahead with policies that openly defy current practices. These include letting non-ordained people lead religious services and deliver sermons; making communion available to divorced people who have remarried; allowing women to become priests and to take on important positions in the hierarchy; and letting priests carry out pastoral functions even if, in defiance of Church rules, they have a wife and family."

Kenya: 40 Catholic Priests Quit Over Church Celibacy Rule
http://allafrica.com/stories/201108251341.html
25 August 2011
"MORE than 40 priests have in the last two years defected from the Catholic Church in Kenya seeking freedom from celibacy. The priests have joined the Ecumenical Catholic Church headed by Bishop Geoffrey Shiundu who also quit the Catholic church after he married against rules of priesthood."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
The Vatican is facing a huge crisis-- a holy shakeup- not only from the clergy in Austria, Kenya and Ireland but also from Catholics in the pews who support women priests and an end to mandatory celibacy. The full equality of women in the church is the voice of God in our time.
Let us rejoice in this prophetic rebellion by the clergy in Austria, Kenya ,Ireland and elsewhere. Jesus was a rule breaker who challenged the religious leaders of his time to live God vision of justice and inclusive, compassionate love for all especially those who were poor and oppressed.
These prophetic priests, like Jesus, are calling for inclusivity, justice and equality in our church. Like Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois, these priests are breaking the man-made rules of the Catholic Church in order to according to the Spirit and serve the spiritual needs of the people of God. They are inviting their sisters, women in the church, to take their rightful places as partners in the Gospel. Brava! While the Vatican is going to initiate a new Roman missal that uses exclusive language and some bishops are dismissing altar girls, the Austrian priests are a welcome holy shakeup - a revolution indeed! May many others follow!
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

O'Malley Puts Down New Marker On Abuse Crisis/NCR

http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/omalley-puts-down-new-marker-abuse-crisis

"...On Thursday, O'Malley announced that, after "serious and thoughtful consideration and prayer," he was releasing a list of Boston priests and deacons who have either been found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor, or publicly accused of such abuse. The names have been organized into a searchable format, available on the archdiocesan web site. Each entry includes the cleric's current status (suspended, laicized, etc.) and a link to his assignment history. In tandem with the launch, O'Malley issued a detailed seven-page letter explaining the reasoning underlying his decision."
See the full list here: Publication With Respect to Archdiocesan Clergy Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Child.
O'Malley also published a separate list of priests who have been publicly accused but later exonerated, either because the archdiocesan review board found the charge to be unsubstantiated, or because the priest was acquitted in a canonical trial.
While most of the information has already been released by the archdiocese in one form or another, it's never been centrally collected or made user-friendly.

Bridget Mary's Reflection:

Finally, a major step forward for a U.S. bishop. Let's hope others in the hierarchy including the Vatican follow Cardinal O'Malley's example of transparency and accountability.

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

"Good Event- Bad Event" Joan Chittister's Address at American Catholic Council in Detroit

http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/good-event-bad-event

"....Vatican II gives us all the right to give God’s gifts to God’s work, and to God’s church. Among the great religious orders and congregations of the church, after all, the ideas for Benedictines, Benedict; Franciscans, Francis; Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola; Sisters of Mercy, Mother Catherine McAuley; Sisters of Charity, Mother Elizabeth Seton; Sisters of Loreto, Mary Ward; the ideas for teaching ministry, education of girls, nursing the sick, not to mention peace and nonviolence through Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin -- all came from laity.Point: The church has always needed more than financial capital from the laity. It needs intellectual capital, moral and spiritual capital, again, now and here. It is your name they’re waiting for now, the one right under the names of Moses and Judith, Esther and Joseph and Jesus. You are the voice of today’s church: Speak loudly. You are the fire of today’s church: Burn brightly. You are the hope of the church, now and for centuries to come."

"Let faith impel you. Let love direct you. Let hope be the glue that binds you and courage your eternally enduring Pentecostal flame. You are the good event of the church in what has too often become a bad event time.In the Native American tradition at the time of initiation the elders tell the younger, “As you go the way of life you will see a great chasm -- jump.”When the retreat to yesterday threatens the movement of the Holy Spirit within us all today, this is no time for despair. This is no time to stop. This is the time to jump, move on, begin again."

Ireland Sexual Abuse Crisis: "Cloyne Vicar Says ' Conscience' Prevented Him From Reporting Abuse"/NCR

Cloyne vicar says 'conscience' prevented him from reporting abuse
Aug. 24, 2011
Dennis Coday
A day after retired Bishop John Magee broke his silence on the Cloyne Report, which found that as bishop of Cloyne he did not implement church guidelines on handling clergy sex abuse, his chief lieutenant has confessed that he should have resigned in 1996 because he could not in conscience uphold those church guidelines.
In an Aug. 24 letter to The Irish Catholic, Msgr Denis O'Callaghan, the Cloyne diocese's vicar general and delegate for child protection, wrote that he came to realize that his commitment to the pastoral care of priests conflicted with church guidelines to report clergy abuse to civil authorities.

Bridget Mary's Reflection
What a shock to the people of Ireland and to the world! Another example of the hierarchy protecting priests over vulnerable children who were raped and sodomized by Catholic priests in a global sex abuse scandal that goes all the way to the top in the Vatican.
No wonder Ireland went ballistic and sent the papal nuncio off with a reprimand to the Vatican.
Just what entitles the Vatican to violate civil law and NOT report crimes against children. Conscience?!Is this the behavior that represents Christ and a "pro-life" church that values children as precious and beloved. Of course, every accusation must be investigated and proven, and justice must be done for victims and priests but to cover it up is immoral and illegal.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

"Phoenix Diocese Cathedral Won't Allow Girl Altar Servers" by Michael Clancy/Arizona Republic/More Vocations for Women Priests

Girls no longer will be allowed as altar servers during Mass at the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, SS. Simon and Jude.
The Rev. John Lankeit, rector of the cathedral, said he made the decision in hopes of promoting the priesthood for males and other religious vocations, such as becoming a nun, for females.
Made up primarily of fifth- through eighth-graders the altar-server corps in American churches has included girls since 1983 in many places. Girls and boys regularly serve together at churches throughout the Phoenix Catholic Diocese.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/08/21/20110821phoenix-catholic-diocese-girl-servers.html#ixzz1VmmAd6RI

Bridget Mary's Reflection

The bad news is that the institutional church is headed back to pre-Vatican, some would say medieval times. The good news is that girls are welcome to serve at Roman Catholic Women Priest liturgies!

1. In our world today, gender equality is a major issue. It is time for the Roman Catholic hierarchy to stop treating women as second class citizens. Like Rosa Parks who refused to sit in the back of the bus. Catholic women will no longer put up with discrimination. Sexism is a sin against God and our church, the people of God.

2. By our baptism girls and women are equals in Christ and, therefore, should be able to receive all the sacraments. Jesus did not ordain anyone. If the church does not treat girls and women as equals, it should stop baptizing them. What's next 'churching" women after childbirth?!

3. The Pontifical Biblical Commission in 1976, the Vatican's own scholars, confirmed that there was nothing in scripture to prevent women from being ordained.

4. A call to serve as a priest comes from God and the community, not from the hiearchy. (Check out Council of Chalcedon).This is another example of clery fear, some would say, paranoia--- that girls who serve at the altar may become priests. On the other hand, this could be another bonanza for women priests as girls realize that there is a path toward gender equality in the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. As an issue of justice, women are being ordained in the same way as men to serve in a renewed priestly ministry within empowered communities of equals.

5. The good news is that the hierarchy/Bishop of Phoenix is the gift that keeps on giving. Rigid Catholicism is dying, and a renewed, inclusive church is being born where girls and women are equals and all are welcome at the Eucharistic Banquet.

Let us rejoice!

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

A Day in the Life of a Woman Priest: Judy Lee, ARCWP, Ft. Myers, Florida

I have begun a part-time job as Chaplain to Our Mother's Home, a home for teenage girls and their babies. There are five girls there now, 15-17 and four little ones(3 mos-four years) and 3 on the way. I think the capacity is 8 girls with children. I spent Tues hearing and reading their stories and my heart was moved with compassion and upheaval at the pain they have already endured.

OMH was started by a very dear member of the RC parish that I used to attend. (In fact, I ministered to her husband after her death as he was placed in a Nursing Home). It was intended to remain under RC auspices, but somehow(probably for survival issues) got given over to the State agency for children and families, so all of the girls there are in foster care too. Yet, our Loving God kept Her hand there and the President of the Board and the present Board members and the Director all have strong Christian identification and because of my dual qualifications (Pastor and Clinical SW license) they can hire me to " counsel and bring God to these girls". (Group meetings every 2 weeks and individual meetings as needed).

They started with me giving a Bible Study about a month ago: I chose the theme of How much God loves you, and calls you by name". The work per se began last night with what is a mixed purpose kind of group and mixed media as well. The important thing is their real sharing and learning in their hearts Mother-God responses. The most beautiful part of the meeting for me is their prayers when we pray together and this moment: I put out a lot of art materials in the eginning and they were eager to color. I gave them empty paper but only one used it-writing the name she has chosen for her baby in glitter.

The theme was fears vs. hope and the fears were many and the hopes few. The coloring picture I found for hope was a Christmas candle called the Candle of Hope with Mary holding the baby Jesus as they looked lovingly at one another superimposed. After a time of laughter and introductions,they worked on the picture quietly as we talked about their fears and hopes. I then softly and gently but with emphasis/emotion read them the 23rd Psalm as they sort of laid across the table with their coloring. As I read: "surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life..." I could literally see them take in that love and relax in God's arms. When I finished they looked up in such a rare moment of peace. I told them what I saw and they said I was right, they could feel God's love right there.

It was beautiful, and by the way, none had ever heard the 23rd Psalm before this. I then moved to the hope of Mary and the newborn baby Jesus, the Hope of the world-and of them and their babies as hope as well. This opened the sharing of their hopes for themselves and their babies. They moved from defining themselves as "bad" to "giving birth to hope". AMEN!

Please join me in praying for these girls and their babies.

Judy Lee, ARCWP

Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Grassroots Resistance to New Roman Missal/ Bishops' "Double-Speak" Over New Missal/Article in The Tablet

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogsub.php?id=166&ti=18

"A grassroots resistance seems to be growing
among ordinary Catholics who are deeply concerned
at the impact this new translation will have on their
Sunday Mass. ...The flagrant misuse of power involved in the new
translation of the Roman Missal is not just about its
pastorally disastrous kind of language. It is also about
the serious disregard for Vatican II's teaching on
collegiality in the process leading up to the New
Missal... This new Missal has provoked widespread dismay
and disquiet, especially among many clergy, fearful
of its negative impact on parishioners. For instance,
in January of this year the eminent US liturgical scholar,
Anthony Ruff OSB, withdrew from a commission given
him by the US bishops to help prepare people for the
new translation of the Roman Missal in dioceses
across the US. In his letter of withdrawal he wrote:
"...my involvement in that process, as well as my
observation of the Holy See's handling of scandal,
has gradually opened my eyes to the deep problems
in the structures of authority of our Church. The
forthcoming Missal is but a part of a larger pattern
of top-down impositions by a central authority that
does not consider itself accountable to the larger
Church. When I think of how secretive the translation
process was, how little consultation was done with
priests or laity ... "

IRISH PRIESTS ASSOCIATION -

PUBLIC OPPOSITION TO NEW ROMAN MISSAL

"On 3 February the

Irish Association of Catholic Priests (ACP)

issued a press release entitled "New Translation of the
Missal Unacceptable". They described the texts as
"archaic, elitist and obscure and not in keeping with
the natural rhythm, cadence and syntax of the
English language" and say: "from the few available
samples of the new texts, it is clear that the style
of English used throughout the Mass will be so
convoluted that it will be difficult to read the prayers
in public." Moreover, they continue: "It is ironic that
this Latinised, stilted English is being imposed on
Irish people who are so blessed with world-renowned
poets, playwrights, and novelists." They ask the
bishops to follow the German bishops, who have
objected to similar texts being imposed on them
and urge them to defer the Missal's introduction for
five years to give them time to "engage with Irish
Catholics with a view to developing a new set of texts
that will adequately reflect the literary genius and
spiritual needs of our Church community in these
modern times".
Two years earlier, an article appeared in America
(14 December 2009) entitled What If We Said, 'Wait'?
The case for a grass-roots review of the new Roman
Missal, by Fr Michael G. Ryan. He spoke out of his
experience as pastor of St James' Cathedral, Seattle,
since 1988 and board member of the national
Cathedral Ministry Conference. He tells of the
reactions of "disbelief and indignation" of his friends
to some of the translations; and of "audible laughter
in the room" at a diocesan seminar for priests and
lay-leaders. ..He also notes that when the new translations were
mistakenly introduced ahead of time in South Africa
they "were met almost uniformly with opposition
bordering on outrage". Fr Ryan makes a gentle
"What if?" challenge to his fellow priests:
"What if we, the parish priests of this country who
will be charged with the implementation, were to
find our voice and tell our bishops that we want to
help them avert an almost certain fiasco? What if
we told them that we think it unwise to implement
these changes until our people have been
consulted in an adult manner that truly honors their
intelligence and their baptismal birthright? What if
we just said, "Wait, not until our people are ready
for the new translations, but until the translations
are ready for our people?...."

Pope Arrives in Spain Amid Censorship Controversy: Word Youth Day 4: Condoms for Life Campaign

For Immediate Release
18 August 2011
Media Contact:Adrianne Burke+1 202 986 6093
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/

Pope Arrives in Spain Amid Censorship Controversy
International Youth Coalition Seconds Archbishop’s Affirmation of Freedom of Expression
The World Youth Day 4
All coalition welcomed the remarks from Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez of Toledo, Spain, who pointed out that the Catholic World Youth Day celebration is taking place in a country where freedom of expression is protected.“Spain’s openness to freedom of expression is something Catholics for Choice took for granted when we arranged, months in advance, for the display of our Condoms4Life ads in Madrid’s transit system to coincide with World Youth Day,” said Marissa Valeri, a lead organizer of the coalition. “We were surprised, then, when the message ‘Good Catholics Use Condoms’ was deemed too offensive for Madrilenos.
In reality, the best interests of the public was not the issue. Instead, it was a move made by ultraconservatives to stifle the many diverse voices of Catholics at World Youth Day, which should be a place where, as Archbishop Rodriguez affirmed, ‘we can all say what we want to say.’The municipal authorities did a disservice to all visitors and to all Spaniards by stepping between the life-giving message that condoms save lives, on the one hand, and the individual’s right to make up his or her mind about that message, on the other.”
Condoms are apparently not the only topic that is too hot to handle in Madrid this August. Patrons at the Madrid public library have allegedly complained they were unable to access Web sites providing information on protests being organized against World Youth Day.One of the hallmarks of the Catholic tradition is unity in diversity. Like the World Youth Day 4
All coalition, the event itself is made up of participants from all over the world, people who may speak different languages and come from different cultures, but who find kinship on the level of faith. The church hierarchy obviously feels that Spain’s respect for freedom of expression gives them room to express their viewpoint—Archbishop Rodriguez even decries those who think that certain points of view are “more right than others.” Spain’s civic freedoms should be able to include the voices of the Catholic people—including those who support the use of condoms—as well as the perspectives of non-Catholics. Otherwise, the “world” part of World Youth Day goes missing, and those from a tiny, easily ruffled minority within the Catholic hierarchy and the Spanish authorities are the only ones celebrating.Luckily, diversity is not so easily squelched—the Condoms4Life message has been making headlines all week (see the blog http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AxOgj16pMQWJXDy5tzeDGGhvZu57AI%2FS
for a roundup of coverage), and pilgrims have encountered stickers and projections on walls around the city.Read the original press release
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7xStzKL%2BrLGuNNRiE8YkxmhvZu57AI%2FS.
Read this press release
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2Bf4auGi%2BzTyGAltKPe46q2hvZu57AI%2FS
on the Catholics for Choice website.###Condoms4Life
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=YdILM%2B%2FL2baddmSsDF3lpmhvZu57AI%2FS
(www.Condoms4Life.org) is an unprecedented worldwide public education effort to raise public awareness about the devastating effect of the bishops’ ban on condoms. The campaign was launched at World AIDS Day 2001 with billboards and ads in subways and newspapers saying, “Banning Condoms Kills.” According to its own figures, the Catholic church provides as much as one quarter of all care to people living with HIV and AIDS. The pope has recognized the value of condoms in the fight against HIV transmission. However, a few vocal, ultraconservative members of the Catholic hierarchy have tried to rewrite the pope’s words, and with them the truth about condom use by Catholics and in healthcare delivery by Catholic organizations across the globe. With this new ad campaign Catholics for Choice stands by the pope’s statements on condoms as an HIV prevention method that saves lives.
Catholics for Choice http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=nL8Mtg3hVcoaIEoRpx0Z3GhvZu57AI%2FS
shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to women's well-being and respect and affirm the capacity of women and men to make moral decisions about their lives.

"Misguided Roman Missal" Gets Poor Reviews/ Coming Soon- Inclusive Worship Aides from Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

COMING SOON: INCLUSIVE WORSHIP AIDES FROM ASSOCIATION OF ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMEN PRIESTS
Don't fret about new Misguided Roman Missal!
Use new worship aides from ARCWP.
Information of our website in Sept. on how to order! www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org
Are you or is your community at their wits end with this new "Misguided Roman Missal" that is coming out in Advent 2011? Then ,do something about it.
1.Use inclusive worship aides for your liturgy.
2. Check out this excellent website on "Misguided Roman Missal. "
http://misguidedmissal.com/wp/

Out of Love for the Church…
"Our Mission
To educate people about the problems with both the process and the product of the 2011 Roman Missal
To call for its immediate withdrawal and/or revision
To call for reconsideration of the 1998 Sacramentary (Missal). "
"Out of Love for the Church…
…we are deeply concerned with the New Missal Translation emanating from Rome.…we believe it is poorly translated, indeed, at times, mistranslated, difficult to speak, let alone comprehend.
…we are deeply concerned with the process resulting in the 2011 Missal Translation.…we believe the process circumvented collaboration and consultation with liturgists, linguists, scripture scholars and theologians and is simply being imposed without regard for the People of God.
…we are deeply concerned with the return to authoritarianism and clericalism implied in the words of the new translation.…we believe the hierarchy has lost sight of who we are as the people of God, who, like them, are called to discipleship... "

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Associationoformancatholicwomenpriests.org
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Showing of "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican" in Lexington, Kentucky/Documentary Producer of Award Winning Film, Jules Hart Spoke

(Left to right) Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP
Jules Hart, film maker,
Donna Rougeux, ARCWP at showing of Pink Smoke
Over the Vatican in Lexington, KY.



Jules Hart and Janice Sevre-Duszynska
at showing of "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican"
in Lexington

Last night about 13 people gathered for supper at my home here in Lexington. They included Jules Hart, the California film maker, and her brother from southern Indiana.

Kay Akers also came all the way from California for this event! With us were two folks from our Cincinnaticommunity, a freelance reporter and longtime friends/supporters of women priests from Lexington.We sat on the deck decorated with flowers from my English cottage garden and "talked shop": what's happening with Roy Bourgeois, the church, local, national and international, and our women's ordination movement.

What a joyful and spirited gathering!We had pulled pork, shrimp soaked in my sister's "Polish brine recipe," fruit salad and delicious "smacznego" potluck that everyone brought. My sister had left on Monday after caring for me during the first two weeks after my surgery.

Donna, who has been a God-send, had been over almost every day helping me get the house in order since I couldn't lift anything. She has walked the diaconate journey by setting up the "Pink Smoke" showing and in her concern and journeywith me. Her husband, Jerry, and his technical expertise, made sure everything went A-Okay with the film showing.

About 50 interfaith folks came to watch "Pink Smoke" in Lexington. They, too, were an enthusiastic audience. Afterwards, Judy introduced me and I Jules and we answered questions from the audience.

I introduced Donna Rougeux and people clapped when they heard she was going to be ordained in September!

For me it was a returning to the church where my ordination took place and where Roy's public stand for women priests took root. Now, three years later from Aug. 9, 2008, the grassroots has risen to support Roy and justice for women in our church!

After we spoke with folks who viewed "Pink Smoke," Donna, her husband Jerry, Kay, Jules and her brother and I returned to my home to celebrate and champagne toast "nazdrowie" to Jules for her tenaciousness and courage in producing the documentary about the struggle for justice for women in our church." We ate Kentucky Derby pie with ice cream and a slice of key lime on the side for dessert.

From Kay Akers, WOC woman from Los Angeles:"Even though I have been to debuts of Pink Smoke 7 or 8 times now, I can never pass up a chance to attend one more. Not only do I get something out of each viewing but the energy in the room is like an adrenalin high. I leave feeling energized, at peace and full of hope for the future. The same way when I am able to attend a liturgy presided over by a woman priest."
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

"The Rebel Feminist Priest" by George Fish

http://inthesetimes.com/article/11836/the_rebel_feminist_priest

The Vatican has nearly kicked Roy Bourgeois out of the priesthood for supporting women's ordination.
By George Fish
August 16, 2011
..."Although Bourgeois is considered excommunicated latae senteniae, i.e., upon commission of the deed, for participating in the ordination ceremony of Sevre- Duszynska, the Vatican did not move to formally excommunicate him and the matter remained in limbo from late 2008 on. But things escalated this year after Bourgeois spoke in February on a panel at Barnard College in conjunction with the showing of the award-winning documentary on women's ordination, Pink Smoke over the Vatican. "
"Bourgeois has repeatedly charged the Church with sexism for refusing to recognize women's ordination to the priesthood, which he considers a "call from God...The First Canonical Warning informed Bourgeois that he had 15 days to publicly recant his support for women's ordination or he would be laicized--i.e., stripped of all his priestly powers and entitlements, including his pension as a Maryknoll priest for 39 years." (A Maryknoll spokesman said in August, however, that Bourgeois would not lose his pension.)
"Bourgeois answered Maryknoll's first letter on April 8, 2011, and the second letter on August 8, 2011. In both, he reiterated his support for women's ordination; his belief that since God made men and women equal in worth and dignity; and that the church was being arrogant and sexist. In his April letter, he stated in regard to the shortage of priests in the Church and the sexual abuse scandal, "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, experiences and voices of women in the priesthood..."
"The Catholic priesthood, Bourgeois says, is an "old boys' club" that wishes to hold onto its power, privileges and prerogatives. He believes that had there been women priests, the priest-pedophilia scandal would not have erupted because such predatory deeds would not have been tolerated..."

Catholic Social Teaching on Economic Justice For All/ Option for the Poor is Biblical and Good Policy

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/081611.html

August 16th, 2011 by Andy Alexander, S.J.

"It will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven."“Who then can be saved?”Jesus looked at them and said,“For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19"
"It seems to me that we tend to forget that Jesus warned us about the dangers of being rich. Much of the world doesn't know the gospel or has forgotten his words about it being as hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven as it is for "a camel to pass through the eye of a needle." Upon really hearing this gospel, all of us are one with his first disciples is immediately asking him, "Then tell us, just WHO can be saved?" Of course, the consolation is that what Jesus really wants us to know is that "for God all things are possible..."
..."What's wrong with being rich? Experience shows us that the more we have, the more energy it takes to maintain the wealth we have. And, it inevitably happens that the more we have, the more we want. And, sadly, the more we have, the more it seems we think we deserve what we have. Of course, there are outstanding exceptions. There are wealthy people who are incredibly generous and who work hard for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, that isn't the way it always works. I find myself most challenged by how Jesus asks us, later in Matthew's gospel, Chapter 25:41-46, to live. It is our mission to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless and care for the sick and imprisioned. That is how we will be judged. It is stunning to me sometimes to realize that much of what I think is important, much of what troubles me, much of what takes up so much of my time, has nothing to do with caring for "the least" of Jesus' brothers and sisters. Too often the "riches" of talents and energies and our place in the world so insulate us from the day to day life and struggle of the poor that we can be seduced into the path that leads to pride, rather than the holy and simplifying path that leads to humility."

Social Justice Teaching of Church in Economic Pastoral:

"There is an outstanding summary of Catholic Social Teaching for our day - well worth reading in its entirety, as a meditation, with amazing relevance for the challenges of today. It is the great economic pastoral, written by the U.S. Catholic Bishops 25 years ago this year. I conclude with just two paragraphs from it. It is challenging and can call us to great conversion. "

16. "All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable. From the Scriptures and church teaching, we learn that the justice of a society is tested by the treatment of the poor. The justice that was the sign of God's covenant with Israel was measured by how the poor and unprotected -- the widow, the orphan, and the stranger -- were treated. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed in his word and ministry excludes no one. Throughout Israel's history and in early Christianity, the poor are agents of God's transforming power. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, therefore he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor" (Lk. 4:18). This was Jesus' first public utterance. Jesus takes the side of those most in need. In the Last Judgment, so dramatically described in St. Matthew's Gospel, we are told that we will be judged according to how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger. As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental "option for the poor" -- to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess life styles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. This "option for the poor" does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are the most vulnerable. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response."
202. d. "The tax system should be continually evaluated in terms of its impact on the poor. This evaluation should be guided by three principles. First, the tax system should raise adequate revenues to pay for the public needs of society, especially to meet the basic needs of the poor. Secondly, the tax system should be structured according to the principle of progressivity, so that those with relatively greater financial resources pay a higher rate of taxation. The inclusion of such a principle in tax policies is an important means of reducing the severe inequalities of income and wealth in the nation. Action should be taken to reduce or offset a disproportionate burden on those with lower incomes. Thirdly, families below the official poverty line should not be required to pay income taxes. Such families are, by definition, without sufficient resources to purchase basic necessities of life. They should not be forced to bear the additional burden of paying income taxes [60].
"Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. EconomyU.S. Catholic Bishops, 1986 http://www.osjspm.org/economic_justice_for_all.aspx
Bridget Mary's Reflection.
Justice is a constitutive dimension of the Gospel. Indeed as Jesuit Andy Alexander points out the Judeo-Christian tradition teaches that God's option for the poor is the heart of religion: "Justice is the sign of God's covenant." Jesus makes his choice for the poor and the marginalized in the Gospels, and makes it clear that we will be will be judged on how we live justice- how we treat the poor and those on the margins of church and society. We are all called to live the option for the poor in every area of our lives and in all our structures and policies as a nation. As people of faith, we need to challenge our politicans to make policies and laws that protect the poor and vulnerable in our society. The super rich, as Warren Buffet rightly pointed out, do not need to be coddled by more tax breaks. Instead we need to make justice for all, including the poor and marginalized, a religious belief that informs our national policy. Then with God's help and our hard work, the poor and most vulnerable will be treated as beloved sisters and brothers and be given the protection and opportunities that they deserve. Then justice will flourish in our hearts and in our land!
Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

"Maryknoll blocks Peaceful Protesters from Public Mass" by Anne Dowling

August 14, 2011—Torrential rain did not discourage twenty peaceful protesters from holding a vigil at the gates of Maryknoll Headquarters in Ossining, NY this morning, nor did the heavy presense of local police and private security forces dampen their spirits. They came from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Syracuse, Binghamton, Scranton, Westchester and the Bronx to call attention to the dismissal of a beloved priest from the Maryknoll Order.

On August 8th, Father Roy Bourgeois was given 15 days to recant his public support of Women's Ordination or be dismissed from Maryknoll. In an official “Canonical Warning” Father Bourgeois was accused of bringing “grave scandal” to the Maryknoll order. Meanwhile, studies show a majority of Catholics approve of allowing women to be priests. Many view it in a practical sense – it would help to alleviate the priest shortage. Father Roy’s supporters ask, how can an organization that promotes peace and justice worldwide turn its back on a member who is the epitome of everything Maryknoll stands for? Father Edward Dougherty, Superior General of the Maryknoll Order, has received a deluge of letters in support of Father Bourgeois. Many are withholding donations to Maryknoll.

The plan was to gather near the Maryknoll Chapel before a 10:30 Mass and invite those entering the chapel to sign a petition supporting Father Roy. They never gained entrance to the grounds of Maryknoll. The entire campus was on lock down with police cars blocking every entrance. Some were told the 10:30 Mass, (confirmed over the phone on Friday to be open to the public), was a private affair. Others were told the 10:30 Mass had been switched to 9:00 am.

The rain continued to drench the peaceful protesters as they assembled in front of the Maryknoll Gate displaying signs such as:”Father Roy is following his Conscience”, “Don’t Excommunicate Roy Bourgeois”, “Women-the answer to our prayers.” After standing vigil for 2 hours, one protestor walked over to the police and security guards and said,” I have an important question.” The men all jumped to attention. She asked, “Is there a diner nearby?” With relief they gave directions to a local eatery.

This same protestor said, “it's a sad day when Maryknoll, known for its good work in the poorest parts of the world, turns people away from attending Mass.” This group of activists says it is determined to give Maryknoll another opportunity to be hospitable soon. Perhaps the sun will be shining.
Anne Dowling

"Bishop in Missouri Waited Months to Report Priest, Stirring Parishioners’ Rage" by Laurie Goodstein/NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/us/15bishop.html

..."But a painfully fresh case is devastating Catholics in Kansas City, Mo., where a priest, who was arrested in May, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of taking indecent photographs of young girls, most recently during an Easter egg hunt just four months ago.
Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has acknowledged that he knew of the existence of photographs last December but did not turn them over to the police until May.
...“All these parishioners just feel so betrayed, because we knew nothing,” said Thu Meng, whose daughter attended the preschool in Father Ratigan’s last parish. “And we were welcoming this guy into our homes, asking him to come bless this or that. They saw all these signs, and they didn’t do anything.”
The case has generated fury at a bishop who was already a polarizing figure in his diocese, and there are widespread calls for him to resign or even to be prosecuted. Parishioners started a Facebook page called “Bishop Finn Must Go” and are circulating a petition. An editorial in The Kansas City Star in June calling for the bishop to step down concluded that prosecutors must “actively pursue all relevant criminal charges” against everyone involved. "

"The Search for the Historical Paul: What Paul Thought About Women" by John Dominic Crossan/ Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-dominic-crossan/historical-paul-gender_b_921319.html

"On the mid-Aegean coast of Turkey, half-way up the northern slope of the Bülbüldag and high above the excavations of ancient Ephesus, is a long, narrow shrine-cave. ..Three characters are identified by name on that fresco. Paul is seated in the middle addressing Thecla to viewer left. She is a virgin -- hence unveiled -- but house-bound -- hence nubile. An elegantly veiled matron, her mother Theoclia, is to viewer right. Both the right hands of Paul and of Theoclia are raised in identical authoritative teaching gestures. Since Paul lacks any halo, my inexpert opinion would date that fresco to the 400s. "

"Patriarchy. One controversy is represented by Theoclia to Paul's left. As noted above, her right hand was originally raised in a teaching gesture every bit as authoritative as that of Paul. But it was later both gouged out and burned off. Furthermore, since only her eyes are obliterated, that erasure was not just general iconoclasm but individual assault. She is represented, in other words, as a woman teaching with authority whose image is then effaced with prejudice. This is simply a visual image of that reactionary post-Pauline and anti-Pauline command that "no woman [is] to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent" (1 Timothy 2:12). "

"That is not, of course, the view of the historical Paul whose letter to the Christian communities of Rome was delivered -- that is, read and explained -- by a woman named Phoebe, an administrator of a house-church near Corinth (Romans 16:1-2). Neither is it the position of the historical Paul who described the woman Junia as "prominent among the apostles" (Romans 16:7) -- an "apostle" is somebody "sent" by God with authority to found new Christian communities. .."

8/13/11- Five “Dougherty’s” - In News This Week by Diane Dougherty

Diane Doughterty, Bridget Mary Meehan,

Janice Sevre-Duszynska (left to right)

8/13/11

Five “Dougherty’s” have been in the news this week, three for criminal behavior and two for questionable behavior. All have challenged existing social systems. The first three are siblings in their 20’s. Society will try the young adults in a court of law for “…. attempted murder of a police officer in two Colorado counties, ….and for shooting at police in Florida, and robbing a bank in Georgia.”

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/12/139588571

The other two are committed to Catholicism and are causing tension and stress on that system as it exists today. One is following questionable external authority,- the other says she is following a long standing internal authority. Both stand on opposite ends of a balance, but will cause others to place their existing systems out of whack. One is following orders from a hierarchy above them; the other is following a well formed conscience that challenges that hierarchy and the pseudo-authority it promotes. Both have deep-seated beliefs that they are acting in good faith. Both have had their names splashed over the globe.

Edward Dougherty is the general superior of the Maryknoll’s, a global religious and missionary community grounded in gospel mandates committed to promote Catholic Social teaching. He is following the Vatican requests by delivering a second canonical warning to one of his brothers, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who advocates for Women’s Ordination. Fr. Roy has refused to recant, forcing Dougherty to give his brother notice that he must get off the gospel tightrope and join the hierarchical status quo. Bourgeois says he is following his informed conscience. If God calls women and they respond, how can the hierarchy say they can’t? The hierarchy is not God. I wonder if Ed feels the Vatican pressure is adding to the community’s mission of being a visible gospel witness of Christ’s mandate to live justly? Or, does he really understand he is being put in that schizophrenic double bind, suspended in the “damned if I act and damned if I don’t “ mode. To me, the very request is an act of psychological terrorism.

Diane Dougherty, that is me, stands with her brother Roy and a growing number of women who belong to the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. We have defied the Vatican’s unjust social teaching and followed the gospel mandate to work toward justice and equality for all within the institution. Sexism and its practices are not part of the gospel mandate-it is just that simple.

In this time, in this age, we stand together making a wedge in the oppressive psychological chain that has caused women of the past to bend and tow under the hierarchy’s thumb.I believe a broad range of Catholics are making a shift unprecedented in any age of human history, and “The Dougherty’s”, whose religious call and passion have stood as candle bearers of the gospel could be the primary cause that shifts the minds and hearts of a broad range of people. Because we do not know our future, we can only ask the question-which Dougherty will prevail-Ed Dougherty, who is following orders that will lead a religious populace to believe God cannot and will not call women to serve; or, Diane Dougherty, who moved 23 years through the Catholic population as a Sister, 23 years in the service of Catholics as committed lay ecclesial minister and now as an ordained deacon?

Roy Bourgeois is a guiding light for Catholics. He is a prophet, like John, bearing witness to a new order. He has seen clearly that God does call women, and by their fruits, you shall know them. The Dougherty’s have thrust the Catholic population in a “Catholic vice” of sorts, as the Vatican turns the screws. The unimagined psychological tension is hurtful for all who refuse to go elsewhere.

It is said the largest religion in America is the Catholic Diaspra, the 33 million Catholics who no longer practice religion, but claim Catholicism as their own. The Pope is satisfied that Catholicism will become smaller and purer. For my part, this translation means it will maintain sexist practices as intrinsic to Catholic Social Teaching.

Clear thinkers, clear prayers, clear people of God will know this is false teaching. A growing number of us will stand firm, choosing the tension and not backing off. By standing firm, all the baptized will eventually be challenged to make their own shift. Only time will tell which Dougherty will tip the balance.

Author: Diane Dougherty

Letter to Fr. Dougherty, Maryknoll Superior General from John Quinn/Support of Fr. Roy Bourgeois

Fr. Ed
I am deeply sorry and angry at your decision to issue the second canonical warning to Fr. Roy Bourgeois MM. I am disappointed that you and the Maryknoll General Council did not exhibit the courage shown by others in leadership positions in men and women's religious orders, especially with regard to the punitive directives that have come from Rome during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II and the CDF under Cardinal Ratzinger. This direction is now continuing under Pope Benedict XVI.
I am a mere stripling of 69, born in Liverpool and baptised Catholic (of the Liverpool Irish as well as the Roman Catholic variety) in St. James, Bootle.
In your letter to Fr. Bourgeois you state that his activities " present a clear act of disobedience of the explicit instructions of your superiors and the warnings from the Holy See." I suspect Fr. Bourgeois would agree with that assessment and I would applaud him for that disobedience. How much of our history is the tale of men and women who chose the path of disobedience to fallible human authorities, even of the papal variety, and obedience to a well-formed conscience. How much of our history is the tale of men and women who challenged the status quo and the oft-repeated statement that we have always done it this way. Many of those men and women were also accused and threatened with disloyalty, with defiance, with causing confusion in the "minds of the many faithful", with "obstinate disobedience", with "grave scandal" are now celebrated in the Sacramentary/Roman Missal whilst their accusers have disappeared.
You state very easily that Fr. Bourgeois directly opposes "the definitive letter of John Paul II in the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" (not as your letter states "Ordination Sacerdotalis") and the CDF statement about this letter. You state this in a manner in which, unfortunately, too many Catholic priests
have made similar statements about many things with the understanding that the statement is followed by a period and not by questions or clarifications. In 2012 you may not have yet understood (after all you did spend a decade in Rome isolated from the ordinary peasants of the real world) that Roma can locuta but that does not mean that the causa is finita. I suspect you are aware of the number of theologians and canon lawyers(and of an increasing number of the hierarchy) and of the quality of these men and women who offer arguments in opposition to the creeping infallibility claimed over the last thirty plus years by JPII and Benedict.
You speak of "Grave Scandal given to the people of God." I am one of those, although resident in Canada, and the grave scandal that effects me is not initiated by Fr. Bourgeois but by popes, cardinals, bishops, religious superiors etc who quote from 4th, 5th and 6th century councils but ignore the work of our great 20th century council and ignore the theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries. With all due respect I believe the late Canadian Jesuit, David Stanley had more to offer the Catholic Church on the role of women than Augustine. I use Fr. Stanley as an example not as a lone voice. The scandal you speak of in your letter to Fr. Bourgeois is better described as "of the small minded" rather than as grave.
Let me finish by sharing a piece, published yesterday, by Leonardo Boff.
There is great disappointment with the institutional Catholic Church. A double emigration is happening: one is exterior, persons who simply leave the Church, and the other is interior, those who remain in the Church but who no longer feel that she is their spiritual home. They continue believing, in spite of the Church.
It's not for nothing. The present pope has taken some radical initiatives that have divided the ecclesiastic body. He chose a path of confrontation with two important episcopacies, the German and the French, when he introduced the Latin Mass. He articulated an obscure reconciliation with the Church of the followers of Lebfrevre; gutted the principal renewal institutions of Vatican Council II, especially ecumenism, absurdly denying the title of «Church» to those Churches that are not Catholic or Orthodox. When he was a Cardinal he was gravely permissive with pedophiles, and his concern with AIDS borders the inhumane.
The present Catholic Church is submerged in a rigorous winter. The social base that supports the antiquated model of the present pope is comprised of conservative groups, more interested in the media, in the logic of the market, than in proposing an adequate response to the present grave problems. They offer a «lexotan-Christianity» good for pacifying anxious consciences, but alienated from the suffering humanity.
It is urgent that we animate these Christians about to emigrate with what is essential in Christianity. It certainly is not the Church, that was never the object of the preaching of Jesus. He announced a dream, the Kingdom of God, in contraposition to the Kingdom of Caesar; the Kingdom of God that represents an absolute revolution in relationships, from the individual to the divine and the cosmic.
Christianity appeared in history primarily as a movement and as the way of Christ. It predates its grounding in the four Gospels and in the doctrines. The character of a spiritual path means a type of Christianity that has its own course. It generally lives on the edge and, at times, at a critical distance from the official institution. But it is born and nourished by the permanent fascination with the figure, and the liberating and spiritual message of Jesus of Nazareth. Initially deemed the «heresy of the Nazarenes» (Acts 24,5) or simply, a «heresy» (Acts 28,22) in the sense of a «very small group», Christianity was acquiring autonomy until its followers, according to The Acts of The Apostles (11,36), were called, «Christians».
The movement of Jesus is certainly the most vigorous force of Christianity, stronger than the Churches, because it is neither bounded by institutions, nor is it a prisoner of doctrines and dogmas. It is composed of all types of people, from the most varied cultures and traditions, even agnostics and atheists who let themselves be touched by the courageous figure of Jesus, by the dream he announced, a Kingdom of love and liberty, by his ethic of unconditional love, especially for the poor and the oppressed, and by the way he assumed the human drama, amidst humiliation, torture and his execution on the cross. Jesus offered an image of God so intimate and life-friendly that it is difficult to disregard, even by those who do not believe in God. Many people say, «if there is a God, it has to be like the God of Jesus».
This Christianity as a spiritual path is what really counts. However, from being a movement it soon became a religious institution, with several forms of organization. In its bosom were developed different interpretations of the figure of Jesus, that were transformed into doctrines, and gathered into the official Gospels. The Churches, when they assumed institutional character, established criteria of belonging and of exclusion, doctrines such as identity reference and their own rites of celebration. Sociology, and not theology, explains that phenomenon. The institution always exists in tension with the spiritual path. The ideal is that they develop together, but that is rare. The most important, in any case, is the spiritual path. This has a future and animates the meaning of life.
The problem of the Roman Catholic Church is her claim of being the only true one. The correct approach is for all the Churches to recognize each other, because they reveal different and complementary dimensions of the message of the Nazarene. What is important is for Christianity to maintain its character as a spiritual path. That can sustain so many Christian men and women in the face of the mediocrity and irrelevancy into which the present Catholic Church has fallen.
I find it interesting and disappointing, but unfortunately not surprising, that nowhere in your missive to Fr. Bourgeois does the name of the carpenter from Nazareth appear. Something to think about perhaps?
John Quinn
johnquinn@cogeco.ca
905-934-9115

"Pope's Costly Spanish Visit Leaves Sour Taste" by Pinky Khoabane / South Africa Times

http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2011/08/14/pope-s-costly-spanish-visit-leaves-sour-taste

"The words "controversy" and "obsence opulence" have dogged the papacy since time immemorial.If it isn't the paedophile priest scandal; the matter of the Catholics whose gender denies them a shot at priesthood; the gays who are not recognised as worthy Catholics; the denial of the value of condoms in slowing the spread of the HIV/Aids virus, it is the dogmatic stance on birth control which has left many parents with children they can ill-afford.So why are we shocked that Pope Benedict's trip to Spain will cost between $72-million and $86-million, excluding his security?...Now, there will be those who are bound to accuse me of being too critical. They will come up with all sorts of excuses for this show of crass materialism in the face of escalating global poverty and a growing divide between the haves and the have-nots...But a closer look at the budget paints a picture of sheer opulence - a 200m-long stage, hundreds of water fountains, 20 giant screens and a giant metal tree at the aerodrome where the pope's final mass of the visit will be delivered.""... The pontiff's silence on a matter of expenditure of this magnitude in the face of so much suffering in the world not only goes against Christianity but also goes against his own views two years ago..."
"In his third encyclical, Pope Benedict reminded us that "charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine". ..."He bemoaned an economy that sought to promote profit as its exclusive goal and thus promoted a growing divide between the rich and the poor.He denounced the view that economics are free from the "influences of a moral character" and highlighted the growing claims to a "right to excess in the affluent societies, while food and water were lacking in certain underdeveloped regions".

Priest for Women’s Ordination Fights His Dismissal By LAURIE GOODSTEIN /NY Times/ Support Fr. Roy - Priest of the People!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/us/11brfs-Priest.html?src=recg

A Roman Catholic priest who is campaigning to open the priesthood to women says he will contest a move by his religious order to dismiss him for his dissent. The priest, the Rev. Roy Bourgeois, said he had retained the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer best known as a whistleblower in the priest sexual abuse scandal, to press the case with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Father Doyle said he would argue that Father Bourgeois had a right to follow his conscience, and that the prohibition on women’s ordination was not an infallible church teaching, despite Vatican declarations. A Maryknoll spokesman said its general council would decide the next step.

Bridget Mary's Reflection

Fr. Roy Bourgeois, priest of the people and prophet of courage, has challenged the Vatican's sexism, its failure to recognize women as equals in our church. What is the Vatican going to do now? Will the pope and bishops declare women's ordination an infallible teaching and in the process undermine their credibility even more? Will the Vatican deny a core church teaching- primacy of conscience?

In the end justice always triumphs.

Women priests are growing in numbers and support from the people and now more and more priests and bishops are jumping on board to support our movement in Ireland, Austria, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Canada, South America, and the United States.

Let us pray that Fr. Roy Bourgeois's courageous witness may continue to inspire many more supporters, including his brother priests, to join the women priests movement for justice and equality in the Catholic Church!

Do I hear an Amen out there across the world?

Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

sofiabmm@aol.com

200 Priests Sign -Express Support for Maryknoll Priest Roy Bourgeois/CTA Link

Fr. Roy and Bridget Mary
at Janice Sevre-Duszynska's ordination
in Aug, 2008

Check out breaking news on CTA's website: www.cta-usa.org

1) 200 priests sign for Roy -- Press Release

2) The story of his second canonical warning

3) Links to both of the New York Times articles .

WUKY: Priest Excommunicated For Kentucky Ordination Faces Dismissal From Order (2011-08-11)

Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Ruth Steinert Foote,
Bishop Dana Reynolds, Janice
Sevre-Duszynska at ordination
on Aug. 9,2008 in Lexington, KY
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wuky/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1839257/LocalRegional.News/Priest.Excommunicated.For.Kentucky.Ordination.Faces.Dismissal.From.Order
LEXINGTON, KY (wuky) - A nationally known priest who participated in a ceremony in Kentucky ordaining a woman is refusing to recant his views despite pressure from his order and the Vatican. Rev. Roy Bourgeois was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church in 2008 for taking part in the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska. Since that time, he's continued his affiliation with Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers but remains staunch in his support for the ordination of women. Mike Virgintino, communications manager for the order, said, "Maryknoll has tried to foster dialogue regarding this issue and now it's come to a time when Maryknoll can do no more." But Bourgeois is still defiant, despite a second canonical warning from the order. Sevre-Duszynska, who continues her work for the church, sees inspiration in Bourgeois' unyielding stance. "Father Roy Bourgeois is a modern day prophet who has been following the primacy of his conscience," she said. A decision on Bourgeois' removal from the order is expected in the next few weeks. Then it would be up to the Vatican to decide whether he can remain a priest. Pink Smoke Over the Vatican, a documentary about the women's ordination movement in the Catholic Church featuring Janice Sevre-Duszynska ,will be screened at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington August 16th.

"Vatican Aims to Regain Trust of US Religious Women," / Vatican in Damage Control Mode/Nuns' Triumph Advances Women's Equality in Church

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-aims-regain-trust-us-religious-women-official-says
Aug. 10, 2011
In the final stage of the apostolic visitation of U.S. women's religious communities, the Vatican congregation overseeing the study not only is facing mountains of paper, but must try to rebuild a relationship of trust with the women, said the congregation's secretary.

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS)

"In an interview Aug. 10 with Catholic News Service, Archbishop Tobin said the congregation hoped its review of the visitation reports and its responses to the participating religious communities would be marked by dialogue and would be a step toward healing..."I'm an optimist, but also trying to be realistic: The trust that should characterize the daughters and sons of God and disciples of Jesus isn't recovered overnight. I think women religious have a right to say, 'Well, let's see,'" he said.
The former prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Franc Rode, initiated the visitation in January 2009, saying its aim would be to study the community, prayer and apostolic life of the orders to learn why the number of religious women in the United States had declined so sharply since the 1960s.
The congregation, which has a staff of 40, including only three native English speakers, will need help reading, assessing and responding to the reports, he said.
One possibility, Archbishop Tobin said, is to ask religious congregations based in Rome to allow U.S. members of their general councils to serve as consultants to the congregation and help go through all the reports.
The fact that Cardinal Rode had decided the visitors' reports would not be shared with the individual communities was only "part of the real harm done at the beginning," Archbishop Tobin said. The situation was exacerbated by "rumors and, I would say, some rather unscrupulous canonical advisers exploited that" by sowing fear that the Vatican would replace the leadership of some communities or dissolve them altogether.
"It's like Fox News, they keep people coming back because they keep them afraid," Archbishop Tobin said.
"But certainly, on our side of the river or our side of the pond, we had created an atmosphere where that was possible," and where the idea that some communities would be closed down "didn't seem to be so outlandish."
"It's like preaching; it's not what you say, it's what they hear ... and what a lot of these women heard was someone telling them their life was not loyal and faith-filled," he said.

Bridget Mary's Reflection
The Vatican is obviously in full damage control in the fallout of their failed witch -hunt like investigation of the nuns. The nuns' prayer-power and holy witness to Christ has overwhelmed the Vatican investigation!
Archbishop Tobin gets that it will take a mighty long time!
Rebuilding trust will demand a Vatican transformation of a patriarchal structure that treats women as second class citizens. An impossible dream! Let's hope not! The Holy Spirit is working in the people of God who support the egalitarian vision of a Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered church, not an all-male boys club!
The Nuns vs. Vatican is not only a tale that vindicates the nuns, but also, a story that promotes the cause of women's equality. In the end, justice always prevails. We are reaching a tipping point for a more open, just, inclusive church. We now have a renewed priestly ministry of women in the Roman Catholic Women Priests' International Movement that reflects the vision of Jesus' love for all in grassroots communities.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
sofiabmm@aol.com
www.associationoformancatholicwomenpriests.org

"Irish Prime Minister Challenges the Vatican and Us" by Thomas Doyle in National Catholic Reporter

http://ncronline.org/blogs/examining-crisis/irish-prime-minister-challenges-vatican-and-us
"Kenny told the Parliament "the Cloyne Report excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism … the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day."
These or similar sentiments have been repeated time and time again by critics of the Vatican's consistently inadequate response to the clergy sexual abuse nightmare over the past two decades.
What is utterly remarkable and undoubtedly an historic bombshell is the fact that they were spoken by the Prime Minister of Ireland before the Irish Parliament. "Read the full text
"This groundbreaking address buries the destructive myth that the institutional Catholic church with its monarchical governing structure is some sort of superior or exalted political entity with self-created rights to subvert the civic order of any society that calls it to accountability for the behavior of its privileged class.
Charlie Flanagan, chairman of Fine Gael, the single largest party in Ireland and lead party in the ruling coalition, framed this in a stark and eye-opening way in his call for the expulsion of the Papal Nuncio: "If any foreign government conspired with Irish citizens to break the law here, their ambassadors would be expelled..."
The Taoiseach repeated this sentiment by reminding the Irish lawmakers and indeed everyone that Ireland is not Rome.
"Nor is it an industrial-school or Magdalene Ireland where the swish of a soutane smothered conscience and humanity and the swing of a thurible ruled the Irish Catholic world. This is the Republic of Ireland 2011. A Republic of laws, of rights and responsibilities…of proper civic order…where the delinquency and arrogance of a particular version…of a particular kind of morality…will no longer be tolerated or ignored."
This is much more than a stirring address to the Irish parliament. It is the voice of a long awaited and sorely needed liberation from the chains of a clericalist control that sacrificed the very ones Jesus spoke out so passionately in defense of. This liberation is essential not only in Ireland but in any state or country where the Catholic church hopes to regain its relevance not as a gilded institution but as a Christian way of life. One can only hope that this momentous breakthrough and long-awaited challenge will be taken up in every other country where children have been violated by the Catholic clergy or religious..."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Ireland is leading the way for other countries to hold the Vatican accountable for the global sexual abuse crisis. The church needs radical reform of the clerical culture that put the protection of clergy above the pastoral care of children and people. We need a renewed priestly ministry within an empowered community of equals that is transparent and accountable.The Vatican cannot act as if it is above the civil law. Canon law does not trump civil law.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

Vatican Summoned Cardinal Policarpo to Rome/Demand Clarification of Endorsement of Women Priests

Policarpo summoned to Vatican for his statements on the ordination of women priests
A cordial exchange between the Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, and the Lisbon Patriarch took place a few days ago

ANDREA TORNIELLI

VATICAN CITY
"The Lisbon patriarch, José da Cruz Policarpo, who during a recent interview stated that “no fundamental obstacle” exists, from a “theological stand point,” to the ordination of women priests had an exchange with the Papal Secretary of State Bertone, after he received a letter from the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith, cardinal William Levada,who invited him to clarify his position. "

This is according an article by António Marujo published by the Portuguese newspaper Publico. The Vatican Insider has also written about it, reporting the clarification published by the Portuguese cardinal.

"It has just been confirmed that the seventy-five year old patriarch of Lisbon, will be serving another two years as leader of the diocese in the Portuguese capital. During a long interview with the monthly publication “OA”, the Portuguese Law Society magazine, discussing the topic of women priests, states that “John Paul II at one point seemed to have settled the controversy.” Reference is made to the apostolic letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis (1994), one of the shortest documents written by Wojtyla, with which the Pope, after the Anglican Communion’s decision to open the ordination of women, confirmed that the Catholic Church would have never done it. "

“I believe,” cardinal Policarpo said, “that the issue cannot be settled in these terms. From a theological stand point there is no fundamental obstacle (to women priests, Ed.); there is this tradition, let’s call it that way; it was never done any other way.”

"In response to the interviewer’s question, intrigued by the cardinal’s statement that no theological reasons exist against the ordination of women, Policarpo answered, “I do not think there is any fundamental obstacle. It is the fundamental equality right of all members of the Church. The problem is rooted in a very strong tradition, which originates from Jesus and the ease with which the reformed Churches allowed women to become priests.”

A few days after, the cardinal disclosed a letter in which he clarified his thoughts, stating that he never “systematically analyzed the matter.” “Reactions to this interview forced me to ponder on the matter with more attention and I realized that, by not paying due attention to the statements of the teachings of the Church on the matter, I helped trigger these reactions.” Policarpo then added, “It would be painful for me if my words were to create confusion in our obedience to the Church and to the words of our Holy Father.”

"Now, the Portuguese daily paper reveals a behind the scenes description of what happened over the past weeks, stating that the Lisbon patriarch was summoned by the Papal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. The conversation took place in Castel Gandolfo in the first half of July, while the Portuguese cardinal was in Rome to participate to a plenary session of the newly formed Papal Council for the new evangelization. Publico writes that Policarpo was treated with extreme kindness “because the Vatican was afraid he would react negatively to a strong reprimand.”

"On July 2, a few days before the meeting with Bertone, Policarpo had received, through a papal nuncio in Lisbon, a letter by cardinal William Levada, prefect of the former Holy Office. According to a testimony obtained by Publico, the letter apparently had him very worried. For this reason, on 6 July, the patriarch wrote a clarification statement. The Portuguese daily paper, however, highlights that this was not the first time Policarpo had made statements of this kind about women priests: however, it was the first time that his words had been reported by the international press. "

"António Marujo’s article provides several of the cardinal’s statements as examples. In 1999, a year after his appointment as Lisbon patriarch of the diocesan center, Policarpo led people to believe that the matter of women priests had not been settled at all and that what was needed, was a period of maturing of the communities and the Church, since today the idea of “women carrying out duties that were unthinkable thirty years ago is now accepted within the Church.”

"On May 2003, in Vienna, the cardinal responded in a similar fashion to a question during a press conference in which mention was made to a letter sent by Pope John Paul II in 1994 and the Congregation’s subsequent clarification of the Doctrine of the Faith. Policarpo explained that in his opinion the matter “is not settled that way; from a theological point of view, there is no fundamental obstacle; there is this tradition, let’s call it that way... it was never done any other way”. In that same interview, the Lisbon patriarch stated that at the present time it was not appropriate to raise the issue because it would have triggered “a series of reactions,” but he concluded saying that “If God wishes it to happen, and if it God’s plan, it will happen.”

Bridget Mary's Refelction

No surprise here! Policarpo summoned to Vatican for his statements on the ordination of women priests

Cardinal Bertone summoned Cardinal Policarpo to the Vatican for some heavy-arm twisting to reverse his supportive statement on women priest.

Sort of like throwing Cardinal Policarpo's miter in the Tiber River. This is another example of bullying by Bertone and Levada. My bet is that Policarpo, a saavy prelate, is biding his time and will not recant on this issue like Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who faces expulsion from his Maryknoll Order because he will not recant his support of women priests.

Perhaps, some bishop or cardinal, who agrees with Policarpo, may simply go ahead and ordain more women priests. Justice and equality for women in our church including ordination is the voice of God in our time.

The good news is that in spite of Vatican punishments and threats, our movement is growing and gaining more support each day. One can say that the Vatican is the gift that keeps on giving! Let us pray that the holy shakeup will continue as Catholics in grassroots communities experience a renewed priestly ministry in our church. At the end of the day, sexism is a sin, and like racism is always wrong. TheRoman Catholic Church should follow the example of Jesus who called women and men to be disciples and equals. The Risen Christ first appeared to Mary of Magdala not to Peter. The Risen Jesus called Mary to be the apostle to the apostles. In Romans, Paul affirms the woman apostle, Junia, as a honored teacher who inspired him by her courage.
Women are not misbegotten males, as the church has taught for centuries. Women are equal images of God by baptism. It is time that the Vatican follows Jesus example of Gospel equality and repents of its sinful discrimination against half its members! The full equality of women in the church is the voice of God in our time.

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/
sofiabmm@aol.com