"Occupy Our Hearts" by Jocelyn A. Sideco/ National Catholic Reporter/Occupy Wall Street Movement

http://ncronline.org/blogs/young-voices/occupy-our-hearts
Occupy our hearts
By Jocelyn A. Sideco
Created Oct 06, 2011
"...Recent days have proven that Wall Street and corporate greed have pushed Americans to their limit. And now, many are protesting saying, “We are the 99 percent who will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent...
....Occupy Wall Street is for today’s generation what School of Americas was for folks 10 and 20 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I am not denying that School of the America’s is still a big issue. I would just suggest that there are formative first experiences we all have. And for the Millennials, Occupy Wall Street may be just that. For others, perhaps the Invisible Children (http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ [3]) campaign has moved them to act in an effort to improve the quality of life for all people.
In its third week, Occupy Wall St. called for a college walk-out and got thousands of people to protest. This exponential growth from the handful who pitched tents on Sept.17 tells us something: our quality of life is no longer acceptable.
This growing movement addresses a desire to build community and begs the question: how do we, as people of faith, approach the atrocities that affect us and others in a way that pleads for justice and stands with the least of these?
The United States Catholic Bishops published “Economic Justice for All: A Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy” in 1986. Now 25 years later, their message still rings clear:
“As Catholics, we are heirs of a long tradition of thought and action on the moral dimensions of economic activity. The life and words of Jesus and the teaching of his Church call us to serve those in need and to work actively for social and economic justice. As a community of believers, we know that our faith is tested by the quality of justice among us, that we can best measure our life together by how the poor and the vulnerable are treated. This is not a new concern for us. It is as old as the Hebrew prophets, as compelling as the Sermon on the Mount, and as current as the powerful voice of Pope John Paul II defending the dignity of the human person.” (#8)
The bishops continue to say,
"The needs of the poor take priority over the desires of the rich; the rights of workers over the maximization of profits; the preservation of the environment over uncontrolled industrial expansion; the production to meet social needs over production for military purposes". (#94)
Our community of faith calls us to internalize these words, values, and moral stance so that we can be a life-giving expression of God’s love and care to others today.
For me, I awoke to the needs of the poor when I crossed the line at Fort Benning. For others, they awoke when family members got laid off and could not pay medical bills. Let our hearts and minds be occupied with the needs of the least of these so that our faith can cross the line into acts of justice and solidarity with firmness, confidence, and compassion."
[Jocelyn A. Sideco is a founding member of Contemplatives in Action, an urban ministry and retreat experience that began as a response to the needs in post-Katrina New Orleans and now continues as an online ministry offering spirituality resources for those working for justice throughout the world. Visit http://www.contemplativesinaction.org/ [4] for more information.]

" You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church"

http://publicreligion.org/2011/10/millennials-leave-their-churches-over-science-lesbian-gay-issues/#.To-yMc1umH0.gmail

..." the Barna Group, a Christian-affiliated polling organization, recently completed a five-year project which has morphed into a book called You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church.

The study focused on young adults who were regular Christian churchgoers during their early teenage years, but became disconnected from church life after the age of 15. According to Barna, 59% of young Christians disengage either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life around this age. There was, predictably, no single reason for young adults’ disaffection with the churches where they grew up. But the study managed to isolate six main reasons why Millennials (age 18-29) tend to leave Christian churches as they grow up: a sense that young adults were receiving an unsatisfying or “shallow” version of Christianity, feelings that the church was overprotective, the perception of judgmental attitudes around sex and sexuality, churches’ unfriendliness to members grappling with doubt, the sense that Christianity was too exclusive, and finally, the tense relationship between Christianity and science...."

..."But buried within Barna’s category of “sex and sexuality” is something quite specific: churches’ stances on gay and lesbian issues. Research from earlier this summer reveals that nearly 7-in-10 (69%) Millennials agree that religious groups are alienating young people by being too judgmental about these issues. ..."

Video Interviews by Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Donna Rougeux, and Dorothy Irvin in England-Featuring Scholarship of Theologian John Wijngaards

Jackie, Dorothy, Donna, Janice,
John Wijngaards at "Housetop," John's Center for Womenpriests Ministry,in England ("What I tell you in darkness you must speak in the daylight, and what is whispered in your ear you must shout from the housetops." Matthew 10:27
In the background of the Housetop photo is the new Last Supper painting by Bogdhan Piasecki. It was commissioned in the 90s by the Irish women's ordination group, Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC) after consultation with a Jewish Scholar about the Passover meal.)


(left to right )Janice Sevre Duszynska, Bridget Mary Meehan,
Donna Rougeux - Presentation of the Bible to Deacon Donna

Visit Women Priests Scholarly Web Site:
http://www.womenpriests.org/index.asp

Interview with Theologian John Wijngaards 6-3,
50,000 women deacons ordained in East, published hundreds of scholarly
articles on women's ordination. (rooted in scripture, tradition, including Middle Ages)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z6ez5U8b9Y&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Interview with Theologian John Wijngaards-5 Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92bW9uMRXc

Interview with Theologian John Wijngaards -4-1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Aol_xaNY4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Interview with Theologian and Catholic Priest John Wijngaards who has specialized in Study of Women Priests. (In Celtic Church, there are definite traces of women's ministry, led tank was used to baptize people, women deacons baptized adult women catechumens. see pic. and listen to interview.)

French Priests from Diocese of Rouen Support Austrian Priests Petition for Reform/ Let's Affirm them as Priests of the People, Prophets for Justice

French Radio News (France Info) reporting on the support of French Priests from the diocese of Rouen for the Austrian Priests' petition:

http://www.france-info.com/france-societe-2011-10-07-l-appel-a-la-desobeissance-des-pretres-autrichiens-signe-par-des-567114-9-12.html

Austrian Priests' call to disobedience endorsed by French Priests

October 7, 2011
France Info - 04:42

"Seventeen priests from the Rouen diocese in France have just signed the “Call to Disobedience” launched a few months ago by more than 200 Austrian priests. These men of the Church wish to see it evolve. Among other things, they are seeking the ordination of married men and women, communion for remarried divorcees, and greater integration of lay people into Catholic communities.

This movement started with the call to disobedience launched in June, which so far has been signed by several hundred Austrian priests.

As a group, the priests from Rouen who joined the movement, had issued a public call to French bishops earlier on regarding the desertion of the faithful who no longer recognize themselves in today's Church. This time they hope that the movement initiated by their Austrian counterparts will cause the Vatican to change things around.

In Austria, the mobilization of priests has bishops worried. Cardinal Archbishop Christoph Schönborn has not excluded the possibility of resorting to sanctions, stating, “A public call to insubordination upsets me deeply. Those who abandon the principle of obedience shatter unity.”
So far there has been no reaction from French bishops."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
These priests (from Austria, Germany, France, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere are speaking truth to power in the Catholic Church. They are truly following Jesus's mandate of Gospel equality. They are "priests of the people" and "prophets for justice."
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
sofiabmm@aol.com

Sign Petition To Support Sexual Abuse Survivors - Join in Rome on Oct. 29, 2011

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/survivorsvoice/
Join Us Again In Rome on October 29th.

Its hard to believe that a year has past since our first historic Reformation Day Event in Rome.
Please Join us this year as we Celebrate the Survivor.
This years event is being sponsored by Survivors Voice Europe.
For a look at last years event, please click here Survivors Day 2010
For information on this years event please click here Survivors Day 2011
Thank you for your support and we hope to see you there!.
Sincerely,Gary Bergeron & Bernie McDaid
Survivors Voice Inc

Hierarchy Criticised at Association of Catholic Priests Meeting in Ireland/ Advocate "Married Priests and Women Priests"/Irish Times/Patsy McGarry

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1005/1224305259164.html
The Irish Times - Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Hierarchy criticised at priests' first agm
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent
"THE FIRST annual general meeting of the Association of Catholic Priests was told last night that if people had a vote on such matters church leaders would be swept out of office.
If Irish Catholics had a democratic way of reflecting their feelings “church leaders would suffer a defeat as cataclysmic as that administered to Fianna Fáil in the recent general election”, Fr Kevin Hegarty said.
What was needed was a church which would open its doors to “married priests and women priests”. It would benefit from secular insights like, for example, on human intimacy and democracy, he said. It would work at developing a “healthy and holistic theology of sexuality”.
The Mayo priest said church leadership now seems divided and rudderless. Not since the 19th century “has there been such public disagreement among the bishops. Cardinal Cullen’s Tridentine temple has come tumbling down”.
Fr Hegarty is a priest of Killala diocese who serves in Carne parish on the Mullet peninsula. He was speaking at the gathering in the Green Isle Hotel on the Naas Road, Dublin, where the attendance was put at 300 – including some lay people who wished to give support.
There was “a torpidity about the Catholic Church in Ireland today. .."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Did you ever hear the old Irish joke that nothing good came out of Mayo? Obviously, not true!! Way to go, Fr. Kevin Hegarty, in speaking truth to power to the Irish hierarchy! Get ready for an invitation to the Vatican!
The Irish Priests Association are part of a growing number of priests who are advocating a renewed Catholic Church that treats women as equals and is open to women priests. They are in solidarity with 400 Austrian Priests, 250 German theologians, and 200 U.S. priests who support Maryknoll Roy Bourgeois' stance of primacy of conscience in his support of women priests. It appears obvious the Vatican is the emperor with no clothes on this issue! The church cannot claim to be a just church while treating women as second class citizens. Now, we are witnessing the disconnection and discontent with the institutional church's sexism among the male priests. Like the Wall Street demonstrations, maybe this will have a snowball effect and grow to a worldwide revolt against the Vatican's prohibition of women's ordination! We are experiencing a "holy shakeup" that may lead the church to affirm women priests in a renewed Roman Catholic Church in our life time.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org
sofiabmm@aol.com

"Do I Really Want to Support and Be Associated with an Exclusive Organization?" by John Chuchman

Do I really want to support and be associated with
An Exclusive Organization

that discriminates against married men and women
called to priesthood,

that discriminates and demeans people
because of their sexual orientation,

that names other organizations with similar missions
defective,

that misuses our hard-earned donations,
channeling the monies to suit the needs
of its hierarchs,

that places conformity to its own made
rules and regulations
above Love and Compassion
practiced and preached by Jesus,

that places protection of the organization
above caring for the abused
by protecting the abusers
and perpetuating the abuse of children,

that refuses to address our needs
and the needs of our Children and Grandchildren
in today's real world,
and instead tries to drag us all
back into the middle ages,

that places prime emphasis on
worshiping Jesus
(which He never requested)
and not on emulating Jesus
(which He wished for us all,)

that thinks of religious education
solely for children,
lest adults truly understand the Faith
and see through religiosity,

that is run by its hierarchs
without any sense of
transparency and accountability,

that constantly strives to make us feel unworthy
(in order to control us)
rather than uplifting us
to free us,

that is totally un-Christlike,

and

that makes God male
in order to make males gods?


I don't think so.

What was I thinking!
(I guess I really wasn't.)


Thank God,
Jesus' life and message
had nothing to do with Church,
but everything to do with People,
Life, and Love.


Love, John Chuchman
Catholic by Baptism
which no cleric, Bishop, nor Pope can change

"Fear of Freedom" by Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea, ARCWP

Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea

FEAR OF FREEDOM
"The Truth will make vou free" John 8:32

Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea ARCWP

She was standing in the doorway of the exit from the women's prison, looking; spread out in front of her was the city, with its lights and colors. It was Christmas. Nobody was expecting her; they had just given her the ticket to freedom". She had no where to go. She had been deprived of liberty for 12 years... She had experienced all the unpleasantness that one lives through in a prison. The hardest -the marginalization, the rejection, the lack of affection. In a few short seconds everything passed like a movie through Rosa's brain.; nevertheless, she looks back, and sees the prison building, where she has lived all kinds of improprieties and feels like she wants to go back inside. Rosahas lost the sense of freedom; she is a wounded bird; they have clipped her wings; she has forgotten how to fly. Sheis afraid of Freedom! Where did her self-esteem go? Her dignity? Often she experienced profound depression; her tears have dried up; she looks lost. Her body trembles from headto foot; she has lost weight; she has lost stability. She spoke with the chaplain. She shared her tragedy and disgrace, the blows and injustices as well: "I'll seehow I can help you" was the response of God's representative. Once in a while she saw him around, but he never asked about her. Even the chaplain is afraid to speak out, he doesn't want to get involved; he cannot get past the threat of the loss of his official position. Many others like Rosa are living through the same situation. Depressed, paralyzed by anxiety, a psychiatrist is brought in to "help". Suddenly a cry is heard from the patio: "Come and get your meds!" There are many who approach the nurse, it's a wonder there aren't more. "Open and swallow," says the nurse. They must be taken in front of her, because the full prescription can't be administered. Those who dare, try to alleviate their aches and pains with 250 mg of Valproico or Valprosid. Rosa is about to leave; she is there at the door. She can't go back into the prison. Without knowing where to go, she begins to walk toward "the prison of freedom". A prison that doesn't welcome, give affection or security. It's the ooprison"of society, family and religion, which disdains, condemns, singles out, marginalizes her and receives her with hostility. Suddenly she remembers some friends who have already gotten out and with whom she once lived another reality; she begins to look for them on the street they mentioned and she heads there. What joy! She meets up with Laura and with Maria; at least she is acquainted with them and she has someone to talk to. They share what they have: "Come, you can rcst; tomorrow we'll keep talking" they said to her. Rosa, rested, her friends help her to summon the strength to confront the new prison''. She starts the battle to find housing and work to survive.... No vacancy ,No room, No job,, *Full up", No...No… Those of us who have traveled in the city of Medellin, prideo of Colombia have been able to see through the windows not only the beautiful city, the Festival of Flowers, but also many Rosas camped at the bank of the Medellin River, in the sewers, in improvised canopies beneath the mango trees... Without knowing their stories, we call them: delinquents, or rejects; don't mess with them; they are dangerous.... Thank God, today the Bordado a Mano (Hand-embroidered)Foundation exists, created by a woman who is an ex-convict and who like the hand of God has gone little by little searching out and rescuing her fellow former prisoners from the dregs, giving them the opportunity to recover their dignity and be witness to the Tenderness and Goodness of God, in the project of the Kingdom of God, which is coming to be Here and Now. *THE TAX COLLECTORS AND THE PROSTITUTES WILL GO AHEAD OF YOU II{TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD." Matthew 2l:28-31 Mother/Father God, your forgiveness, I dare to ask: when you say "The tax collectors and the prostitutes" (two words which include the least valued in this world) were you referring to these brothers and sisters of ours? I await your answer and I know that I already have it. Note: Out of respect for the suffering of these women, I have used fictitious names.

Link to "Heart of the Vision" Journey with Janice Sevre Duszynska, Donna Rougeux, Dorothy Irvin in England, Germany, Rome

(left to right:Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Jules Hart, and Donna Rougeux
at showing of "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican" in Lexington Kentucky)

Blessing of Lexington Community on Janice and Donna:
http://www.youtube.com/user/HeartoftheVision
Janice Sevre-Duszynska writes:"We'll meet Dorothy Irvin in London for the 100th anniversaryof ST. Joan's International Alliance. Then to Germany to visit Stuttgart and Hildegarde's place in Bingen. By train we'll travel to Bologna and then Rome where we'll meet Ree Hudson who will stay with us. In Rome we'll gather with Roy, CTA and WOC folks to do some good witnessing.We'd appreciate your prayers. I'll be videoing our journey. " Here is the link to my youtube station: Heart of the Vision.
http://www.youtube.com/user/HeartoftheVision

The Rebel Feminist Priest: Fr. Roy Bourgeois

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

"No Justification for Ban on Women Priests and Deacons" by Dorothy Carter/Kentucky.com

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/10/03/1905855/no-justification-for-ban-on-women.html
..."As to Shaughnessy's claim that excluding women is not sexist, I beg to disagree most strongly. In my life as a "cradle Catholic," I have heard many arguments against the ordination of women, and all of them ring hollow... According to the church, baptism opens up the other sacraments to Catholics. Yet one is excluded. At the base of the refusal to allow the ordination of women, there is without much doubt either a feeling that our souls are defective or that our baptism is of an inferior type.... "Read complete letter by Dorothy Carter of Lexington is a lifelong Catholic and a professor of humanities and foreign languages at Eastern Kentucky University.

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/10/03/1905855/no-justification-for-ban-on-women.html#ixzz1ZqLEeva6

U.S. Churches are "Smaller and Grayer"- Washington Post, Oct. 1, 2011

"In U.S. churches, attendance is down, and the average age of congregants is up.
The percentage of congregations with average weekend worship attendance of 100 or fewer inched up from 42% to 49% over the decade. More than a quarter of congregations had 50 or fewer people attending in 2010...The percentage of congregations with majorities of members from racial and ethnic groups, often including immigrants, grew from 23 percent to 30 percent over the decade. These congregations are disproportionately non-Christian or evangelical Protestant. They also tend to have younger members."

Letter to Editor by Janice Sevre-Duszynska:"Limited View of Priesthood Not Based on Scripture"

(left to right:Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Bridget Mary Meehan
at Ordination of Deacon Donna Rougeux )
http://www.kentucky.com/2011/10/03/1905852/letters-to-editor-oct-3.html


"The Vatican (and representatives of the institutional church) is the gift that keeps on giving," says woman bishop, Bridget Mary Meehan.
In his recent op-ed, as a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Tom Shaughnessy validates her statement. As a woman priest who celebrates weekly Mass in Lexington, be assured there will be more folks at our inclusive liturgy because of what he has written.
Jesus was a revolutionary. The Last Supper was not an ordination. Jesus never ordained anyone. He calls us to a community of equals, with mutuality: a circle, not a hierarchy. He challenged the religious and civil authorities of his time to empower the marginalized, including women.
We're doing the same. Shaughnessy's straight-line Vatican theology is absurd and the church — the people of God — knows that.
In 1976, the Vatican requested its Pontifical Biblical Commission of 20 biblical scholars to explore the issue of women priests. They found no biblical obstacles to women's ordination. Scriptural and archaeological research give evidence of women's leadership in the early church as deacons, priests and even bishops.
The Christ within each of us is beyond gender. Women's rights are human rights. We are claiming the right to stand "in persona Christi" — in the person of Christ — as equals to men.
Who are Shaughnessy and his brother priests at the Vatican to say that God calls only men? Such thinking and behavior is a sin against women and our loving God.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Priest, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Lexington
Read more:
http://www.kentucky.com/2011/10/03/1905852/letters-to-editor-oct-3.html#ixzz1ZjVyD4kr

St. Therese of Lisieux, Called to Priestly Ministry, Pray for a Renewed Priestly Ministry in a Renewed Church

Oct. 1st is the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus. She also was referred to as "the Little Flower" and is a Doctor of the Church. Most people don't know that St. Therese of Lisieux felt called to
be a priest. She prayed for death at 24, the age of ordination, so she could celebrate in heaven at the age men could celebrate the Eucharist on earth.

St. Therese's Words:
"I feel in me the vocation of the priest. With that love, O Jesus I would carry you in my hands... And...give you to souls. Ah, in spite of my littleness, I would like to enlighten souls as did the prophets and the doctors. I have the vocation of the apostle... I would want to preach the gospel on all the five continents simultaneously and even the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages. But above all, O my beloved Savior, I would shed my blood for you even to the ver last drop. Charity gave me the key to my vocation... I understood that the Church has a heart and that this heart was burning with love...I understood that love comprised all vocations and that love was everything, that it embrace all times and places... in a word, that it was eternal! Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my love, my vocation, at last I have found it...My vocation is love!" (The Letters of St. Therese of Lisieux, 2 volumes translated by John Clarke, O.C.D, ICS Publications, Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, Washington DC, 20002, 1982,1988.)

I believe that if St. Therese lived in our time she would be ordained a priest! She would be a prophetic voice affirming Vatican II's vision ..."every type of discrimination based on sex... is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent" (Gaudium et Spes #29)

St. Therese, patroness of all who seek equality for women in ministry, pray for us!

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

Vigil at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Support of Women's Ordination 10/30, @ 12:30 PM

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP Roy Bourgeois, MM
Donna Rougeux, ARCWP (photo taken in Pittsburgh where Fr. Roy
addressed the issue of conscience and his support of the women priests
movement.)

Attention: Supporters of Women’s Ordination and Father Roy Bourgeois,
Maryknoll is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, October 30, 2:00 PM. The mass is opened to the public. Please join us for a peaceful vigil in front of the famous Cathedral in support of women’s ordination and Father Roy Bourgeois beginning at 12:30 PM.
Our goal is to call attention to the Maryknoll leadership’s decision, under pressure from the Vatican, to dismiss Father Roy Bourgeois for the “grave scandal” of publicly supporting Roman Catholic Women Priests. It is outrageous for Maryknoll to use the term "scandal" in reference to Father Roy; we are all aware of the real scandal in the Church. Let’s take a stand against this grave injustice now!
How can an organization that promotes peace and justice worldwide turn its back on this Viet Nam vet turned Maryknoll priest, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, is the founder of the School of the America's Watch, and is the epitome of everything we thought Maryknoll stood for?
We encourage the Maryknoll leadership to examine their consciences as Father Roy has done: "As priests we say we are called by God. Who are we to say that God would not call a woman?"
Our movement is growing and gaining attention. Many members of the Maryknoll community-- priests, nuns and lay missionaries-- have written letters or spoken directly to their superiors in support of Roy, empowered by the public outcry, media coverage and two vigils on the grounds of Maryknoll. Maryknoll has been deluged with mail and many long time supporters are withholding donations.
While we stand in solidarity in front of St. Patrick’s, Father Roy will be in Rome meeting with the Pope to determine his fate. Join with us to stand up for women, for Roy and to encourage the Maryknoll leadership, as they enter their next hundred year cycle, to support the ordination of women, and embrace the future of our Church!
Here's a link to an article in the national Catholic Reporter. The end of this article lists related articles.
NCR Article:Roy Bourgeois

In Solidarity,
Anne Dowling
For more information about the Vigil: Anne Dowling 917 860-1794 annedwl@aol.com
For more information about Father Roy Bourgeois http://www.womensordination.org/content/view/108
http://ncronline.org/news/people/canon-lawyer-questions-maryknolls-move-against-bourgeois

Roman Catholic Woman Priest Olga Lucia Alvarado Ministers in Colombia, South America

Olga Lucia Alvarado, ARCWP ministers in Colombia, South America
Some of the themes of Olga Lucia Alvarado's Liturgical Celebrations were: Violence against women. Domestic violence. Economic violence. Extreme violence. Analysis of the Human Rights vunerable in our country.

Olga writes: "These young people grow up with a different concept to the priestly ministry and who know what they're hearing the women's ministry! I feel I have to release my brothers, so I feel liberated, empowered the laity in the church sense and commitment."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Blessings on you, Olga Lucia, as you minister to faith communities in Colombia. Indeed, you are demonstrating the difference a woman priest makes as you connect violence against women with human rights and the need for justice for all especially those who live on the margins in poverty that is rooted so sadly in structural sin and injustice. Living justice in all areas of life and in all structures is constitutive to the Gospel of Jesus! We in the North will learn from the people in the global South. May you and other courageous women lead the way to prophetic justice in our church and world now!
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://www.associationoformancatholicwomenpriests.org/

"This Is My Blood, Shed For a Few: Phoenix Faces Living On Bread Alone" by Jamie L. Manson/NCR

http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/my-blood-shed-few-phoenix-faces-living-bread-alone

"The last time I wrote about Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, he had just evicted the body of Christ from the chapel of St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Now, it seems, Olmsted is targeting his blood.
Late last week, the bishop announced that he would be placing serious restrictions on the distribution of the Eucharist under the form of wine. His decision isn’t so much about germs, but rather the new GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal), which is to be implemented at the start of the new liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent.
Olmsted clarified his reasons in a handy FAQ posted on the diocesan Web site (http://diocesephoenix.org/


"So many in church leadership easily forget that Jesus offered his final meal in the same way that he took most of his meals: under the most profane of circumstances. Every aspect of his ministry demonstrated that holiness was revealed in touching diseased bodies, or passing out bread and fish to hungry masses, or dining with society’s most unsavory characters.
Given the nature of Jesus’ ministry, what could harm the blood of Christ more than withholding it from God’s people?
Jesus seems to have little to do with any of Olmsted’s new norms. Olmsted’s real agenda is to make a clear distinction between the sanctity of the clergy’s hands and the laity’s unconsecrated, and therefore potentially defiling, hands. The multitude of lay hands, it seems, is starting to make him feel uncomfortably outnumbered..."
"The “excessive use” of extraordinary ministers is “obscuring the role of the priest and the deacon.” The new norms also offer a good excuse to get women farther away from altar, the tabernacle, the chalices and the ciboria. Remember, this is the same bishop who, last month, remained silent as his rector banned altar girls from serving in the Phoenix cathedral." Are these diocesan leaders afraid that by watching women function around the sacrament, the laity might let their imaginations run wildly into the world of women ordination? With more than 65 percent of U.S. Catholics supporting women priests, it’s a little late to turn off that channel."[Jamie L. Manson received her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School where she studied Catholic theology and sexual ethics. Her columns for NCR earned her a first prize Catholic Press Association award for Best Column/Regular Commentary in 2010.]
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Thank you, Jamie Manson, for naming the real issue as clericalism and fear of women's ordination! Yes, indeed, as more and more Catholics experience inclusive liturgies with women priests, there will be no turning back!
The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is offering Inclusive Worship Aids to Catholic communities who are passionate about a renewed, inclusive church that welcomes all to the Sacred Banquet of God's boundless love. Our liturgies utilize a "community of equals" approach in which the gathered assembly recite the "consecration" and the baptized pray the Eucharistic prayer. I think Jesus would feel right at home at these liturgies where all are welcome. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Sign Petition to Support Fr. Roy Bourgeois- "Catholic Priest Faces Dismissal for Support of Women's Ordination" by Alex Di Branco

Maryknoll Priest, Fr. Roy Bourgeois
attended Janice Sevre-Duszynska's ordination
in Aug. 2008.
http://news.change.org/stories/catholic-priest-faces-dismissal-for-support-of-womens-ordination
"Father Roy Bourgeois, a Catholic priest of 39 years, felt obligated to speak his conscience -- and it told him that women should be allowed to be priests too. His outspoken opposition to sexist discrimination could cost him dearly, however, as he now faces dismissal from his position and excommunication."
"The Women's Ordination Conference (WOC) has launched a petition on Change.org in support of Fr. Bourgeois and other Catholics who believe that women deserve the same clergy rights as men in the Church. "I cannot possibly speak out about injustice in society and at the same time be silent about this injustice in my church," Bourgeois affirmed. WOC -- along with cosponsors the Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Call To Action, and Roman Catholic Womenpriests-USA -- wants the Vatican to know that a respected priest shouldn't be kicked out for supporting women's ordination when there's no scriptural prohibition for this practice.
"After much reflection, study, and prayer, I believe that our Church's teaching that excludes women from the priesthood defies both faith and reason and cannot stand up to scrutiny," Fr. Bourgeois wrote in response to his threatened removal from office in the Maryknoll Catholic order. 'This teaching has nothing to do with God, but with men, and is rooted in sexism. 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, but of men who want to hold on to their power..."
Over the past decade, 120 women priests and 10 female bishops have been ordained by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests, thanks to the courageous defiance of their brothers in clergy who believe that the call to serve God extends to both sexes, in spite of the penalty of automatic communication for ordaining a woman priest. (A documentary, Pink Smoke Over the Vatican, explores this movement.)
"...The Vatican does not excommunicate the pedophile-priests who have raped and sodomized Catholic youth, or punish the bishops who covered up these crimes," stated Bridget Mary Meehan of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, one of the petition sponsors. "Yet, now in this outrageous action they stand ready to defrock Fr. Roy, priest of the people and prophet for justice who has served God for over 40 years as a well-known peace and justice activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee."
"Fr. Bourgeois is standing strong in his beliefs, refusing to recant his support for women priests, but he needs you to stand with him. The Women's Ordination Conference and their allies will hand-deliver petition signatures on October 17. Click here to tell the Vatican to keep Fr. Roy Bourgeois where he belongs: in the pulpit. And start putting women up there too, while they're at it."

Author: Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.

More Videos of Historic Ordination of Roman Catholic Women Priests in Virginia/ Enjoy/ Provided by Ken Chaiason

http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u

The NOVA musicians really ‘let their light shine’ at many parts of the liturgy, especially during
the procession…
http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u/1/TMO7LyH3qWM

while singing Veni Sancte Spiritus… http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u/8/9vUFuwQHypA

at the Sign of Peace… http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u/18/hoPkm63d4V0

at the litany during the prostration… http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u/10/v5qIs91YaDQ

and singing the Irish Blessing… http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u/22/p58StFHLJgA

The Recessional was also “Joyful Noise”…http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u/23/O5Q8g5rWY8s

Provided by Ken Chaiason
kenchaison@yahoo.com

"8th Day Center for Justice Pressured over Women's Ordination"

http://ncronline.org/news/women/8th-day-center-justice-pressured-over-womens-ordination
"The 8th Day Center for Justice, long a staple of Catholic social justice activism in the Chicago area, is facing pressure from Cardinal Francis George because of a Sept. 18 event that featured a screening of the film “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican” and a talk by Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois.
“Pink Smoke” is a documentary expressing support for women's ordination in the Roman Catholic church. Bourgeois is currently under threat of removal from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers if he does not recant his own support of women's ordination.
NCR has learned that heads of religious orders associated with the center, which is supported by 39 orders of religious men and women, received letters from George several days before the event.
Two people who read the letter, dated Sept. 12, described its contents to NCR. Both said the letter mentioned that George stated the event could lead to scandal and confusion among the faithful over the church’s teaching on ordination and that he asked the leaders to remove their congregations’ support of the event..."
"Desautels, who has been on staff with the organization for over 25 years, also said that while the center did wish to promote discussion with its showing of “Pink Smoke,” it hadn’t organized the event specifically to promote women's ordination.
In fact, she said, before the viewing of the movie, a center staff member read aloud the official church teaching regarding women's ordination from the catechism in order to “allay whatever possible confusion.”
Bourgeois has asked Dominican Fr. Tom Doyle, a noted canon lawyer, to fight his removal by arguing for his right to express his conscience.
While Desautels expressed hope that “something good will come” from 8th Day Center’s future discussions with George, she also said the situation raises larger questions on the freedom of people to follow their conscience regarding church teachings.
“This situation is not about Roy or even about women's ordination,” said Desautels. “It's about freedom of conscience and the scandal of demanding silence on topics such as the equality of women in the church and the possibility of ordination for those women who so desire it.”
[Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. His e-mail address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org.]

Response to Archbishop Timothy Dolan's Letter to President Obama by Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP,

is a Roman Catholic Woman Priest

ordained in Lexington, KY. in 2008

http://www.usccb.org/news/2011/11-179.cfm

As president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan wrote in a September 20 letter to President Barack Obama that the Obama Administration’s fight against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, will undermine marriage and create a serious breach of Church-State relations.

Is Archbishop Dolan saying that marriage will become less of the sacrament it now is if it’s a marriage between gays or lesbians?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Procreation cannot be the main point of marriage considering that many people marry after the age of childbearing and have sacramentally blessed marriages.

Ask those who have taken the vow to married life and faithfulness in the sacrament of marriage rather than male priests who have never been married or who have never been involved in intimate relationships. While bringing children into the world is a blessing and responsibility, the heart of marriage between two people is their respect and treatment of one another...which can enhance the community or take away from it.

What is the heart of marriage – except the spiritual journey of two people growing closer to Christ, each other and their community. That, in my mind, is the essence of the sacrament. And, that grace and blessing can be lived and given to two people of the same sex.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan lies when he says the Church recognizes “the immeasurable personal dignity and equal worth of all individuals including those with same sex attraction.” He compounds his dishonesty when he says “we reject all hatred and unjust treatment against any person.”

The Church puts same sex couples in harm’s way when it limits the sacrament of marriage to a man and a woman. It attempts to make the sanctity of their human connection less than that between a man and a woman. When their love is not valued and honored by society and the church, then it follows that they are looked at as scapegoats or lepers. The sacrament of marriage takes place between two people who are committed to each other and publicly vow their love and lives to one another. It has nothing to do with gender. Rather, it is about the universal love to which the liberating Christ calls us to in the Gospels – to journey together in bringing about the Kin-dom.

Dolan further states “While all persons merit our full respect, no other relationships provide for the common good what marriage between husband and wife provides. The law should reflect this reality.”

Our Church violates the inner lives of gays and lesbians when it denies them the sacrament of marriage. Jesus goes to the heart and is in search for the love that will grow and endure. Is this not the model that we as Church, as the people of God, are to follow?

Archbishop Dolan’s time would be better spent getting bishops to report pedophile priests, in promoting the ordination of women priests and to help homosexual priests within the church to step forward, name their truth and be accepted by the faithful who will love them more for their courage.

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP

Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Catholic Organizations Expose What the Bishops Won’t Tell You about Family Planning Open Letter Asks HHS Secretary Sebelius to Stand up for Workers’

For Immediate Release 26 September 2011 Media Contact: Adrianne Burke 202 986 6093 www.CatholicsforChoice.org Open Letter Asks HHS Secretary Sebelius to Stand up for Workers’ Rights In an open letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Catholics for Choice, along with 15 other Catholic organizations, urged Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to uphold access to family planning by rejecting the proposed refusal clause in regulations for coverage of preventive health services under the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, the current wording of the proposed HHS guidelines “allows religious institutions that offer insurance to their employees the choice of whether or not to cover contraception services.” A full copy of the letter may be found here. Essentially, this offers certain employers the choice to take away their employees’ choice. The women who work for religious institutions, as well as their spouses and dependents who are covered by an employee’s policy, deserve to be included—not excluded—in this important step forward toward affordable healthcare for all. With the 60-day comment period coming to a close at the end of this month, Catholics for Choice has placed the text of an open letter to Secretary Sebelius in the National Catholic Reporter. The ad’s headline, “What the Bishops Won’t Tell You,” highlights a reality different from what some bishops have claimed: that the contraception coverage amounts to a “serious violation of a basic tenet of the Catholic faith.” The advertisement throws serious doubt upon this assertion. It is the culmination of a month-long mobilization of organizations and activists across the nonprofit spectrum. Catholics for Choice has enlisted theologians, policymakers and other faith-based groups to raise awareness about the need to maintain access to family planning in order to improve social and economic opportunities for women, as well as prevent unintended pregnancies and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. These are values that enjoy broad support in the United States, including among Catholics. It is also widely recognized that we are living in uncertain economic times. As the letter states, with so many people’s budgets stretched thin, it is unconscionable to support a policy that would allow some organizations to opt out and “create an unnecessary burden upon many employees across the country.” The letter notes that the signatory organizations “cannot and do not presume to tell others how best to listen to their own consciences as they make important decisions about whether or when to have children. We do not support any effort to deny and disrespect the conscience of individuals who seek comprehensive family planning services, and encourage you to reject all policies that do so.” Catholics for Choice president Jon O’Brien said, “This is an important step. Catholic groups are telling Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services that the bishops should not have a free pass. It is profoundly unjust for an employer to disregard the consciences and rights of workers. Having failed in their attempts to convince Catholics against using contraception, the bishops and those who lobby on their behalf are now trying to deny access to contraception for their employees—regardless of those employees’ religious beliefs. If the Obama administration bends the knee to the bishops and give them this exemption they will be implementing what amounts to state-sanctioned religious discrimination.” View this press release on the Catholics for Choice website. ###

'We are Church' Response to Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Germany

- Call for Ecumenism: „Do what unites us!“
- Pre-modern core of speech to the Bundestag
- Talking about God must not become a distraction

Press Release Berlin / Erfurt / Freiburg / Munich, 25 September 2011

At the end of the visit to Germany by Pope Benedict XVI, the Church People’s Movement We are Church (Wir sind Kirche) is appealing to all Christians to continue decisively along the road of dialogue and to meet the challenges of the times together in Christian hope. The motto “A daring new departure“ of the Catholic Conference in Mannheim next year should be a guideline in view of the current church and social crises, which can only be overcome together.

Call to all parishes for ecumenism: “Do what unites us!”

In view of the bitter disappointment of the ecumenical meeting of the Pope in Erfurt, We are Church is calling upon all Catholic and Protestant parishes to join themselves together ecumenically and to “do what unites us!”. The parishes in Germany should declare that the unspeakable splitting of Christendom, which has lasted for almost 500 years, has been ended for them, and should follow the example of the Churches in Bruchsal, which have declared: “We believe that the will of Jesus Christ, that all should be one, is more important than all considerations and questions of theology and church politics, and we know ourselves to be obliged by conviction to obey him more than people.” (www.joerg-sieger.de/oekumene.htm)

The encounter in the friendly atmosphere of the Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt cannot hide the fact that no further initiatives can be expected from this Pope, although at the time of his election he had promised to support concrete visible signs of ecumenism. The appreciative words of Pope Benedict for Martin Luther’s questions about a gracious God, which are just as current today, are certainly worth noticing. But the questions from Luther about the Papacy and the Church, and the share of the Roman Church in the schism of the Churches at that time, were not mentioned by the Pope even in one syllable.

In the decades of theological convergence, the leadership of the Roman Church has gambled away every advance towards trust through its self-righteousness, its rejections and its official blockages. The great majority of the faithful can and will simply no longer follow the inflexible arguments from Rome. Since Erfurt, it is therefore a right and a duty for all who have been baptised in the name of Jesus Christ no longer to hope for further steps from the Church leadership, but to follow their own consciences. It is time to proclaim the one community, the one Church of Jesus Christ that we have long been, and to “do what unites us”. Pope Benedict must be asked why he has not really used the unique opportunity for ecumenism with the Churches of the Reformation.

Pre-modern core of a Bundestag speech argued in a modern way

In his speech to the German Bundestag, the Pope may have succeeded in winning over many critics for himself by mentioning the ecological movement. The repeated legitimate references to human rights will however continue to be incredible, as long as the Catholic Church itself does not fully and completely admit human rights, and make them a reality even within its own Church. His intellectually ambitious speech overlooks the fact that his predecessors fought vehemently against freedom of conscience and opinion. And it deliberately remained silent about the fact that only the Holy See or Vatican and Belorussia have not yet signed the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Pope accepts the autonomous status of conscience without any reservation, but he binds it just as unreservedly to objective, predetermined standards, such as sexuality in the procreation of offspring. It is just there that the pre-modern core lies within his speech, argued in a modern way. Will the Papal discourse succeed in appropriating the phrase “the protection of nature” for his own concepts, so that it makes everyone think of Catholic natural law? Is the Pope perhaps trying to unwind the picture of the window thrown open by his predecessor John XXIII, so that it no longer tells of a fresh wind in the Church, but of obedience in respect of higher norms? Benedict’s message is: “Where God is, there are clear standards.”

For those who know Ratzinger’s writings, there is hardly anything new to hear. A pessimistic undertone marked his thoughts. In Erfurt Pope Benedict, who places his emphases consciously, continued his speech from Berlin, instead of taking a position towards ecumenism and pointing out ways that lead onwards, for example in relation to the year 2017. Ecumenical steps have nothing to do with political calculus, as the Pope supposes. He said in Berlin that mankind does not make itself. In Erfurt he declared that faith is not something home-made. In other words – nothing will change.

Talking about God must not become a distraction from the crisis in the Church

Before this Papal visit, there were no convinced expectations of Joseph Ratzinger. It is well known that he has possessed responsibility in Rome for the worldwide Church for almost 30 years: first as Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, and for a good six years as Pope Benedict XVI. But it is alarming that he now as Pope shows so little readiness at least to acknowledge the situation of crises in the Church, referred to clearly by the Federal President, and to encourage the continuation of the conversation processes which the bishops began. Instead, in his sermon in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the Pope issued a clear rebuff to all home-made “Church dreams”.

However correct it may be to lament the increasing absence of God from the consciousness of humanity, talking about God must not become a distraction from the crises and problems within the Church. His reference to a spiritual renewal of faith is so true: even ecclesiastical hierarchical structures preach, and must therefore always be measured by the message of Jesus Christ. Many Catholics will find it an especially painful omission that the Pope provided no kind of hope for new pastoral ways, for example for remarried divorced people, whom recently even Archbishop Zollitsch had supported.

The overloaded programme with 17 speeches and sermons by the Pope was a respectable achievement for him, but sadly it was no programme of dialogue. With all his personal modesty, this journey showed very clearly the religious, moral and even political claim to power, which the Roman Catholic Church despite dramatically falling membership still continues to represent. The meeting with the Judges of the Federal Constitutional Court in the Seminary at Freiburg threw up the question of the legal position and the claim to power of the Papacy: as representative of the “Holy See”, as head of state of the Vatican City mini-state and as supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church too.

Press contacts:
Sigrid Grabmeier, Tel. 0170-8626290, E-Mail: grabmeier@wir-sind-kirche.de
Magnus Lux, Tel. 0176-41266392, E-Mail: Famlux@t-online.de
Christian Weisner, Tel. 0172-5184082, E-Mail: presse@wir-sind-kirche.de

"Pope Disappoints Hopes of Catholics and Protestants" By Tom Heneghan (Reuters)- Pope's Visit to Germany

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/26/worldupdates/2011-09-26T150212Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-595484-1&sec=Worldupdates
BERLIN (Reuters) - "Pope Benedict's visit to his German homeland was bound to provoke harsh words from his critics. The surprise of the event was how bluntly he took his own Church to task and disappointed Protestants ready to work with him. Despite his frail physique and soft-spoken style, the 84-year-old pontiff delivered a vigorous defence of his conservative views and brusquely rejected calls for reforms, some of which even had cautious support from some bishops.
At the end of his four-day visit on Sunday, Benedict predicted "small communities of believers" would spread Catholicism in future -- and not, he seemed to say, the rich German Church, which he hinted had more bureaucracy than belief.
Some Church leaders fear they may end up with only small communities if they don't consider reforms. Record numbers of the faithful have officially quit the Church in recent years, often in protest against clerical sex abuse scandals.
"The pope was demanding, almost hard -- not in his manner, but in the essence of his words," Berlin's Tagesspiegel daily commented. "Nobody should be fooled by his fragility." ""The pope sees the signs of the times, but interprets them not as a demand to courageously open up the Catholic Church but, on the contrary, to close its ranks...Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the most influential daily in the pope's native Bavaria, summed up the trip with the headline: "He came, he spoke and he disappointed.""

Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests- More Wonderful Videos of Historic Virginia Ordination onYouTube- Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/user/filmsification#p/u

(ARCWP is grateful to Ken Chaison for filming, editing and placing these videos of our historic, Sept ordination in Falls Church, VA. on Sept. 10, 2011. Above is the youtube link to the dozen movies that Ken uploaded.)

Pope Benedict Gives Speech on Human Rights to German Legislature/ 100 Members Boycott Speech/Women Priests Movement "Elephant" in Pope's Living Room?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiqiAg58Wdo

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
It is ironic that Pope Benedict supports human rights but fails to affirm the full equality of women in his own church. The Women priests' Movement is the "elephant" in the Pope's living room. Whether Benedict is "blissfully clueless", or not, Roman Catholic Women Priests are leading the church into its future by living Gospel equality now. We believe women's rights are human rights, and this moral principle applies to the Catholic Church in the same way as it applies to every other institution in our world.
Perhaps, this was one of the reasons for the boycott of 100 lawmakers who did not attend Benedict's address to the German legislature.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
sofiabmm@aol.com

Homily for 26th Sunday, Cycle A- 25th- September 2011 by Roberta Meehan, ARCWP

Roberta Meehan, ARCWP,
(Phoenix, AZ.)
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Psalm 25:4-9
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 21:28-32
God is not fair! God is not fair! God is not fair! How many times have we screamed those words either out loud or in our hearts? What is not fair? Deaths? Diseases? Losing jobs? Hurricanes? Tsunamis? Robberies? Wars? Family feuds? Of course it is not fair. Of course God is unfair for allowing these to occur. Right? Well, in the first reading, Ezekiel talks about how we think God's ways are not fair. Almost 3000 years ago Ezekiel says we often scream about God's unfairness in our own anguish and desperation because we want God to do things our way. Things haven’t changed much, have they? But, God does not work that way. We all know it intellectually. But, we really do want God to order the universe the way we think it should be ordered – our politicians, our sense of justice, our church leaders, our sense of world order. Everything should be as we envision it. Ezekiel reminds us that it is actually our ways that are unfair. It is not God’s ways that are unfair; it is our ways! But, we really do not listen to Ezekiel, do we? After almost 3000 years, the human spirit is still the same and each of us still knows what is best for the universe. If that weren’t bad enough, in the second reading Paul exhorts his beloved Philippians to “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory.” Of course, we disguise our selfishness and vainglory – because once again we are best at running the universe. We know what is right and who is right. Simple. We are just like the Philippians of 2000 years ago. Fairness according to each one of us is the way it should be, the way we firmly believe it should be. Of course, my concept of fairness may interfere with your concept of fairness. But, my fairness is more fair than your fairness, right? We all think that way on some level. If we listen carefully to those first two readings, we come away with the idea that maybe if we just sit with quiet acceptance and allow God to run the universe and give ourselves to each other selflessly, everything will be fine. That should work, right? It doesn’t matter who is trying to take on the position of God. That position has been filled for quite some time. We need to let that real God run the universe. We just have to sit back and let God take care of everything. That sounds simple enough. (Of course, we do have to get our human nature out of the way first – and that is somewhat of an impossible task. But after that….) Again, that sounds relatively simple. But, it is not simple because we are human – just as our ancestors in Ezekiel’s time and just as our ancestors in the time of the Philippians. We are human. Think about this. God was unfair enough to make us human. Despite all our warts and foibles and imperfections, we are human and we are free to choose to do God’s will. God is so unfair! God was unfair enough to give us a free will so that we could freely let God run the universe. Oh dear! Then we come to the gospel! This is where we see the action that can result from an understanding of the first two readings. Here we have two sons. The first says he is not going to go out and work in the vineyard but then changes his mind and goes. The second says he is going out to work in the vineyard but never quite gets around to it. Does this sound familiar to each of us? Of course, we are all like both of these sons most of the time, are we not? Sometimes we argue with someone else about whether or not we are going to do something. Sometimes we only argue with ourselves. And in our weaknesses, we freely choose – to work or not to work, to say “yes” or to say “no” to chose to run the universe or to let God take care of things while we simply do what we are called to do. That calling could be as simple as taking the dog for a walk or as life-changing as beginning a new career. We are free to choose. And it is just not fair, is it? We are all called to do many things. Sometimes we say “yes” and sometimes we say “no.” Sometimes we do what we are called to do and sometimes we don’t. The problem is accepting exactly what we are called to do and then doing it – while still letting God run the universe. Let us look at some of the more profound problems connected with this concept – problems that go beyond walking the dog or changing careers. The problem is being outraged by injustice and still allowing God to be the ultimate judge. The problem is teaching others to know what is right and to act accordingly without teaching them to be self-righteous and vainglorious. The problem is accepting tsunamis and hurricanes and volcanoes as part of God’s world and then getting in there and helping to clean up the mess when one strikes. The problem is realizing that wars and famine and pestilences are often the result of our failings and not the result of an unfair God – a God who gave us free will. If God waved a magic wand, our humanity would be diminished – and that would indeed be unfair! These are real challenges. These are challenges for the individual – each and every one of us – and they are also challenges for society and for the church. Can we examine our individual, societal, and ecclesial consciences just briefly – using our God-given free will – without being judgmental (and while still letting God run the universe)? God is unfair (but how can I think that when I know otherwise?) and I know how things should be in my life (and they just are not). God is letting the wicked get away with all kinds of things and those things are affecting me! This is not fair. I will humble myself – but only so far. The rest of the world humbles me – and that is not fair either. But, what is God calling me to do? Am I saying “yes” but adding provisos? Am I saying “yes” but worrying about how my actions will be received? Or am I saying “no” because the task seems so monumental but am I at the same time thinking and praying about it and then going ahead with what I am called to do, regardless of the consequences? Am I working on decreasing my tit-for-tat theology? God is unfair; this must be true or such-and-such a politician or mayor or king or whatever would not be in power or would never be running for public office. God is letting the wicked (in my eyes, anyway) get away with things and those things are affecting me and my society and my country and my well ordered universe! This is not fair! How can these people be so ignorant of God’s will? How can they not see that I know what is best for this town or this country or this world? How can God actually love these people? Even the end of the gospel does not say these horrid individuals won’t make it to heaven; it just says they won’t be the first to get in. I do not understand how God can even permit them to think about joining us at the eternal banquet! God is so unfair! (And I am so self-righteous and so vainglorious!) God allows tsunamis and hurricanes and volcanoes and starvation and disease. This is not fair! God allows me to be human! God allows me to exercise my free will. That is most certainly not fair. And as a human, with all my human imperfections, God expects me to make choices for good. God expects ME to go out into the vineyard and do some work? Me? God is so unfair! Why doesn’t God just do it for me? Wave that magic wand, or something, even though it will decrease my free will – decrease my humanity. After all, I am a good person and that is sure a lot of work God is asking ME to do! But, God has unfairly made me human. Because I am human, I can choose and I can be a part of this world. And God has chosen to let me be human and not to wave that magic wand. And the Church. The Church is guilty. God is totally unfair by allowing the injustices in the Church to exist. And God will probably forgive those people and love them anyway. In my universe they would get what they deserve! It is not that I am being selfish – it is just that those Church people are evil and they should be pulverized. What??? God, you have got to be kidding! You expect ME to go out there and do something for the Church – to help make your kingdom come? No, God. Not me! You cannot expect me to work in the vineyard. You have got all those church people out there who have already said “yes” to you. How can I say “yes” when I do not know what I am doing? You think I am saying “no” out of selfishness? Not a chance. You are just going to let those Pharisees and hypocrites into the kingdom anyway. Why should I go out there and do anything to make the church a better and safer place for all people? Why should I work toward understanding and equality and justice? Why should I do all those hard things when so many people are just sitting around. God, you are so UNFAIR! And the tax collectors and prostitutes believed and did God’s will.

Roberta M. Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

Is the Roman Catholic Women Priests' Movement "Unblissing" the Vatican's "Blissfully Clueless" Attitude Toward Women's Equality in the Church?

Kathleen Parker, a popular, conservative journalist and TV commentator, stated that in her opinion men tend to dominate in meetings where both genders are present: "It isn't necessarily that men intentionally marginalize women or even that they disrespect them. It is that they are...men. It's nature. Put the most brilliant woman at a table with five men (even far less intelligent men), and the woman will be ignored. She is invisible. She can't be heard by male ears. It isn't her fault; it isn't even the men's fault except that they are blissfully clueless. Women need to unbliss them." Kathleen Parker, "The President's Distaff Shortfall," Washington Post, A 19, 9/25/2011, kathleenparker@washpost.com)
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
I wonder if we can apply Parker's premise to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church when it comes to the question of women's equality in the church.
Is the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement "unblissing" the hierarchy including the Vatican from the institutional church's "blissfully clueless" attitude toward sexism in the church? Something to ponder! What do you think?
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
sofiabmm@aol.com
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Roman Catholic Womenpriests Ordain Six Deacons in California

bottom row: Diane O'Donnell (New Mexico), Christine Farenbach (California), Jennifer O'Malley (California). top row: Cindy Yoshitomi (California), Maureen Mancuso (California), Roberta Fuller (Canada). On September 18th Jennifer O'Malley, Roberta Fuller, Maureen Mancuso, Cindy Yoshitomi, Christine Fahrenbach and Diane O'Donnell were ordained deacons in Santa Barbara CA.
Links to YouTube Videos:
Deacon ordination in Santa Barbara
Entrance Procession: Deacon Ordination in Santa Barbara
Prostration 1: Deacon Ordination in Santa Barbara
Prostration 2: Deacon Ordination in Santa Barbara
Deacons receive the Gospel

"Phoenix Wine-Less Mass Criticized "by Michael Clancy

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/09/24/20110924phoenix-diocese-wine-less-mass-criticized.html
"The Whosoever Desires blog, put together by seven Jesuit priests, also criticizes the decision.
The Rev. Nathan O'Halloran of New Orleans said he cannot figure out the reason for the change.
He said Olmsted's decision appears personal, not required by church law.
He disagrees with the reasons given for the restriction, including possible profanation of the sacrament and that use of laypeople to distribute community has gotten out of hand.
O'Halloran said that in 29 years as a priest, he has seen little that could be called "profanation," and that if Communion in the form of wine is available, then it should be utilized.
He said use of both bread and wine during Communion - the central act of worship in the Catholic Mass - links people to the early church and that restricting Communion creates a wedge between the clergy and the laity that does not need to exist."
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/09/24/20110924phoenix-diocese-wine-less-mass-criticized.html#ixzz1YtwqH2SI