http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/workers-not-catholic-hierarchy-should-choose-their-health-care/2012/01/31/gIQAMRW9pQ_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop
..."Michael Gerson imputed nefarious motives to President Obama for his administration’s requirement that contraception be made more affordable and available for American workers. He lamented the decision’s effects on a bishop, a priest and the vice president. Tellingly missing from this analysis: the profound and beneficial effects on the millions of American women and their families, Catholic and non-Catholic, Democrat, Republican and independent, whose health-care decisions are too often thwarted by a small, powerful cadre of men who have zero credibility with many lay Catholics when it comes to contraception. Churches across the country are filled with good Catholics, the majority of whom use contraception and have no objection to it...."
Living Gospel Inclusivity and Empowerment Now- https://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2025/10/rev-dr-bridget-mary-meehan-arcwp-chat.html
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Catholics, Speak Up for Conscience, Do not let U.S. Bishops Bully Politicans or Control Women's Access to Contraceptives/Affordable Health Care
http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/unconscionable-consequences-conscience-exemptions
...."The provision is called the Affordable Care Act. This new law is intended to ensure the just treatment of women and couples who cannot afford adequate medical treatment when it comes to contraceptives and who want to raise families in a safe, responsible manner.This act is a promising attempt to prevent unwanted pregnancies and offers perhaps the most ethical and realistic approach to reducing the abortion rate.
The bishops' reaction was characterized by increasingly typical cries of victimization and hysteria. This self-pity only further diminishes the seriousness with which U.S. Catholics take the hierarchy. The sad truth is, if the numbers of Catholics leaving the church are any indication, most Catholics in the United States probably see the hierarchy more as victimizers than victimized.Some have labeled this decision as President Barack Obama's attack on Catholics, echoing the inflammatory, paranoid spin bishops are putting on any government decision that doesn't go their way lately. This decision is not an attack on Catholics, but rather a groundbreaking move to protect women and to guarantee them greater access to adequate, affordable health care...."
[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:
I agree with Jamie Manson that the bishops are not the church. The Catholic Church's "official teaching" on contraception has not been accepted by the majority of Catholics. According to the Guttmacher Institute 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women have used some form of contraception. The Affordable Care Act does not violate the consciences of Catholic women as the hierarchy claim, but rather helps them get the health care they need. In claiming an exemption, the bishops will be imposing their beliefs on birth control on their employees and forcing them to follow a teaching that the majority of Catholics do not even obey. How can the bishops who claim to be "pro-life", refuse to support contraceptives that will prevent abortions? It makes no sense. The outrage here is not the Obama administration's policy, but the Roman Catholic bishops who, if this exemption was given, would deny contraceptive coverage to their employees, and enforce their teachings on others in violation of their employees' consciences. The bishops are not the church, the people are the church and that includes women who practice birth control according to their consciences. One could certainly argue that this is yet another attempt of the Catholic hierarchy to control women's sexuality when they have failed to control male celibate priests who have sexually abused thousands of children worldwide. Catholics, it is time to speak up and make your views heard! Don't let the bishops bully politicans when they do not reflect you beliefs and practices. We, the people, are the church!
...."The provision is called the Affordable Care Act. This new law is intended to ensure the just treatment of women and couples who cannot afford adequate medical treatment when it comes to contraceptives and who want to raise families in a safe, responsible manner.This act is a promising attempt to prevent unwanted pregnancies and offers perhaps the most ethical and realistic approach to reducing the abortion rate.
The bishops' reaction was characterized by increasingly typical cries of victimization and hysteria. This self-pity only further diminishes the seriousness with which U.S. Catholics take the hierarchy. The sad truth is, if the numbers of Catholics leaving the church are any indication, most Catholics in the United States probably see the hierarchy more as victimizers than victimized.Some have labeled this decision as President Barack Obama's attack on Catholics, echoing the inflammatory, paranoid spin bishops are putting on any government decision that doesn't go their way lately. This decision is not an attack on Catholics, but rather a groundbreaking move to protect women and to guarantee them greater access to adequate, affordable health care...."
[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:
I agree with Jamie Manson that the bishops are not the church. The Catholic Church's "official teaching" on contraception has not been accepted by the majority of Catholics. According to the Guttmacher Institute 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women have used some form of contraception. The Affordable Care Act does not violate the consciences of Catholic women as the hierarchy claim, but rather helps them get the health care they need. In claiming an exemption, the bishops will be imposing their beliefs on birth control on their employees and forcing them to follow a teaching that the majority of Catholics do not even obey. How can the bishops who claim to be "pro-life", refuse to support contraceptives that will prevent abortions? It makes no sense. The outrage here is not the Obama administration's policy, but the Roman Catholic bishops who, if this exemption was given, would deny contraceptive coverage to their employees, and enforce their teachings on others in violation of their employees' consciences. The bishops are not the church, the people are the church and that includes women who practice birth control according to their consciences. One could certainly argue that this is yet another attempt of the Catholic hierarchy to control women's sexuality when they have failed to control male celibate priests who have sexually abused thousands of children worldwide. Catholics, it is time to speak up and make your views heard! Don't let the bishops bully politicans when they do not reflect you beliefs and practices. We, the people, are the church!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A PhD Student of Liturgics and Homiletics Affirms Roman Catholic Women Priests Liturgies
Grace and Peace -
I am a PhD student studying homiletics and liturgics.
We've never met, but I wanted to share an amazing experience that I recently had - that has to do with you and your spiritual kinfolk. I'll try to be brief - this actually just occurred yesterday. I am currently taking a readings course on preaching and liturgy - the class consists of two students (the other doctoral student in my program and I) and the professor is brilliant.
The three of us gather once a week and discuss academic readings from within the liturgical movement and prepare various documents, exam questions, and teaching aids that will assist us later in life when we are (hopefully) teaching MDiv students at a seminary or div. school.
This week we read history and historiography about the liturgical reform movement in the twentieth century - Theresa Berger's fantastic, reflective work examining that history in "Women's Ways of Worship." The assignment was to analyze an interesting theme within the readings and find a video or audio recording that was somehow related to the readings. Ideally, something we could show a classroom of students - something that would spark conversation centered on and informed by the readings.
There are millions and millions of youtube videos out there to choose from - we do this sort of thing quite often.The video I chose for reflection was your Holy Thursday Foot Washing liturgy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6P7xL_GanI)
It is such an incredibly moving video. The conversation was brilliant and fascinating - I love everything about that video. I love the way it is framed, the way the music seems to start and stop and start again, the sense of togetherness and comfort - it is liturgically fascinating! This isn't the important part - I just wanted you to know that I was deeply moved by that brief presentation. Here's the really wild part -
After my presentation, my cohort showed her video. There stood a row of women in vestments behind the communion table, the three of us watched together for a full minute before we realized it was you again! It was the video of the eucharist consecration at the ordination service: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsBgK3c-Ymo&feature=youtu.be
It was amazing! We were stunned by the participatory movement - the lifting of hands toward the chancel. And suddenly, incredibly, the entire church lifted their voices and joined the words of consecration! I again felt deeply moved by witnessing this event. It felt profoundly holy.
I was saddened by the comments left below the videos. There is work to do, I suppose.
I wanted to let you know that you are doing a good work - and, I think, enriching the creation - by having these videos posted online. Our conversation continued beyond the classroom and throughout the day.
Please keep posting the videos and doing this important work and thank you!
In Christ,
A Ph.D. Student/Liturgics/Homiletics
(Shared with Permission, Letter directed to Bridget Mary Meehan/See links to liturgies above)
I am a PhD student studying homiletics and liturgics.
We've never met, but I wanted to share an amazing experience that I recently had - that has to do with you and your spiritual kinfolk. I'll try to be brief - this actually just occurred yesterday. I am currently taking a readings course on preaching and liturgy - the class consists of two students (the other doctoral student in my program and I) and the professor is brilliant.
The three of us gather once a week and discuss academic readings from within the liturgical movement and prepare various documents, exam questions, and teaching aids that will assist us later in life when we are (hopefully) teaching MDiv students at a seminary or div. school.
This week we read history and historiography about the liturgical reform movement in the twentieth century - Theresa Berger's fantastic, reflective work examining that history in "Women's Ways of Worship." The assignment was to analyze an interesting theme within the readings and find a video or audio recording that was somehow related to the readings. Ideally, something we could show a classroom of students - something that would spark conversation centered on and informed by the readings.
There are millions and millions of youtube videos out there to choose from - we do this sort of thing quite often.The video I chose for reflection was your Holy Thursday Foot Washing liturgy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6P7xL_GanI)
It is such an incredibly moving video. The conversation was brilliant and fascinating - I love everything about that video. I love the way it is framed, the way the music seems to start and stop and start again, the sense of togetherness and comfort - it is liturgically fascinating! This isn't the important part - I just wanted you to know that I was deeply moved by that brief presentation. Here's the really wild part -
After my presentation, my cohort showed her video. There stood a row of women in vestments behind the communion table, the three of us watched together for a full minute before we realized it was you again! It was the video of the eucharist consecration at the ordination service: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsBgK3c-Ymo&feature=youtu.be
It was amazing! We were stunned by the participatory movement - the lifting of hands toward the chancel. And suddenly, incredibly, the entire church lifted their voices and joined the words of consecration! I again felt deeply moved by witnessing this event. It felt profoundly holy.
I was saddened by the comments left below the videos. There is work to do, I suppose.
I wanted to let you know that you are doing a good work - and, I think, enriching the creation - by having these videos posted online. Our conversation continued beyond the classroom and throughout the day.
Please keep posting the videos and doing this important work and thank you!
In Christ,
A Ph.D. Student/Liturgics/Homiletics
(Shared with Permission, Letter directed to Bridget Mary Meehan/See links to liturgies above)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
St. Brigit of Kildare- Abbess and Bishop of Kildare/Table Blessing
St. Brigit of Kildare in St. Patrick's Chapel in Ballyroan, Ireland
"Then, being filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Mel read the form of ordaining a bishop over Brigit. While she was being consecrated, a brilliant fiery flame ascended from her head...."
I should welcome the poor to my feast,
for they are God’s children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast
for they are God’s joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place
and the sick dance with the angels.
Bless the poor, bless the sick,
bless our human race.
Bless our food, bless our drink, all homes,
O God embrace.
Praying with Celti Holy Women by Bridget Mary Meehan and Regina Madonna Oliver
on http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Celtic-Regina-Madonna-Oliver/dp/0764809296
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
"One Person’s Response To Bede Griffith’s Vision" by John Chuchman
The beauty of language can be found
not only in the Greek epics "Iliad" and "Odyssey"
but also in the Indian epics of "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata".
An understanding of Christian expressions of Truth
from the Eastern Orthodox
can be read in
"The Chronicles of Kiev"
and the epic-like tales of "Marko" coming out of Serbia.
Native American, Asian and tales from Oceania
present the highest qualities of humanity
(and love of God---however God was called.)
Where did this goodness,
this desire for truth,
and the exhibition of natural dignity come from?
Is it only to be found in the Western world?
Is it found only in writings of those who belong to the Catholic Church?
The study of the World's great literature
can be a foundation
to uncovering the greatness of humanity's desire
to reach to the stars,
to touch the face of God,
and then to be hugged by that God in return.
The Catholic Church has long listed “Universal” as one of its Marks.
But the term “universal” is deceptive.
Is it that the Church is found all over the world
(a tribute to the men and women missionaries)?
That is only a geographic sense of universality,
and the Church isn't thinking here about possible intelligent beings
on other solar systems---when using the term “universal.”
While geographic universality is no small achievement,
geography does not even begin to touch upon
the spiritual/philosophical concepts of universality.
Bede Griffiths' vision is so much wider, deeper and more sensitive
than anything we have seen expounded
recently from the Catholic Magisterium.
Since the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI,
Christian denominations seeking to become part of the Catholic Church
must adopt its doctrine, discipline and also its schizophrenia
especially in dealing with married men as priests,
women as priests, and with the lives of gays/lesbians.
The Catholic Church has shown little desire to discuss
with an open mind
the universality of the separated churches that are called "Christian".
If the Catholic Church is unable to engage in dialogue
(openness to listening as well as to speaking)
with other Christian confessions,
how will it be able to dialogue with peoples of other cultures, other religions?
What the hierarchy is doing now
is beating a retreat back to the fortifications of Trent.
That world is structured, settled,
and has a hierarchically ecclesiastical typology
that, in reality, thumbs its nose at those who are searching,
who value the prophetic and the charismatic,
at those who call themselves the People of God.
Benedict XVI favors Augustine's concept of reality,
the City of God (Benedict's concept of Church)
vs. the City of Man,
the relative, secular modern world.
In Benedict's "City of God"
the inhabitants must be prepared to engage in battle with
the pagan concepts of secularism and relativism.
Those who do combat
must embrace obedience, unity of thought,
compliance, docility, regimentation,
and discipline under their superiors:
the hierarchy and of course, the Curia and the Pope
(Commander in Chief).
The real tragedy is that
instead of helping people of all religions grow in their Faith,
Catholicism has been relegated by its hierarchs into being
just another competing "ism."
not only in the Greek epics "Iliad" and "Odyssey"
but also in the Indian epics of "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata".
An understanding of Christian expressions of Truth
from the Eastern Orthodox
can be read in
"The Chronicles of Kiev"
and the epic-like tales of "Marko" coming out of Serbia.
Native American, Asian and tales from Oceania
present the highest qualities of humanity
(and love of God---however God was called.)
Where did this goodness,
this desire for truth,
and the exhibition of natural dignity come from?
Is it only to be found in the Western world?
Is it found only in writings of those who belong to the Catholic Church?
The study of the World's great literature
can be a foundation
to uncovering the greatness of humanity's desire
to reach to the stars,
to touch the face of God,
and then to be hugged by that God in return.
The Catholic Church has long listed “Universal” as one of its Marks.
But the term “universal” is deceptive.
Is it that the Church is found all over the world
(a tribute to the men and women missionaries)?
That is only a geographic sense of universality,
and the Church isn't thinking here about possible intelligent beings
on other solar systems---when using the term “universal.”
While geographic universality is no small achievement,
geography does not even begin to touch upon
the spiritual/philosophical concepts of universality.
Bede Griffiths' vision is so much wider, deeper and more sensitive
than anything we have seen expounded
recently from the Catholic Magisterium.
Since the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI,
Christian denominations seeking to become part of the Catholic Church
must adopt its doctrine, discipline and also its schizophrenia
especially in dealing with married men as priests,
women as priests, and with the lives of gays/lesbians.
The Catholic Church has shown little desire to discuss
with an open mind
the universality of the separated churches that are called "Christian".
If the Catholic Church is unable to engage in dialogue
(openness to listening as well as to speaking)
with other Christian confessions,
how will it be able to dialogue with peoples of other cultures, other religions?
What the hierarchy is doing now
is beating a retreat back to the fortifications of Trent.
That world is structured, settled,
and has a hierarchically ecclesiastical typology
that, in reality, thumbs its nose at those who are searching,
who value the prophetic and the charismatic,
at those who call themselves the People of God.
Benedict XVI favors Augustine's concept of reality,
the City of God (Benedict's concept of Church)
vs. the City of Man,
the relative, secular modern world.
In Benedict's "City of God"
the inhabitants must be prepared to engage in battle with
the pagan concepts of secularism and relativism.
Those who do combat
must embrace obedience, unity of thought,
compliance, docility, regimentation,
and discipline under their superiors:
the hierarchy and of course, the Curia and the Pope
(Commander in Chief).
The real tragedy is that
instead of helping people of all religions grow in their Faith,
Catholicism has been relegated by its hierarchs into being
just another competing "ism."
Monday, January 30, 2012
Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB- Refusal to Endorse "New" Vatican Liturgy
Father Anthony Ruff, OSB to U.S. bishops, in which he explains his reasons for withdrawing from a speaking tour to introduce the new missal translation across the country. He had served as chairman of the music committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), the group at the center of the English translation process until the Vatican rejected its work and imposed its own version.
http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=12688&comments=1
http://www.praytellblog.com/
http://futurechurch.org/podcasts/#ruff
http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=12688&comments=1
http://www.praytellblog.com/
http://futurechurch.org/podcasts/#ruff
Sunday, January 29, 2012
"Bless You" by William J. Schuch, Naples and East Aurora, N.Y./ Naples News
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/29/letter-bless-you/
Notwithstanding Bishop Frank Dewane's stern warning to former nun Judy Beaumont not to attempt ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood ("Church warns for woman's soul,'' Jan. 21 Daily News), I attended her valid ordination later that day at Lamb of God Lutheran-Episcopal Church in Fort Myers, which has been supporting Beaumont and Roman Catholic woman priest Judy Lee in their ministry to the needy and homeless at Joshua House, which the two women founded.
It was an inspiring event despite the mean-spirited threat of automatic excommunication for those participating in the ordination. Who knows? Maybe even I qualified for that badge of distinction.
Prior to the ordination and Mass, presided over by Bridget Mary Meehan, one of 12 validly consecrated female Roman Catholic bishops in the world, the crowd viewed the film "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican," a well-documented history of the first 12 centuries of the Church when there were married priests and female priests and bishops, and the centuries since then when females have been arbitrarily denied response to Christ's call to the priesthood by our male hierarchs who insist they are Christ's only sanctioned intermediaries.
I'm appalled at women's willingness to accept second-class church citizenship.
Maybe if they all stayed home next Sunday, the semi-empty churches might send a message to the wannabe monarchs in the chanceries throughout the Catholic world?
Be true to your gender and give it a try, ladies. Make us men proud of you.
Notwithstanding Bishop Frank Dewane's stern warning to former nun Judy Beaumont not to attempt ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood ("Church warns for woman's soul,'' Jan. 21 Daily News), I attended her valid ordination later that day at Lamb of God Lutheran-Episcopal Church in Fort Myers, which has been supporting Beaumont and Roman Catholic woman priest Judy Lee in their ministry to the needy and homeless at Joshua House, which the two women founded.
It was an inspiring event despite the mean-spirited threat of automatic excommunication for those participating in the ordination. Who knows? Maybe even I qualified for that badge of distinction.
Prior to the ordination and Mass, presided over by Bridget Mary Meehan, one of 12 validly consecrated female Roman Catholic bishops in the world, the crowd viewed the film "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican," a well-documented history of the first 12 centuries of the Church when there were married priests and female priests and bishops, and the centuries since then when females have been arbitrarily denied response to Christ's call to the priesthood by our male hierarchs who insist they are Christ's only sanctioned intermediaries.
I'm appalled at women's willingness to accept second-class church citizenship.
Maybe if they all stayed home next Sunday, the semi-empty churches might send a message to the wannabe monarchs in the chanceries throughout the Catholic world?
Be true to your gender and give it a try, ladies. Make us men proud of you.
Friday, January 27, 2012
"PINK SMOKE OVER THE VATICAN" by Jules Hart CAN NOW BE PURCHASED ONLINE
The DVD Pink Smoke Over the Vatican by Jules Hart can now be purchased online!
Go to http://www.pinksmokeoverthevatican.com/
Go to http://www.pinksmokeoverthevatican.com/
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Vatican Official Warns Pope of Corruption/Needed a "Vatican Vigil" by a People-Empowered Church/ and Women Priests
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2012/01/26/vatican_official_warns_pope_of_corruption/
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
– VATICAN CITY – An Italian news program has obtained letters from a top Vatican official to the pope in which he begs not to be transferred after exposing corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts that cost the Holy See millions of euros (dollars).
Bridget Mary's Reflection
Anyone ready for another movie like the Da Vinci Code? We need a "Vatican Watch" Vigil by a people-empowered Catholic Church!
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
– VATICAN CITY – An Italian news program has obtained letters from a top Vatican official to the pope in which he begs not to be transferred after exposing corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts that cost the Holy See millions of euros (dollars).
Bridget Mary's Reflection
Anyone ready for another movie like the Da Vinci Code? We need a "Vatican Watch" Vigil by a people-empowered Catholic Church!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Judy Beaumont's Ordination as a Roman Catholic Woman Priest in Ft. Myers, Florida- Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests- Clips of Videos on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKHFzsltk90&feature=youtu.be
Homily:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ7hpuaRcXQ
Approximately 300 P:eople Attended Ordination of Judy Beaumont in Ft. Myers, Fl. on Jan. 21, 2012
Link to Picasa Album for Ordination Photos of Judy Beaumont's Ordination in Ft. Myers, Florida on Jan. 21, 2012
Newly Ordained Priest Judy Beaumont gives communion to Joelle, a child from Good Shepherd Community
https://picasaweb.google.com/113861846354577318112/JUDYBEAUMONTSORDINATIONJanuary212012?locked=true#
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
More than 200 People Attend Ordination of Judy Beaumont as a Roman Catholic Woman Priest/ News Stories
LIVE STREAM of ORDINATION of JUDY BEAUMONT
More than 200 People Attend fort Myers Woman's Ordination as Roman Catholic Priest
http://www.news-press.com/article/20120121/NEWS0110/120121014/0/NEWS0104/More-than-200-attend-Fort-Myers-woman-s-ordination-Roman-Catholic-priest?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Fort Myers woman to be ordained Catholic priest; church leaders warn of consequences to her 'immortal soul' By STEPHANIE BORDEN /Naples Daily News
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/20/fort-myers-woman-to-be-ordained-catholic-priest/
..."But Beaumont said she rejects any excommunication."I will still consider myself a faithful Catholic," she said. "We are not leaving the church. We are creating a new model of the church."Beaumont replied to Dewane in a late-December letter."I understand that you are fulfilling your obligation as Bishop and I take your words seriously," she wrote. "However, I must reply that as I have tried throughout my life to answer the call of the Gospel to serve God's people, I must again answer this new call to sacramental ministry with the poor and otherwise marginalized people in our midst."
"Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan, who will preside over Beaumont's ordination, says she considers several letters of excommunication she received following her own ordination "as badges of honor.""The church has a habit of excommunicating holy women and men, such as burning Joan of Arc at the stake," she said. "Pope Benedict himself has canonized two previously ex-communicated nuns — Mother Theodore Guerin and Mary MacKillop — making excommunication a new fast-track to canonization. Meehan said she has the apostolic succession required by the Roman Catholic Church to ordain Beaumont as a priest because she herself was ordained by Bishop Patricia Fresen in 2009, who was ordained by a male bishop in communion with the Pope."Social justice, a love of the Church, the Church liturgy, and the holy people of the Church," Beaumont said. "Those were the values instilled in me as a child."
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Judy Beaumont's Ordination Will Be On Live Streaming on Sat. Jan. 21st. 2012- 3PM-5PM,The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests Leads the Church Toward Justice and Equality
http://www.lambofgodchurch.net/
3pm to 5 pm (approximately) Sat. Jan. 21, 2012
Watch history in the making live!Go to videos on left hand side and the live streaming will come up.
3pm to 5 pm (approximately) Sat. Jan. 21, 2012
Watch history in the making live!Go to videos on left hand side and the live streaming will come up.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
"Fort Myers Woman Defies Church to be Ordained Roman Catholic Priest" by Mary Wozniak/Fr. Myers News Press
http://www.news-press.com/article/20120115/NEWS0110/301150049/1014/business/Fort-Myers-woman-defies-church-ordained-Roman-Catholic-priest?odyssey=nav%7Chead
The News-Press
"Judy Beaumont plans to take a historic step Saturday, one that will jeopardize her immortal soul.
Beaumont, 74, of Fort Myers, is defying centuries-old doctrine in becoming the first woman in Southwest Florida to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest. The church decrees this role is reserved for men. Bishop Frank Dewane of the Diocese of Venice, which oversees the Catholic faithful in 10 counties, including all of Southwest Florida, has warned her not to cross that patriarchal line.
“It has been brought to my attention that you purportedly reside in the Diocese of Venice in Florida and may attempt to be ‘ordained’ to the ministerial priesthood here within this Diocese,” Dewane wrote in a letter to Beaumont. “This is a most grave and serious matter of consequence for your soul.”
The consequence is automatic excommunication, or expulsion from the church, the bishop wrote. The same penalty applies to anyone who participates in the ordination ceremony.
Beaumont says she will follow her conscience and take the consequences. The ordination will be held at 3 p.m. at Lamb of God Church, a Lutheran-Episcopal congregation on Cypress View Drive in Fort Myers.
“Of course, we all reject that excommunication, because it’s a man-made rule that does not really follow what we know of Jesus, what Jesus would do,” said Beaumont, who entered the convent at 17 and was a Benedictine nun for 35 years. “How can any group of human beings say to God, ‘You can’t call a woman.’?”
She is one of more than 124 women priests and 10 woman bishops who say they have been called to serve in the Catholic Church. Most are in the United States, but others are found in South America, Germany, Austria, France, Ireland, Canada and other countries. The movement began in 2002 with the ordination of seven women by a male priest on the Danube River....
But the idea women can’t be priests also is a man-made rule, said Bridget Mary Meehan, a woman Catholic bishop who is based in Sarasota and will preside over Beaumont’s ordination.Women priests, their supporters and some scholars claim scripture and other documentation shows women as well as men were called by Jesus and shared equally as his followers. They particularly note a 2007 book by Jesuit scholar Gary Macy called “The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination.”The bishop’s letter reflects “the misogynist tradition in the Roman Catholic Church” about women’s rights, Meehan said.“Women priests are the Rosa Parks of the Catholic Church,” she said. “We are no longer going to sit in the back of the Catholic bus in subordination to the hierarchy. We are not leaving the church. We are leading the church into a new era of justice and equality for women.”
Beaumont said the gospels that name the 12 men came out of a time when men dominated the culture.
“There were women in the first 1,200 years of the church who were serving in the ministerial roles of deacon, priest and bishop,” she said. “There is documented history for that even though the bishops reject that scholarship.”
The News-Press
"Judy Beaumont plans to take a historic step Saturday, one that will jeopardize her immortal soul.
Beaumont, 74, of Fort Myers, is defying centuries-old doctrine in becoming the first woman in Southwest Florida to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest. The church decrees this role is reserved for men. Bishop Frank Dewane of the Diocese of Venice, which oversees the Catholic faithful in 10 counties, including all of Southwest Florida, has warned her not to cross that patriarchal line.
“It has been brought to my attention that you purportedly reside in the Diocese of Venice in Florida and may attempt to be ‘ordained’ to the ministerial priesthood here within this Diocese,” Dewane wrote in a letter to Beaumont. “This is a most grave and serious matter of consequence for your soul.”
The consequence is automatic excommunication, or expulsion from the church, the bishop wrote. The same penalty applies to anyone who participates in the ordination ceremony.
Beaumont says she will follow her conscience and take the consequences. The ordination will be held at 3 p.m. at Lamb of God Church, a Lutheran-Episcopal congregation on Cypress View Drive in Fort Myers.
“Of course, we all reject that excommunication, because it’s a man-made rule that does not really follow what we know of Jesus, what Jesus would do,” said Beaumont, who entered the convent at 17 and was a Benedictine nun for 35 years. “How can any group of human beings say to God, ‘You can’t call a woman.’?”
She is one of more than 124 women priests and 10 woman bishops who say they have been called to serve in the Catholic Church. Most are in the United States, but others are found in South America, Germany, Austria, France, Ireland, Canada and other countries. The movement began in 2002 with the ordination of seven women by a male priest on the Danube River....
But the idea women can’t be priests also is a man-made rule, said Bridget Mary Meehan, a woman Catholic bishop who is based in Sarasota and will preside over Beaumont’s ordination.Women priests, their supporters and some scholars claim scripture and other documentation shows women as well as men were called by Jesus and shared equally as his followers. They particularly note a 2007 book by Jesuit scholar Gary Macy called “The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination.”The bishop’s letter reflects “the misogynist tradition in the Roman Catholic Church” about women’s rights, Meehan said.“Women priests are the Rosa Parks of the Catholic Church,” she said. “We are no longer going to sit in the back of the Catholic bus in subordination to the hierarchy. We are not leaving the church. We are leading the church into a new era of justice and equality for women.”
Beaumont said the gospels that name the 12 men came out of a time when men dominated the culture.
“There were women in the first 1,200 years of the church who were serving in the ministerial roles of deacon, priest and bishop,” she said. “There is documented history for that even though the bishops reject that scholarship.”
Judy Beaumont (left) visiting a member of community
Saturday, January 14, 2012
"No Longer, I will no longer debate the issue of Women's Ordination..." by John Chuchman
I will no longer debate the issue of women’s ordination in the church with anyone. I will no longer engage the biblical ignorance
that emanates from so many right-wing Christians
about how all of Jesus’ Apostles were male,
as if that point of view still has any credibility.
I will no longer discuss with them or listen to them tell me
how “only males can be representations of Christ,"
about how women have a “different role” in the Church,
or about how male-only ordination is “the Church’s Tradition.”
Those arguments are no longer worthy of my time or energy.
I will no longer dignify by listening to the thoughts of those
who advocate that women be happy being nuns and priests’ helpers.
I will no longer talk to those who believe
that the unity of the church can or should be achieved
at the expense of the dignity of women.
I will no longer take the time to refute
the unlearned and undocumented claims
of certain gynophobic religious leaders
who advocate for Male Superiority.
I will no longer listen to that pious sentimentality
that certain Christian leaders continue to employ,
which suggests some version of that strange and overtly dishonest phrase that
"Male-Only Ordination is the Church’s Tradition."
That statement is nothing more than a self-serving lie
designed to cover the fact that these people fear women,
yet somehow know that this fear is incompatible
with the Christ they claim to profess,
so they adopt this face-saving and absolutely false statement.
I will no longer temper my understanding of truth
in order to pretend that I have even a tiny smidgen of respect
for the appalling negativity that continues to emanate from religious circles
where the church has for centuries conveniently perfumed
its ongoing prejudices against blacks, Jews, women and homosexual persons
with what it assumes is "high-sounding, pious rhetoric."
The day for that mentality has quite simply come to an end for me.
I will personally neither tolerate it nor listen to it any longer.
The world has moved on,
leaving these elements of the Christian Church that cannot adjust
to new knowledge or a new consciousness
lost in a sea of their own irrelevance.
They no longer talk to anyone but themselves.
I will no longer seek to slow down the witness to inclusiveness
by pretending that there is some middle ground
between prejudice and oppression.
There isn't.
Justice postponed is justice denied.
That can be a resting place no longer for anyone.
An old civil rights song proclaimed that
the only choice awaiting those who cannot adjust to a new understanding
was to "Roll on over or we'll roll on over you!"
Time waits for no one.
It is time for the Church to announce that there are no longer two sides
to the issue of full Equality for Women.
There is no way that justice for Women
can be compromised any longer.
I will no longer act as if the Papal office is to be respected
if the present occupant of that office is either not willing or not able
to inform and educate himself on public issues on which he dares to speak
with embarrassing ineptitude.
I see no way that ignorance and truth can be placed side by side,
nor do I believe that evil is somehow less evil if the Bible is quoted to justify it.
It is time to move on.
The battle is over.
The victory has been won.
There is no reasonable doubt
as to what the final outcome of this struggle will be.
Women have a legitimate claim on every right
that both church and society have to offer any of us.
The ordination of Women
is recognized by the state
and must be pronounced holy by the church.
Can any of us imagine
having a public referendum on whether slavery should continue,
whether segregation should be dismantled,
whether voting privileges should be offered to women?
I will also no longer act as if I need a majority vote of some ecclesiastical body
in order to bless, ordain, recognize and celebrate the lives and gifts
of Women in the life of the church.
No one should ever again be forced
to submit the privilege of citizenship in this nation
or membership in the Christian Church to the will of a majority vote.
The battle in both our culture and our church
to rid our souls of this dying prejudice is finished.
A new consciousness has arisen.
A decision has quite clearly been made.
Inequality for Women is no longer a debatable issue
in either church or state.
Therefore, I will from this moment on
refuse to dignify the continued public expression of ignorant prejudice
by engaging it.
I do not tolerate racism or sexism any longer.
From this moment on,
I will no longer tolerate our culture's various forms of homophobia.
I do not care who it is who articulates these attitudes
or who tries to make them sound holy with religious jargon.
Things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me.
I do not debate any longer with members of the "Flat Earth Society" either.
I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy
by casting demons out of the epileptic person;
I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions
that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection.
I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church's participation
in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve
or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day.
Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize,
but do public penance
for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions
and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people.
Life moves on.
As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago:
"New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth."
I am ready now to claim the victory.
I will from now on assume it and live into it.
I am unwilling to argue about it
or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer.
The day for that mentality has simply gone forever.
No longer . . .
For more books and poems by John Chuchman, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLJKAW
and
on KINDLE:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A133140011&field-keywords=John%20Chuchman&page=1
that emanates from so many right-wing Christians
about how all of Jesus’ Apostles were male,
as if that point of view still has any credibility.
I will no longer discuss with them or listen to them tell me
how “only males can be representations of Christ,"
about how women have a “different role” in the Church,
or about how male-only ordination is “the Church’s Tradition.”
Those arguments are no longer worthy of my time or energy.
I will no longer dignify by listening to the thoughts of those
who advocate that women be happy being nuns and priests’ helpers.
I will no longer talk to those who believe
that the unity of the church can or should be achieved
at the expense of the dignity of women.
I will no longer take the time to refute
the unlearned and undocumented claims
of certain gynophobic religious leaders
who advocate for Male Superiority.
I will no longer listen to that pious sentimentality
that certain Christian leaders continue to employ,
which suggests some version of that strange and overtly dishonest phrase that
"Male-Only Ordination is the Church’s Tradition."
That statement is nothing more than a self-serving lie
designed to cover the fact that these people fear women,
yet somehow know that this fear is incompatible
with the Christ they claim to profess,
so they adopt this face-saving and absolutely false statement.
I will no longer temper my understanding of truth
in order to pretend that I have even a tiny smidgen of respect
for the appalling negativity that continues to emanate from religious circles
where the church has for centuries conveniently perfumed
its ongoing prejudices against blacks, Jews, women and homosexual persons
with what it assumes is "high-sounding, pious rhetoric."
The day for that mentality has quite simply come to an end for me.
I will personally neither tolerate it nor listen to it any longer.
The world has moved on,
leaving these elements of the Christian Church that cannot adjust
to new knowledge or a new consciousness
lost in a sea of their own irrelevance.
They no longer talk to anyone but themselves.
I will no longer seek to slow down the witness to inclusiveness
by pretending that there is some middle ground
between prejudice and oppression.
There isn't.
Justice postponed is justice denied.
That can be a resting place no longer for anyone.
An old civil rights song proclaimed that
the only choice awaiting those who cannot adjust to a new understanding
was to "Roll on over or we'll roll on over you!"
Time waits for no one.
It is time for the Church to announce that there are no longer two sides
to the issue of full Equality for Women.
There is no way that justice for Women
can be compromised any longer.
I will no longer act as if the Papal office is to be respected
if the present occupant of that office is either not willing or not able
to inform and educate himself on public issues on which he dares to speak
with embarrassing ineptitude.
I see no way that ignorance and truth can be placed side by side,
nor do I believe that evil is somehow less evil if the Bible is quoted to justify it.
It is time to move on.
The battle is over.
The victory has been won.
There is no reasonable doubt
as to what the final outcome of this struggle will be.
Women have a legitimate claim on every right
that both church and society have to offer any of us.
The ordination of Women
is recognized by the state
and must be pronounced holy by the church.
Can any of us imagine
having a public referendum on whether slavery should continue,
whether segregation should be dismantled,
whether voting privileges should be offered to women?
I will also no longer act as if I need a majority vote of some ecclesiastical body
in order to bless, ordain, recognize and celebrate the lives and gifts
of Women in the life of the church.
No one should ever again be forced
to submit the privilege of citizenship in this nation
or membership in the Christian Church to the will of a majority vote.
The battle in both our culture and our church
to rid our souls of this dying prejudice is finished.
A new consciousness has arisen.
A decision has quite clearly been made.
Inequality for Women is no longer a debatable issue
in either church or state.
Therefore, I will from this moment on
refuse to dignify the continued public expression of ignorant prejudice
by engaging it.
I do not tolerate racism or sexism any longer.
From this moment on,
I will no longer tolerate our culture's various forms of homophobia.
I do not care who it is who articulates these attitudes
or who tries to make them sound holy with religious jargon.
Things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me.
I do not debate any longer with members of the "Flat Earth Society" either.
I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy
by casting demons out of the epileptic person;
I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions
that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection.
I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church's participation
in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve
or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day.
Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize,
but do public penance
for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions
and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people.
Life moves on.
As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago:
"New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth."
I am ready now to claim the victory.
I will from now on assume it and live into it.
I am unwilling to argue about it
or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer.
The day for that mentality has simply gone forever.
No longer . . .
For more books and poems by John Chuchman, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLJKAW
and
on KINDLE:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A133140011&field-keywords=John%20Chuchman&page=1
Friday, January 13, 2012
"The Ordination of Women: Infallibly Taught?" by Peter Burns, S. J.
http://astro.temple.edu/~arcc/burns.htm
..."Ordinatio sacerdotalis was declared by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to be a teaching act that was, and I quote, "not itself infallible." It was made explicit by the Congregation at the press conference held to publicize its Responsio ad dubium (relating to the Apostolic Letter) that ordinatio sacerdotalis was NOT an exercise of the pope's extraordinary infallible magisterium. ..
Although it conceded that the teaching contained in OS was not infallibly taught in virtue of the extraordinary papal magisterium, the CDF nonetheless gave its opinion that the teaching contained in OS was an infallibly taught doctrine in virtue of the ordinary magisterium of the Church as explicated in section 25 of Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church issued by Vatican II. That is, it was the opinion of the CDF that the doctrine had already, prior to and independently of OS, been taught infallibly by the College of Bishops in union with the pope as a teaching that must be definitively held (tenenda definitive) to belong to the deposit of faith. This mode of infallible teaching requires a clear, constant teaching on the part of the bishops as a moral whole that some point of doctrine has been divinely revealed (cf. Lumen gentium, 25)
There are 3 modes of infallible teaching:
an infallible ex cathedra definition by the pope (this need not follow a consultation with the College of Bishops, though this was the practice in the two clear cases of such a definition, the Immaculate Conception (Pius IX, 1854) and the Assumption of the BVM (Pius XII, 1950);
a solemn definition by a valid ecumenical council of the Church (e.g. the dogmatic decrees on the divinity and humanity of Christ etc, at Nicaea and Chalcedon and many other dogmas); and
a constant teaching, not with any specific definition or formula, by the College of Bishops while dispersed around the world, but maintaining communion with the pope, that a doctrine belongs to the deposit of faith and must be held definitively as such by all the faithful (an example would be the Resurrection of Christ). What the CDF said clearly enough was that OS contains a teaching which has been infallibly taught in the third of these modes. It also EXPLICITLY said that OS was NOT an instance of the first of these modes. And obviously the matter has not been solemnly defined in the second (conciliar) mode.That is the official Catholic position. I won't enter any dispute about this, because it's silly to argue about facts. And these are the facts about the official position of the Church. They can readily be verified by reading the documents issued by the CDF and the relevant issues of L'Osservatore Romano..."
"Now, the next question we must ask: is the CDF's opinion about the infallible status of the doctrine itself infallible? The answer is definitely NO. Why? Because NOTHING the CDF says is EVER infallibly said. The CDF is not the pope speaking ex cathedra, nor is it a valid ecumenical council, nor is it the College of Bishops in union with the pope. The only way a doctrine can be infallibly taught is by one of the 3 modes of infallible teaching I described above. The CDF can give an opinion about if or when a teaching has been infallibly taught, but ITS OPINION IS ITSELF ALWAYS FALLIBLE. THE CDF IS NOT ENDOWED WITH INFALLIBILITY. Of course, the CDF can state a doctrine which has been infallibly taught. But so can anyone. If I simply repeated an infallibly defined doctrine, such as the Assumption, I would say something which has been infallibly taught. I would be uttering an infallible truth. But I would not be infallible then or ever. Same with the CDF. Its opinion on this as on any other matter is fallible. "
..."Ordinatio sacerdotalis was declared by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to be a teaching act that was, and I quote, "not itself infallible." It was made explicit by the Congregation at the press conference held to publicize its Responsio ad dubium (relating to the Apostolic Letter) that ordinatio sacerdotalis was NOT an exercise of the pope's extraordinary infallible magisterium. ..
Although it conceded that the teaching contained in OS was not infallibly taught in virtue of the extraordinary papal magisterium, the CDF nonetheless gave its opinion that the teaching contained in OS was an infallibly taught doctrine in virtue of the ordinary magisterium of the Church as explicated in section 25 of Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church issued by Vatican II. That is, it was the opinion of the CDF that the doctrine had already, prior to and independently of OS, been taught infallibly by the College of Bishops in union with the pope as a teaching that must be definitively held (tenenda definitive) to belong to the deposit of faith. This mode of infallible teaching requires a clear, constant teaching on the part of the bishops as a moral whole that some point of doctrine has been divinely revealed (cf. Lumen gentium, 25)
There are 3 modes of infallible teaching:
an infallible ex cathedra definition by the pope (this need not follow a consultation with the College of Bishops, though this was the practice in the two clear cases of such a definition, the Immaculate Conception (Pius IX, 1854) and the Assumption of the BVM (Pius XII, 1950);
a solemn definition by a valid ecumenical council of the Church (e.g. the dogmatic decrees on the divinity and humanity of Christ etc, at Nicaea and Chalcedon and many other dogmas); and
a constant teaching, not with any specific definition or formula, by the College of Bishops while dispersed around the world, but maintaining communion with the pope, that a doctrine belongs to the deposit of faith and must be held definitively as such by all the faithful (an example would be the Resurrection of Christ). What the CDF said clearly enough was that OS contains a teaching which has been infallibly taught in the third of these modes. It also EXPLICITLY said that OS was NOT an instance of the first of these modes. And obviously the matter has not been solemnly defined in the second (conciliar) mode.That is the official Catholic position. I won't enter any dispute about this, because it's silly to argue about facts. And these are the facts about the official position of the Church. They can readily be verified by reading the documents issued by the CDF and the relevant issues of L'Osservatore Romano..."
"Now, the next question we must ask: is the CDF's opinion about the infallible status of the doctrine itself infallible? The answer is definitely NO. Why? Because NOTHING the CDF says is EVER infallibly said. The CDF is not the pope speaking ex cathedra, nor is it a valid ecumenical council, nor is it the College of Bishops in union with the pope. The only way a doctrine can be infallibly taught is by one of the 3 modes of infallible teaching I described above. The CDF can give an opinion about if or when a teaching has been infallibly taught, but ITS OPINION IS ITSELF ALWAYS FALLIBLE. THE CDF IS NOT ENDOWED WITH INFALLIBILITY. Of course, the CDF can state a doctrine which has been infallibly taught. But so can anyone. If I simply repeated an infallibly defined doctrine, such as the Assumption, I would say something which has been infallibly taught. I would be uttering an infallible truth. But I would not be infallible then or ever. Same with the CDF. Its opinion on this as on any other matter is fallible. "
"WHAT will life be like for the wives of Roman Catholic priests? "/ More Evidence of Hierarchy's Misogyny from History of Church
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/opinion/for-priests-wives-a-word-of-caution.html?_r=2&hp
"On Sunday, the Vatican announced the creation of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, a special division of the Roman Catholic Church that former Episcopal congregations and priests — including, notably, married priests — can enter together en masse. The Vatican has stressed that the allowance for married priests is merely an exception (like similar dispensations made in the past by the Vatican) and by no means a permanent condition of the priesthood. If a priest is single when he enters the ordinariate, he may not marry, nor may a married priest, in the event of his wife’s death, remarry. Nonetheless, the Roman Catholic Church is prepared to house married priests in numbers perhaps not seen since the years before 1123, when the First Lateran Council adopted canon 21, prohibiting clerical marriage... By the time of the First Lateran Council, the priest’s wife had become a symbol of wantonness and defilement. The reason was that during this period the nature of the host consecrated at Mass received greater theological scrutiny. Medieval theologians were in the process of determining that bread and wine, at the moment of consecration in the hands of an ordained priest at the altar, truly became the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The priest who handled the body and blood of Christ should therefore be uncontaminated lest he defile the sacred corpus. The priest’s wife was an obvious danger. Her wanton desire, suggested the 11th-century monk Peter Damian, threatened the efficacy of consecration. He chastised priests’ wives as “furious vipers who out of ardor of impatient lust decapitate Christ, the head of clerics,” with their lovers. According to the historian Dyan Elliott, priests’ wives were perceived as raping the altar, a perpetration not only of the priest but also of the whole Christian community... "
Sara Ritchey is an assistant professor of medieval European history at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
Bridget Mary's Reflection
Let's hope that Pope Benedict will acknowledge the institutional church's horrific history of misogyny in their treatment of women including the wives of priests in the 11th century.
The policy of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter prohibiting a priest to remarry after his wife dies certainly does not inspire confidence that change is in air! Equality, mutuality, partnership are words we would like to hear in describing "What will life be like for the wives of Roman Catholic priests?" Roman Catholic Women Priests are living the vision of Jesus now in inclusive communities of equals and it is time for the institutional church to do so too.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
"On Sunday, the Vatican announced the creation of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, a special division of the Roman Catholic Church that former Episcopal congregations and priests — including, notably, married priests — can enter together en masse. The Vatican has stressed that the allowance for married priests is merely an exception (like similar dispensations made in the past by the Vatican) and by no means a permanent condition of the priesthood. If a priest is single when he enters the ordinariate, he may not marry, nor may a married priest, in the event of his wife’s death, remarry. Nonetheless, the Roman Catholic Church is prepared to house married priests in numbers perhaps not seen since the years before 1123, when the First Lateran Council adopted canon 21, prohibiting clerical marriage... By the time of the First Lateran Council, the priest’s wife had become a symbol of wantonness and defilement. The reason was that during this period the nature of the host consecrated at Mass received greater theological scrutiny. Medieval theologians were in the process of determining that bread and wine, at the moment of consecration in the hands of an ordained priest at the altar, truly became the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The priest who handled the body and blood of Christ should therefore be uncontaminated lest he defile the sacred corpus. The priest’s wife was an obvious danger. Her wanton desire, suggested the 11th-century monk Peter Damian, threatened the efficacy of consecration. He chastised priests’ wives as “furious vipers who out of ardor of impatient lust decapitate Christ, the head of clerics,” with their lovers. According to the historian Dyan Elliott, priests’ wives were perceived as raping the altar, a perpetration not only of the priest but also of the whole Christian community... "
Sara Ritchey is an assistant professor of medieval European history at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
Bridget Mary's Reflection
Let's hope that Pope Benedict will acknowledge the institutional church's horrific history of misogyny in their treatment of women including the wives of priests in the 11th century.
The policy of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter prohibiting a priest to remarry after his wife dies certainly does not inspire confidence that change is in air! Equality, mutuality, partnership are words we would like to hear in describing "What will life be like for the wives of Roman Catholic priests?" Roman Catholic Women Priests are living the vision of Jesus now in inclusive communities of equals and it is time for the institutional church to do so too.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
"To Obey" by John Chuchman
To Obey
The word Obedience
comes from the root audire
to hear.
Obedience,
in its essence,
is Listening followed by Acting Free!
(not simply doing what another tells me).
Jesus,
time and again,
is quoted as
calling us to Listen.
It seems there are a number of areas
in my life
to which I must be tuned in.
I try to listen to
the wild word of God
as presented in Scripture,
hoping it warms my heart
and pierces it
with Love.
I try to listen to
Church,
as defined in Vatican II
as We, the Body of Christ,
men and women of all denominations and faiths
whose judgment I respect.
I try to listen to
Unbelievers,
who speak their Truth,
knowing I can learn from them,
also Children of God.
I try to listen to
the signs of the times,
the voice of social change
in society,
knowing human experience to be
the very stuff of Spirituality.
I try to listen to
Children, The Handicapped, The Sick,
The Dying, The Bereaved, The Aged
by tapping in to their
directness and simplicity
which offer a special access
to Truth.
I try to listen to
The Word of God in My Heart,
guided by conscience,
motivated by the promptings of
the Holy Spirit.
Simply doing as I am told
by whatever authority,
without Listening
to all possible sources of Wisdom,
is spiritual death.
I can
live and act with Wisdom
only
if I heed the call of Jesus
to
Listen.
http://poetmanjohn@cox.net/
The word Obedience
comes from the root audire
to hear.
Obedience,
in its essence,
is Listening followed by Acting Free!
(not simply doing what another tells me).
Jesus,
time and again,
is quoted as
calling us to Listen.
It seems there are a number of areas
in my life
to which I must be tuned in.
I try to listen to
the wild word of God
as presented in Scripture,
hoping it warms my heart
and pierces it
with Love.
I try to listen to
Church,
as defined in Vatican II
as We, the Body of Christ,
men and women of all denominations and faiths
whose judgment I respect.
I try to listen to
Unbelievers,
who speak their Truth,
knowing I can learn from them,
also Children of God.
I try to listen to
the signs of the times,
the voice of social change
in society,
knowing human experience to be
the very stuff of Spirituality.
I try to listen to
Children, The Handicapped, The Sick,
The Dying, The Bereaved, The Aged
by tapping in to their
directness and simplicity
which offer a special access
to Truth.
I try to listen to
The Word of God in My Heart,
guided by conscience,
motivated by the promptings of
the Holy Spirit.
Simply doing as I am told
by whatever authority,
without Listening
to all possible sources of Wisdom,
is spiritual death.
I can
live and act with Wisdom
only
if I heed the call of Jesus
to
Listen.
http://poetmanjohn@cox.net/
Thursday, January 12, 2012
"Messages from God"/ Homily by Deacon Donna Rogeux, ARCWP
Messages from God
First reading: 1Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
Do you ever feel like you are being swamped with messages? Because of the sophisticated technology that surrounds us, we have at our fingertips many different ways to communicate with others. We have email, text messages, instant messages, face time, Skype and cell phones. When we are surrounded by all of these ways to communicate it is possible to become overwhelmed with too much information. It can be challenging to sift through it all keeping the focus on the important messages that need our attention. It seems that a constant theme throughout history has been the issues around being able to communicate with others and with God. Even though we are light years away from the story we just heard in first Samuel, the problem of recognizing the voice of God seems to be a constant. With all of our modern ways of communicating one might think it would be easier now than in Samuel's time to communicate with God. But another way of looking at this goes back to the overloaded feeling we can have in this information age. There can be too many messages and we can miss the important ones. We can even miss the messages God sends us. So we must take Eli's advice to Samuel and Say "Speak YHWH, for your servant is listening." When we truly say these words and mean them we open ourselves up for unexpected experiences of God and may even find ourselves being led in directions we never imagined.
How do we listen to God’s voice in this world of many voices. How do we discern which voice is God’s voice and which voice is leading us away from God? Have you ever found yourself in a situation that is similar to the reading we just heard in the book of first Samuel? Have you ever heard the voice of God and thought it was someone else’s voice? Or have you ever tried desperately to hear God’s voice and become confused about which voice is truly coming from YHWH.
In today’s Gospel reading we see Jesus in the midst of his ministry going from place to place spreading the good news, healing Peter’s mother-in-law, teaching his disciples, only to find himself still ministering to others after sunset as they brought people to him who were ill and possessed with demons. This story illustrates that Jesus had the potential of feeling overloaded. An important detail in this story gives us insight about being able to discern God's voice even when we feel overloaded. The story reads, “Rising early the next morning, Jesus went off to a lonely place in the desert and prayed there.” Herein lies a key to hearing the voice of God and to warding off problems that come from being overloaded. Being alone in the desert opens up a space that can connect us to God. Taking quiet time away from our responsibilities spending quiet time of prayer and reflection can be the breath of fresh air that revives us when we feel overloaded. But ready or not God speaks to us with words, symbols, with music,without words, in quiet alone times, in community gatherings, in our happiest moments and in our saddest moments and moments in between. God seeks us even more than we seek God.
What does the voice of God sound like? Is it audible? How do we distinguish God's voice from other voices? These questions can be answered in many different ways because even though God probably doesn't Skype us or email us or call us on the cell phone there are many different ways to hear God speak. Samuel heard God at night when he was awakened from sleep. Moses heard God in the burning bush. God speaks to us in dreams and visions but the culture we live in seems more interested in scientific evidence than in a spiritual realm of unknowns. It can be very risky to tell about an experience of hearing God speak. The difference between our technological, scientific world and the place where we can hear God speak is one world emphasizes being able to figure everything out logically and the other is a place that allows mystery and just being open to the experience. When we truly say the words "Speak YHWH your servant is listening," we are opening ourselves up to this other place. In this other place we learn to see and hear differently. Fr. Richard Rohr explains this well in a meditation called "Learning to See." He reflects on a verse of scripture in Genesis that says,
“God, you were here all along, and I never knew it” (Genesis 28:16), says Jacob on awakening from his stone pillow.
Fr. Rohr's meditation says,
"The essential religious experience is that you are being “known through” more than knowing anything in particular yourself. Yet despite this difference, it will feel like true knowing. This new way of knowing can be called contemplation, nondualistic thinking, or “third-eye” seeing. Such prayer, such seeing, takes away your anxiety about figuring it all out fully for yourself, or needing to be right about your formulations.
At this point, God becomes more a verb than a noun, more a process than a conclusion, more an experience than a dogma, more a personal relationship than an idea. There is Someone dancing with you, and you are not so afraid of making mistakes. You know even those will be used in your favor. At that point you also have awakened from your stone pillow, and you know with a new clarity what you partly knew all along."
With this new ability to see without fully understanding it is possible to hear God in our experiences of this dance we encounter with God. We open ourselves to being able to see and hear God in a wide variety of experiences and we find ourselves on the path to fullness of life and kinship with God.
It is not always easy to hear God speak because sometimes we don't want to hear what God has to say. It can take courage to acknowledge the voice of God when this seems to be leading us into unfamiliar territory. But the rewards of liberation and life await us if we listen and follow God's call.
Have you ever tried to tell someone about a personal experience of hearing God speak? I will attempt to do that myself but with this disclaimer: it is hard to give the full picture because something seems to get lost in telling about it. And it is common to have very personal messages when God speaks. It is like you had to be there to get the full effect. We just find it hard to describe encounters with God. But I will give it a try.
I had been struggling with a situation that my son was involved in because my son's description of an incident was different than another persons description. I really wanted to believe my son's version but was unsure of who to believe. As I was driving one day the situation with my son was not in my mind at all and out of the blue came this thought that seemed very different from my own thoughts and it began with the words,"this is the boy who in second grade... "the voice continued and connected the second grade incident with the current situation. I found myself driving along with tears streaming down my face knowing that God just spoke to me and comforted me about the situation with my son. God was telling me that I could believe what my son had told me. This was a huge relief to me. And I know this was God speaking to me.
Simone Weil in her book,"Waiting for God" describes the natural longings that we all have to be in communion with God and directs our attention to God's role in this relationship dispelling the idea that encountering God is all up to us. On the contrary she illustrates beautifully that our part is small in comparison to God's. She writes
“The longing to love the beauty of the world in a human being is essentially the longing for the Incarnation,” “It is mistaken if it thinks it is anything else. The Incarnation alone can satisfy it” (109). “We do not walk vertically. We can only turn our eyes toward God. We do not have to search for God, we only have to change the direction in which we are looking. It is for [God] to search for us.”
Hopefully when we feel overwhelmed with too much information or with too much responsibility or with too much of anything or when we don't understand messages we are receiving because we are having trouble discerning whose voice we hear we will take Eli's advice to Samuel and say "Speak YHWH your servant is listening" and we will hear a message from God.
First reading: 1Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
Do you ever feel like you are being swamped with messages? Because of the sophisticated technology that surrounds us, we have at our fingertips many different ways to communicate with others. We have email, text messages, instant messages, face time, Skype and cell phones. When we are surrounded by all of these ways to communicate it is possible to become overwhelmed with too much information. It can be challenging to sift through it all keeping the focus on the important messages that need our attention. It seems that a constant theme throughout history has been the issues around being able to communicate with others and with God. Even though we are light years away from the story we just heard in first Samuel, the problem of recognizing the voice of God seems to be a constant. With all of our modern ways of communicating one might think it would be easier now than in Samuel's time to communicate with God. But another way of looking at this goes back to the overloaded feeling we can have in this information age. There can be too many messages and we can miss the important ones. We can even miss the messages God sends us. So we must take Eli's advice to Samuel and Say "Speak YHWH, for your servant is listening." When we truly say these words and mean them we open ourselves up for unexpected experiences of God and may even find ourselves being led in directions we never imagined.
How do we listen to God’s voice in this world of many voices. How do we discern which voice is God’s voice and which voice is leading us away from God? Have you ever found yourself in a situation that is similar to the reading we just heard in the book of first Samuel? Have you ever heard the voice of God and thought it was someone else’s voice? Or have you ever tried desperately to hear God’s voice and become confused about which voice is truly coming from YHWH.
In today’s Gospel reading we see Jesus in the midst of his ministry going from place to place spreading the good news, healing Peter’s mother-in-law, teaching his disciples, only to find himself still ministering to others after sunset as they brought people to him who were ill and possessed with demons. This story illustrates that Jesus had the potential of feeling overloaded. An important detail in this story gives us insight about being able to discern God's voice even when we feel overloaded. The story reads, “Rising early the next morning, Jesus went off to a lonely place in the desert and prayed there.” Herein lies a key to hearing the voice of God and to warding off problems that come from being overloaded. Being alone in the desert opens up a space that can connect us to God. Taking quiet time away from our responsibilities spending quiet time of prayer and reflection can be the breath of fresh air that revives us when we feel overloaded. But ready or not God speaks to us with words, symbols, with music,without words, in quiet alone times, in community gatherings, in our happiest moments and in our saddest moments and moments in between. God seeks us even more than we seek God.
What does the voice of God sound like? Is it audible? How do we distinguish God's voice from other voices? These questions can be answered in many different ways because even though God probably doesn't Skype us or email us or call us on the cell phone there are many different ways to hear God speak. Samuel heard God at night when he was awakened from sleep. Moses heard God in the burning bush. God speaks to us in dreams and visions but the culture we live in seems more interested in scientific evidence than in a spiritual realm of unknowns. It can be very risky to tell about an experience of hearing God speak. The difference between our technological, scientific world and the place where we can hear God speak is one world emphasizes being able to figure everything out logically and the other is a place that allows mystery and just being open to the experience. When we truly say the words "Speak YHWH your servant is listening," we are opening ourselves up to this other place. In this other place we learn to see and hear differently. Fr. Richard Rohr explains this well in a meditation called "Learning to See." He reflects on a verse of scripture in Genesis that says,
“God, you were here all along, and I never knew it” (Genesis 28:16), says Jacob on awakening from his stone pillow.
Fr. Rohr's meditation says,
"The essential religious experience is that you are being “known through” more than knowing anything in particular yourself. Yet despite this difference, it will feel like true knowing. This new way of knowing can be called contemplation, nondualistic thinking, or “third-eye” seeing. Such prayer, such seeing, takes away your anxiety about figuring it all out fully for yourself, or needing to be right about your formulations.
At this point, God becomes more a verb than a noun, more a process than a conclusion, more an experience than a dogma, more a personal relationship than an idea. There is Someone dancing with you, and you are not so afraid of making mistakes. You know even those will be used in your favor. At that point you also have awakened from your stone pillow, and you know with a new clarity what you partly knew all along."
With this new ability to see without fully understanding it is possible to hear God in our experiences of this dance we encounter with God. We open ourselves to being able to see and hear God in a wide variety of experiences and we find ourselves on the path to fullness of life and kinship with God.
It is not always easy to hear God speak because sometimes we don't want to hear what God has to say. It can take courage to acknowledge the voice of God when this seems to be leading us into unfamiliar territory. But the rewards of liberation and life await us if we listen and follow God's call.
Have you ever tried to tell someone about a personal experience of hearing God speak? I will attempt to do that myself but with this disclaimer: it is hard to give the full picture because something seems to get lost in telling about it. And it is common to have very personal messages when God speaks. It is like you had to be there to get the full effect. We just find it hard to describe encounters with God. But I will give it a try.
I had been struggling with a situation that my son was involved in because my son's description of an incident was different than another persons description. I really wanted to believe my son's version but was unsure of who to believe. As I was driving one day the situation with my son was not in my mind at all and out of the blue came this thought that seemed very different from my own thoughts and it began with the words,"this is the boy who in second grade... "the voice continued and connected the second grade incident with the current situation. I found myself driving along with tears streaming down my face knowing that God just spoke to me and comforted me about the situation with my son. God was telling me that I could believe what my son had told me. This was a huge relief to me. And I know this was God speaking to me.
Simone Weil in her book,"Waiting for God" describes the natural longings that we all have to be in communion with God and directs our attention to God's role in this relationship dispelling the idea that encountering God is all up to us. On the contrary she illustrates beautifully that our part is small in comparison to God's. She writes
“The longing to love the beauty of the world in a human being is essentially the longing for the Incarnation,” “It is mistaken if it thinks it is anything else. The Incarnation alone can satisfy it” (109). “We do not walk vertically. We can only turn our eyes toward God. We do not have to search for God, we only have to change the direction in which we are looking. It is for [God] to search for us.”
Hopefully when we feel overwhelmed with too much information or with too much responsibility or with too much of anything or when we don't understand messages we are receiving because we are having trouble discerning whose voice we hear we will take Eli's advice to Samuel and say "Speak YHWH your servant is listening" and we will hear a message from God.
Deacon Donna with Bridget Mary on Sept. 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
"The Disconnect Between Bishops and Other Catholics"/ Riichard McBrien/NCR
http://ncronline.org/blogs/essays-theology/disconnect-between-bishops-and-other-catholics
"This is confirmed in a recent survey of U.S. Catholics, commissioned by the National Catholic Reporter and published in its Oct. 28-Nov. 10, 2011, issue. On the matter of Catholic attitudes toward the credibility of the bishops' teachings, the survey found that relatively few Catholics look to church leaders as the sole moral arbiters.This is particularly true with regard to official teachings on such issues as divorce and remarriage, abortion, nonmarital sex, homosexuality and contraception."
"This is confirmed in a recent survey of U.S. Catholics, commissioned by the National Catholic Reporter and published in its Oct. 28-Nov. 10, 2011, issue. On the matter of Catholic attitudes toward the credibility of the bishops' teachings, the survey found that relatively few Catholics look to church leaders as the sole moral arbiters.This is particularly true with regard to official teachings on such issues as divorce and remarriage, abortion, nonmarital sex, homosexuality and contraception."
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
"Bishops' Birth Control"/Sarasota Herald Tribune/Jan. 10, 2012/Bridget Mary Meehan, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120110/LETTERS/120109578/2163/OPINION?p=3&tc=pg
In response to Gail Collins' column "Reproductive rights debate creates early holiday hangover": The U.S. Catholic bishops' lobbying efforts for exemption for employers who object to artificial birth control is unjust. The hierarchy is out of touch with their fellow Catholics on this issue. Ninety-eight percent of sexually active Roman Catholic women in the United States use birth control; 70 percent use sterilization, the birth control pill or an intrauterine device (Guttmacher Institute, 2011). The teaching of the church since Pope Paul VI wrote "Humanae Vitae" in 1968, regarding the use of birth control, has never been accepted by most Roman Catholic men and women. If the institutional church approved of women priests, then women's voices would be heard and certainly included in decision-making that affects women's lives and well-being. Women and men have the human right to act as their own moral agents and make responsible decisions on family planning. How can pro-life church leaders oppose contraceptives that prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions? The bishops should not impose the church's official beliefs on employees or on Catholics who dissent from this teaching. This violates a core Catholic teaching, primacy of conscience, which also applies to non-Catholics. Dozens of Catholic hospitals and universities offer contraceptive coverage now. Justice toward all, a core biblical value, should guide the bishops in their coverage of contraceptives for their employees.
This is what, I believe, Jesus would do and so should the bishops.
Bridget Mary Meehan,
Sarasota
Monday, January 9, 2012
"Woman Makes Stand at Altar by Leading Local Mass"/ Mary Smith, Roman Catholic Woman Priest
http://www.sctimes.com/article/20120109/NEWS01/101090023/Woman-makes-stand-altar-by-leading-local-Mass
“I have seen women in tears — I’ve seen them weeping — when they come up to me after a Mass because they are so moved to finally be able to see a woman at the altar,” she said. About 35 people attended the Mass on Sunday; Mary Magdalene, 1st Apostle, is the parish that Smith presides over and has services at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
“I have seen women in tears — I’ve seen them weeping — when they come up to me after a Mass because they are so moved to finally be able to see a woman at the altar,” she said. About 35 people attended the Mass on Sunday; Mary Magdalene, 1st Apostle, is the parish that Smith presides over and has services at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
"Cardinal George Apologizes for Linking Pride Parade to KKK" By Manya A. Brachear/Tribune
January 06, 2012 Chicago's Cardinal Francis George apologized Friday for remarks aired on Christmas Day comparing the gay pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan."I am truly sorry for the hurt my remarks have caused," George said in an interview with the Tribune. "Particularly because we all have friends or family members who are gay and lesbian. This has evidently wounded a good number of people. I have family members myself who are gay and lesbian, so it's part of our lives. So I'm sorry for the hurt."
"Pushing Away the Marginalized to Reach Out to the Fringe" by Jamie L. Manson
http://www.ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/pushing-away-marginalized-reach-out-fringe
..."It's remarkable how a hierarchy that routinely appeals to the unchangeable nature of its doctrine of the priesthood to defend its stance against women's ordination can become so flexible about its priesthood when reaching out to those who will help toe their misogynist line. It's extraordinary the lengths the hierarchy will take to welcome a fringe group of evangelical Episcopalians who support their anti-gay marriage agenda...."The real tragedy behind these stories is that the hierarchy is using its creativity, its money and, saddest of all, its sacraments to welcome individuals that will bolster its drive to exclude many of its baptized faithful.. ..Our church was founded on Jesus' call to honor everyone's dignity as beloved children of God and to be one with the poor, the suffering and the outcast. "
..."It's remarkable how a hierarchy that routinely appeals to the unchangeable nature of its doctrine of the priesthood to defend its stance against women's ordination can become so flexible about its priesthood when reaching out to those who will help toe their misogynist line. It's extraordinary the lengths the hierarchy will take to welcome a fringe group of evangelical Episcopalians who support their anti-gay marriage agenda...."The real tragedy behind these stories is that the hierarchy is using its creativity, its money and, saddest of all, its sacraments to welcome individuals that will bolster its drive to exclude many of its baptized faithful.. ..Our church was founded on Jesus' call to honor everyone's dignity as beloved children of God and to be one with the poor, the suffering and the outcast. "
Friday, January 6, 2012
Protesters Continue Occupy 440 movement by Dale Mezzacappa on Jan 04 2012 Posted in Latest news/ Eileen DiFranco, RCWP/a Leader in the Protest Movement
http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/124393/protesters-continue-occupy-440-movement
"Who is talking about this gross misallocation of resources?" DiFranco asked. "Are we the only ones who care?"She criticized not just the mayor, but Gov. Corbett and state legislators. But she said that Nutter and the School Reform Commission are culpable because they have "settled for less" without complaint.
Corbett and the General Assembly cut state education aid by a billion dollars this year, with fully one-quarter of that total falling on Philadelphia...
"Who is talking about this gross misallocation of resources?" DiFranco asked. "Are we the only ones who care?"She criticized not just the mayor, but Gov. Corbett and state legislators. But she said that Nutter and the School Reform Commission are culpable because they have "settled for less" without complaint.
Corbett and the General Assembly cut state education aid by a billion dollars this year, with fully one-quarter of that total falling on Philadelphia...
Link to Television Coverage of Fasting Vigil To End Torture in Lexington, Kentucky/Janice Sevre Duszynska and Donna Rougeux/Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Protests-Continue-In-Downtown-Lexington/gUiEOYAo50uWmE4W2x4pow.cspx
Above is the clip of the Jan. 3rd interview with Donna Rougeux and me (Janice Serve-Duszynska) in downtown Lexington where we are from vigiling Jan. 2- Jan. 10. We are now in the fifith day of our fast.
Above is the clip of the Jan. 3rd interview with Donna Rougeux and me (Janice Serve-Duszynska) in downtown Lexington where we are from vigiling Jan. 2- Jan. 10. We are now in the fifith day of our fast.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
"Table Manners"/Christianity Today/All Belong at Christ's Banquet Table
christiancentury.org/article/2011-12/table-manners
Dec. 28,2011
by Andrew Packman
"The whole scene was awkward. With 20 or so people still in line to receive the Eucharist, this Bosnian Franciscan took a handful of the host and sought me out of the crowd. Nearly out of breath, he lifted the small plate toward me. I stood up from my pew."Will you have communion?" My heart beat faster, the way it does if you get asked to speak when you're not expecting it, or when you're breaking a rule and know you may get caught.I muttered, "Yes, I will.""Christ's body, broken for you." He placed the host in my hand. I raised it to my lips and carefully set it down on my tongue. ..I imagine this is what the prodigal son felt when he watched his aged father risk looking like a fool as he sprinted out to meet his son. Priests don't run during the mass; they certainly don't leave the 99 sheep behind to seek out the one who's lost, the one who needs to feel the warm embrace of full inclusion in a Christian community."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
This is what it means to share Eucharist with the Body of Christ. Everyone is welcome at the table.
Roman Catholic Women Priests preside at liturgies where all are invited to receive Eucharist every week. This is what the inclusive priestly ministry is all about- welcoming with open arms, like the priest in this story above- and like Jesus did when he said: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened.. Take and eat, this is my body, given for all. " All God's family -especially the broken, marginalized and needy, are embraced by God's love and belong at Christ's Banquet
Table. Eucharist is not a reward for those who keep the rules, but for nourishment for the journey.
Dec. 28,2011
by Andrew Packman
"The whole scene was awkward. With 20 or so people still in line to receive the Eucharist, this Bosnian Franciscan took a handful of the host and sought me out of the crowd. Nearly out of breath, he lifted the small plate toward me. I stood up from my pew."Will you have communion?" My heart beat faster, the way it does if you get asked to speak when you're not expecting it, or when you're breaking a rule and know you may get caught.I muttered, "Yes, I will.""Christ's body, broken for you." He placed the host in my hand. I raised it to my lips and carefully set it down on my tongue. ..I imagine this is what the prodigal son felt when he watched his aged father risk looking like a fool as he sprinted out to meet his son. Priests don't run during the mass; they certainly don't leave the 99 sheep behind to seek out the one who's lost, the one who needs to feel the warm embrace of full inclusion in a Christian community."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
This is what it means to share Eucharist with the Body of Christ. Everyone is welcome at the table.
Roman Catholic Women Priests preside at liturgies where all are invited to receive Eucharist every week. This is what the inclusive priestly ministry is all about- welcoming with open arms, like the priest in this story above- and like Jesus did when he said: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened.. Take and eat, this is my body, given for all. " All God's family -especially the broken, marginalized and needy, are embraced by God's love and belong at Christ's Banquet
Table. Eucharist is not a reward for those who keep the rules, but for nourishment for the journey.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Bishop Resigns After Disclosing he fathered Two Children
http://ncronline.org/news/people/bishop-resigns-after-disclosing-he-father-two-children
VATICAN CITY -- Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala has resigned after disclosing to superiors that he is the father of two children.The Vatican announced the bishop's resignation Jan. 4 in a one-line statement that cited church law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons.
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
More evidence that mandatory celibacy does not work and should be changed to follow Jesus' example. In the 12th century, the pope mandated celibacy for priests, and threatened to sell the priests' wives into slavery if they did not conform. Now that the Vatican is accepting Anglican married priests and their wives, it is time to affirm that marriage and ordination can go together for Catholic priests. Peter was married, so why does the Roman Catholic Church refuse to follow his example? Let us pray that for change in the institutional church's unjust treatment of its own priests
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
sofiabmm@aol.com
VATICAN CITY -- Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala has resigned after disclosing to superiors that he is the father of two children.The Vatican announced the bishop's resignation Jan. 4 in a one-line statement that cited church law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons.
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
More evidence that mandatory celibacy does not work and should be changed to follow Jesus' example. In the 12th century, the pope mandated celibacy for priests, and threatened to sell the priests' wives into slavery if they did not conform. Now that the Vatican is accepting Anglican married priests and their wives, it is time to affirm that marriage and ordination can go together for Catholic priests. Peter was married, so why does the Roman Catholic Church refuse to follow his example? Let us pray that for change in the institutional church's unjust treatment of its own priests
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
sofiabmm@aol.com
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
"Pressure on Dutch Church After Report"/ Between 10,000 and 20,000 Dutch Children Abused/Call for Resignations of Catholic Bishops in the Netherlands
http://www.ncronline.org/news/global/pressure-dutch-church-after-report
"Two leading politicians in the Netherlands, both from conservative parties, have called for the resignations of Catholic bishops in the wake of a damning report on sexual abuse in the Dutch church.The country’s prime minister, Mark Rutte, also announced that his cabinet is considering lifting a statute of limitations to allow criminal prosecutions. A complaint has already been filed with the public prosecutor’s office against a former bishop of the Rotterdam diocese, Philippe Bär. An attorney representing alleged victims has charged Bär with covering up abuse during his tenure from 1983 to 1993..."Released on Dec. 16, the report found that somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 Dutch children suffered abuse by Catholic personnel, ranging from unwanted sexual advances to rape, during the period of 1945 to 2010. A commission sponsored by the Catholic bishops and religious orders of Holland produced the report. On Dec. 17, Holland’s deputy prime minister, Maxime Verhagen, himself a Catholic, said the church has been “profoundly damaged,” and bishops should consider resigning. Verhagen is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal Party, a center-right faction seen as friendly to the church."
"Two leading politicians in the Netherlands, both from conservative parties, have called for the resignations of Catholic bishops in the wake of a damning report on sexual abuse in the Dutch church.The country’s prime minister, Mark Rutte, also announced that his cabinet is considering lifting a statute of limitations to allow criminal prosecutions. A complaint has already been filed with the public prosecutor’s office against a former bishop of the Rotterdam diocese, Philippe Bär. An attorney representing alleged victims has charged Bär with covering up abuse during his tenure from 1983 to 1993..."Released on Dec. 16, the report found that somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 Dutch children suffered abuse by Catholic personnel, ranging from unwanted sexual advances to rape, during the period of 1945 to 2010. A commission sponsored by the Catholic bishops and religious orders of Holland produced the report. On Dec. 17, Holland’s deputy prime minister, Maxime Verhagen, himself a Catholic, said the church has been “profoundly damaged,” and bishops should consider resigning. Verhagen is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal Party, a center-right faction seen as friendly to the church."
Monday, January 2, 2012
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP and Donna Rougeux, ARCWP Join Witness Against Torture Fast
Join us at Triangle Park Jan. 2-10 from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. as we fast and witness in solidarity with folks in the nation's Capitol and across the globe on the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at the U.S. controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We are demanding an end to torture and indefinite detention at Guantanamo, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and that the president reject the just-passed National Defense Authorization Act. (The Act would allow the military to detain terror suspects on U.S. soil and hold them indefinitely and without trial. It would place restrictions on resettling the 60 men in Guantanamo who have been cleared for release.)
For local information contact Janice Sevre-Duszynska, 859-684-4247.
See WitnessAgainstTorture and Amnesty International websites.
For local information contact Janice Sevre-Duszynska, 859-684-4247.
See WitnessAgainstTorture and Amnesty International websites.
 |
| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Donna Rougeux |
Sunday, January 1, 2012
"Some Anglicans Apply to Join the Catholic Church"/Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/some-anglicans-apply-to-join-the-catholic-church/2011/12/30/gIQAQdHRTP_story.html
“It’s the largest reunification effort in 500 years,” said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the new body, called an ordinariate.The possibility of dozens of married Catholic priests could provide fodder for Catholics who want the Vatican to open up on the issue of priestly celibacy. There are about 40,000 Catholic priests in the United States.Gibbs declined to say which priests and parishes have expressed interest. But congregants at St. Luke’s, and others who call themselves Anglo-Catholics, tend to be theological and social conservatives who say they like the clear, single authority of a pope. However, they also want to hold onto aspects of Anglicanism, including retaining more authority in governing and certain music and rituals, such as kneeling for Communion..."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
In this historic structural change, the Vatican is expanding a married Catholic priesthood to include Anglcian priests in the United States as well as in England. They did so without dialogue with the Episcopal Church, a slap in the face to a Sister- Church.
It is time that the Vatican makes celibacy optional for priestly ministry. The best we can hope is that this is a first step in that direction.
“It’s the largest reunification effort in 500 years,” said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the new body, called an ordinariate.The possibility of dozens of married Catholic priests could provide fodder for Catholics who want the Vatican to open up on the issue of priestly celibacy. There are about 40,000 Catholic priests in the United States.Gibbs declined to say which priests and parishes have expressed interest. But congregants at St. Luke’s, and others who call themselves Anglo-Catholics, tend to be theological and social conservatives who say they like the clear, single authority of a pope. However, they also want to hold onto aspects of Anglicanism, including retaining more authority in governing and certain music and rituals, such as kneeling for Communion..."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
In this historic structural change, the Vatican is expanding a married Catholic priesthood to include Anglcian priests in the United States as well as in England. They did so without dialogue with the Episcopal Church, a slap in the face to a Sister- Church.
It is time that the Vatican makes celibacy optional for priestly ministry. The best we can hope is that this is a first step in that direction.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Bishop to Bishop: Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan Responds to Bishop Frank Dewane About His Letter to Deacon Judy Beaumont Regarding Her Upcoming Ordination as Priest
Bishop Frank :
It has been brought to my attention that you purportedly reside in the Diocese of Venice in Florida and may attempt to be " ordained " to the ministerial priesthood here within this Diocese on January 22 , 2012 . This is a most grave and serious matter of consequence for your soul.
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Under all circumstances, the church teaches that one must follow one’s conscience. So how can serving God as a woman priest cause a problem for one’s soul? I wish our male bishops would be as concerned about the thousands of victims of sexual abuse as they appear to be about the souls of women priests!
Bishop Frank :
The Catholic Church has always taught that the Church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women.
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Jesus set the example by calling women and men to be his disciples. Witness his relationship with Mary and Martha and Mary of Magdala for example. He did not ordain anyone. Ordination was developed much later, in the early centuries of the church. According to historians, such as Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination, women were ordained for twelve hundred years before the patriarchy abandoned the practice.
Bishop Frank:
The Church shares this teaching with our Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters. The ministerial priesthood is a gift from God, not something that someone " earns, " " deserves " or has a "right " to, due to advanced education, devoted service in the Church, or simply because of one's own personal desire. The reasons for this include : the example recorded in sacred Scripture of Christ choosing His Apostles ; the constant practice of the Church, which imitated Christ in choosing only men ; and the Church's living teaching authority.
Bishop Bridget Mary:
This is a complete re-write of the Gospels! The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala and called her to be the apostle to the apostles (John 20:17). Paul affirmed Junia as an apostle, who was his mentor and teacher in Romans 16. Note (Luke 10:42) Jesus' words to Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, as she sat at Jesus' feet listening to what he said(as disciples do)"Mary has chosen what is better,and it will not be taken away from her." Bishop Frank, neither you nor church tradition since the 12th century are powerful enough to take away what Jesus has clearly given to Mary and countless women disciples like Judith Beaumont-"it will not be taken away from her".
Bishop Frank:
In calling only men as His Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign manner . Throughout His earthly ministry, Our Lord also emphasized the dignity a n d the vocation of women , and in so doing , did not conform to the prevailing customs, traditions , and legislation of the time. Still , among His twelve Apostles , Jesus Christ did not include any women. This fact withstands any so-called "scholarship" to the contrary. Sacred Scripture further reveals that Jesus did include the participation of women in His public ministry in ways that shows a differentiation of roles between men and women . Together both worked to build up the unity of the Church, avoiding divisiveness . Specific to the role of women, the Church gives thanks for the feminine "genius",
appearing in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations, and for the charisms of the Holy Spirit on women's manifestations of faith, hope and love .
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Luke 8 affirms that women were not only among Jesus disciples, but that there were many of them and they were leaders in supporting his ministry. Jesus was a radical feminist in his vision of a “discipleship of equals”. He had a theological conversation with the Samaritan woman, who became the first evangelist to bring her whole village to him. Martha’s profession of faith parallel’s Peter’s and her table ministry indicated that women presided at Eucharist in house churches in early Christianity. Jesus never spoke of feminine “genius", he treated women as equals to men, a reality lost on our present hierarchy, who try to wax eloquent about women’s second class citizenship in their own church by use of lofty phrases like you, Bishop Frank, used above. Roman Catholic Women Priests are the "Rosa Parks" of the Catholic Church. We will no longer settle for sitting in the back of the Catholic bus. Sexism, like racism is a sin and always wrong.
Bishop Frank:
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, all Christians , both men and women , share equally in the " common priesthood of believers . " Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders , priests also share in the " ministerial priesthood " of Christ , the High Priest . However, no individual has the "right" to be ordained to the ministerial priesthood. Ordination to the ministerial priesthood must be conferred by a validly ordained bishop on a baptized man. A candidate must receive the authorization of the Church, which has the authority and responsibility to determine if a true call to the priesthood exists for the said candidate.
Bishop Bridget Mary :
Jesus did not see himself as a “High Priest”. He came among us to transform our lives and world so that the kindom of God would be manifest through our witness to justice, inclusion and compassion. He showed us that those who are leaders/ ministers must serve our sisters and brothers in the washing of the feet ritual at the Last Supper. Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his time for their abuse of spiritual power and hypocrisy. Judith Beaumont's Ordination will be conferred by a validly ordained bishop as we (our bishops) clearly stand in the line of apostolic succession through the male bishop in standing with the pope who ordained the first women bishops.
Bishop Frank:
Below is a 1995 responsum, issued by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [now Pope Benedict XVI] , then Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith , in response to the to the question of ,
"whether the teaching that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women , which is presented in the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to be held definitively, is to be understood as belonging to the deposit of faith , '
Bishop Bridget Mary:
This is the ultimate cop-out. Of course, the church has authority to ordain women. It did so for twelve hundred years. There are thousands of ordained women in church history. The institutional church can no longer discriminate against women and blame God for it.
Bishop Frank:
Responsum : In the affirmative. This teaching requires definitive assent , since, founded on the written Word of God , and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of
the Church , it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium (cf Second Vatican Council , Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium 25 , 2). Thus, in the present circumstances , the Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf Lk 22:32) , has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held always , everywhere , and by all , as belonging to the deposit of the faith .
Bishop Bridget Mary :
The Catholic faithful, including the world’s theologians, many priests, some bishops, did not affirm this teaching. Therefore, it is not infallible teaching because it does not reflect the faith of the believing community, the entire, universal church. It does not reflect the "sensus fidelium".
Bishop Frank :
Further, as you may know, on May 30, 2008 The Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith issued the general decree , "On the Delict of Attempted Sacred Ordination of
a Woman . " The decree affirms that , "he who shall have attempted to confer holy orders
on a woman , as well as the woman who may have attempted to receive Holy Orders , incurs in a latae sententiae excommunication," that is, an automatic excommunication. Further, reconciliation for this excommunication must come through the Holy See in Rome .
Bishop Bridget Mary:
We do not fear excommunication. Actually, we are walking in the footsteps of giants such as St. Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake for following her conscience. Pope Benedict canonized two excommunicated nuns: Mother Theodore Guerin from the United States and Mother Mary MacKillop from Australia, thereby making excommunication a possible fast track to canonization! One day a future pope, perhaps, a woman, will probably say, according to the common and constant tradition of the church, taught by the apostles and lived through the history of the church for many centuries, we ordain women deacons, priests and bishops.
Bishop Frank:
As your Bishop , I urge you , to refrain from participating in what will be an invalid attempt at "ordination ." This opportunity is taken to inform you that, should you proceed with this action , you would in fact, separate yourself from the Catholic Church, by your own free choice .
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Nothing can separate us from God, nothing can cancel our baptism, nothing or no one can stop us from living the fullness of Christ’s love in a more open, just and inclusive Catholic Church. We are faithful women living Christ’s call to serve those in need and on the margins offering the church the gift of a renewed priestly ministry in a Christ-centered, inclusive Catholic Church.
Bishop Frank:
With this in mind, for the good of your immortal soul , I exhort you to choose not to participate i n this attempted " ordination . "
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Our souls are in God’s hands. We answer the call in prophetic obedience. We walk in faith and love, trusting in Christ and with Holy Wisdom, Sophia’s guidance, as we serve our beloved faith communities. Each week Catholics affirm women priests as they celebrate inclusive liturgies in Florida and in more and more places in the U.S. and abroad with our 124 ordained priests and deacons.
+ Frank Dewane
Bishop of the Diocese of
Venice in Florida
+Bridget Mary Meehan
Bishop, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (USA and South America)
It has been brought to my attention that you purportedly reside in the Diocese of Venice in Florida and may attempt to be " ordained " to the ministerial priesthood here within this Diocese on January 22 , 2012 . This is a most grave and serious matter of consequence for your soul.
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Under all circumstances, the church teaches that one must follow one’s conscience. So how can serving God as a woman priest cause a problem for one’s soul? I wish our male bishops would be as concerned about the thousands of victims of sexual abuse as they appear to be about the souls of women priests!
Bishop Frank :
The Catholic Church has always taught that the Church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women.
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Jesus set the example by calling women and men to be his disciples. Witness his relationship with Mary and Martha and Mary of Magdala for example. He did not ordain anyone. Ordination was developed much later, in the early centuries of the church. According to historians, such as Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination, women were ordained for twelve hundred years before the patriarchy abandoned the practice.
Bishop Frank:
The Church shares this teaching with our Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters. The ministerial priesthood is a gift from God, not something that someone " earns, " " deserves " or has a "right " to, due to advanced education, devoted service in the Church, or simply because of one's own personal desire. The reasons for this include : the example recorded in sacred Scripture of Christ choosing His Apostles ; the constant practice of the Church, which imitated Christ in choosing only men ; and the Church's living teaching authority.
Bishop Bridget Mary:
This is a complete re-write of the Gospels! The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala and called her to be the apostle to the apostles (John 20:17). Paul affirmed Junia as an apostle, who was his mentor and teacher in Romans 16. Note (Luke 10:42) Jesus' words to Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, as she sat at Jesus' feet listening to what he said(as disciples do)"Mary has chosen what is better,and it will not be taken away from her." Bishop Frank, neither you nor church tradition since the 12th century are powerful enough to take away what Jesus has clearly given to Mary and countless women disciples like Judith Beaumont-"it will not be taken away from her".
Bishop Frank:
In calling only men as His Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign manner . Throughout His earthly ministry, Our Lord also emphasized the dignity a n d the vocation of women , and in so doing , did not conform to the prevailing customs, traditions , and legislation of the time. Still , among His twelve Apostles , Jesus Christ did not include any women. This fact withstands any so-called "scholarship" to the contrary. Sacred Scripture further reveals that Jesus did include the participation of women in His public ministry in ways that shows a differentiation of roles between men and women . Together both worked to build up the unity of the Church, avoiding divisiveness . Specific to the role of women, the Church gives thanks for the feminine "genius",
appearing in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations, and for the charisms of the Holy Spirit on women's manifestations of faith, hope and love .
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Luke 8 affirms that women were not only among Jesus disciples, but that there were many of them and they were leaders in supporting his ministry. Jesus was a radical feminist in his vision of a “discipleship of equals”. He had a theological conversation with the Samaritan woman, who became the first evangelist to bring her whole village to him. Martha’s profession of faith parallel’s Peter’s and her table ministry indicated that women presided at Eucharist in house churches in early Christianity. Jesus never spoke of feminine “genius", he treated women as equals to men, a reality lost on our present hierarchy, who try to wax eloquent about women’s second class citizenship in their own church by use of lofty phrases like you, Bishop Frank, used above. Roman Catholic Women Priests are the "Rosa Parks" of the Catholic Church. We will no longer settle for sitting in the back of the Catholic bus. Sexism, like racism is a sin and always wrong.
Bishop Frank:
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, all Christians , both men and women , share equally in the " common priesthood of believers . " Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders , priests also share in the " ministerial priesthood " of Christ , the High Priest . However, no individual has the "right" to be ordained to the ministerial priesthood. Ordination to the ministerial priesthood must be conferred by a validly ordained bishop on a baptized man. A candidate must receive the authorization of the Church, which has the authority and responsibility to determine if a true call to the priesthood exists for the said candidate.
Bishop Bridget Mary :
Jesus did not see himself as a “High Priest”. He came among us to transform our lives and world so that the kindom of God would be manifest through our witness to justice, inclusion and compassion. He showed us that those who are leaders/ ministers must serve our sisters and brothers in the washing of the feet ritual at the Last Supper. Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his time for their abuse of spiritual power and hypocrisy. Judith Beaumont's Ordination will be conferred by a validly ordained bishop as we (our bishops) clearly stand in the line of apostolic succession through the male bishop in standing with the pope who ordained the first women bishops.
Bishop Frank:
Below is a 1995 responsum, issued by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [now Pope Benedict XVI] , then Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith , in response to the to the question of ,
"whether the teaching that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women , which is presented in the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to be held definitively, is to be understood as belonging to the deposit of faith , '
Bishop Bridget Mary:
This is the ultimate cop-out. Of course, the church has authority to ordain women. It did so for twelve hundred years. There are thousands of ordained women in church history. The institutional church can no longer discriminate against women and blame God for it.
Bishop Frank:
Responsum : In the affirmative. This teaching requires definitive assent , since, founded on the written Word of God , and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of
the Church , it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium (cf Second Vatican Council , Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium 25 , 2). Thus, in the present circumstances , the Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf Lk 22:32) , has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held always , everywhere , and by all , as belonging to the deposit of the faith .
Bishop Bridget Mary :
The Catholic faithful, including the world’s theologians, many priests, some bishops, did not affirm this teaching. Therefore, it is not infallible teaching because it does not reflect the faith of the believing community, the entire, universal church. It does not reflect the "sensus fidelium".
Bishop Frank :
Further, as you may know, on May 30, 2008 The Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith issued the general decree , "On the Delict of Attempted Sacred Ordination of
a Woman . " The decree affirms that , "he who shall have attempted to confer holy orders
on a woman , as well as the woman who may have attempted to receive Holy Orders , incurs in a latae sententiae excommunication," that is, an automatic excommunication. Further, reconciliation for this excommunication must come through the Holy See in Rome .
Bishop Bridget Mary:
We do not fear excommunication. Actually, we are walking in the footsteps of giants such as St. Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake for following her conscience. Pope Benedict canonized two excommunicated nuns: Mother Theodore Guerin from the United States and Mother Mary MacKillop from Australia, thereby making excommunication a possible fast track to canonization! One day a future pope, perhaps, a woman, will probably say, according to the common and constant tradition of the church, taught by the apostles and lived through the history of the church for many centuries, we ordain women deacons, priests and bishops.
Bishop Frank:
As your Bishop , I urge you , to refrain from participating in what will be an invalid attempt at "ordination ." This opportunity is taken to inform you that, should you proceed with this action , you would in fact, separate yourself from the Catholic Church, by your own free choice .
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Nothing can separate us from God, nothing can cancel our baptism, nothing or no one can stop us from living the fullness of Christ’s love in a more open, just and inclusive Catholic Church. We are faithful women living Christ’s call to serve those in need and on the margins offering the church the gift of a renewed priestly ministry in a Christ-centered, inclusive Catholic Church.
Bishop Frank:
With this in mind, for the good of your immortal soul , I exhort you to choose not to participate i n this attempted " ordination . "
Bishop Bridget Mary:
Our souls are in God’s hands. We answer the call in prophetic obedience. We walk in faith and love, trusting in Christ and with Holy Wisdom, Sophia’s guidance, as we serve our beloved faith communities. Each week Catholics affirm women priests as they celebrate inclusive liturgies in Florida and in more and more places in the U.S. and abroad with our 124 ordained priests and deacons.
+ Frank Dewane
Bishop of the Diocese of
Venice in Florida
+Bridget Mary Meehan
Bishop, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (USA and South America)
"Fort Myers Woman Taking on Catholic Church"- NBC TV Story on Deacon Judy Beaumont's Upcoming Ordination in Ft. Myers, Florida on Januaray, 21st, 2012
http://www.abc-7.com/story/16414897/2011/12/29/fort-myers-woman-taking-on-the-catholic-church
WZVN-TV
They're part of a worldwide group called the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. ..
... "to Beaumont, this is about more than seeking the role of priest. She's hoping to be part of a movement to bring equality among church leadership."We're the Rosa B. Parks of the Catholic Church trying to bring about change," Beaumont said. And despite the consequences, she says she isn't holding back The ceremony for Beaumont will be January 21 at 3 p.m. It will be held at the Lamb of God Lutheran-Episcopal Church."
WZVN-TV
They're part of a worldwide group called the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. ..
... "to Beaumont, this is about more than seeking the role of priest. She's hoping to be part of a movement to bring equality among church leadership."We're the Rosa B. Parks of the Catholic Church trying to bring about change," Beaumont said. And despite the consequences, she says she isn't holding back The ceremony for Beaumont will be January 21 at 3 p.m. It will be held at the Lamb of God Lutheran-Episcopal Church."
Link to Songs:"NO" and "Rock Me Gentle" from Album "Her Wings Unfurled" by Colleen Fulmer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_N6ypnl8lA&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL48C6F50EA3D5360B
Enjoy this beautiful,woman-affirming, life-affirming, inspirational music by Colleen Fulmer!
Enjoy this beautiful,woman-affirming, life-affirming, inspirational music by Colleen Fulmer!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Deacon Judy Beaumont Responds to Bishop Frank Dewane's Letter About Her Upcoming Ordination as Priest- Prophetic Obedience to Spirit Trumps Threat of Excommunication
Deacon Judy Beaumont's Response to Bishop Frank Dewane's Letter
December 26, 2011
Dear Bishop Dewane:
I have received your letter regarding my ordination on January 21, 2011. I understand that you are fulfilling your obligation as Bishop and I take your words seriously. However, I must reply that as I have tried throughout my life to answer the call of the Gospel to serve God’s people, I must again answer this new call to sacramental ministry with the poor and otherwise marginalized persons in our midst. Members of the Catholic community here including the people of the Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community and the Bishop of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests have affirmed my call, in fact, they also have called me forth to serve.
While a Benedictine sister, I served as theology teacher, sacristan, trainer of altar boys and member of liturgy committees. I never thought of myself as being called to the existing all-male clergy. However in recent years, it has become clear to me that I am called by God to take on the sacramental ministry with our people. Four of the formerly homeless persons from our ministry presented me to Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan for my ordination to the diaconate.
I am convinced that in spite of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis women are being called by God to ministerial priesthood. In prophetic obedience we must answer and my answer is “Yes”. Surveys of Catholic faithful have reported that the majority are in favor of the ordination of women. Recognition of a woman’s call to ordination by the Vatican probably won’t happen in my lifetime nor in yours, but I do believe it will happen.
As a member of the Pontifical Peace and Justice Commission and attendee at the Bejing Conference on Women, you must be aware of the many injustices suffered by women worldwide. What a difference it will make for all women in our world when the Roman Catholic Church recognizes that God calls women as well as men to ministerial priesthood. What a blessing for the Church and our world it will be.
Thank you for your concern. Oremus pro invicem.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Deacon Judith Beaumont
BISHOP DEWANE'S Letter:
December 1, 2011
Dear Ms. Beaumont:
Greetings in Christ!
It has been brought to my attention that you purportedly reside in the Diocese of
Venice in Florida and may attempt to be "ordained" to the ministerial priesthood here
within this Diocese on January 22, 2012. This is a most grave and serious matter of
consequence for your soul.
The Catholic Church has always taught that the Church has no authority to
confer priestly ordination on women. The Church shares this teaching with our Orthodox
Christian brothers and sisters. The ministerial priesthood is a gift from God, not
something that someone "earns," "deserves" or has a "right" to, due to advanced
education, devoted service in the Church, or simply because of one's own personal
desire. The reasons for this include: the example recorded in sacred Scripture of Christ
choosing His Apostles; the constant practice of the Church, which imitated Christ in
choosing only men; and the Church's living teaching authority.
In calling only men as His Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and
sovereign manner. Throughout His earthly ministry, Our Lord also emphasized the
dignity and the vocation of women, and in so doing, did not conform to the prevailing
customs, traditions, and legislation of the time. Still, among His twelve Apostles, Jesus
Christ did not include any women. This fact withstands any so-called "scholarship" to the
contrary. Sacred Scripture further reveals that Jesus did include the participation of women
in His public ministry in ways that shows a differentiation of roles between men and
women. Together both worked to build up the unity of the Church, avoiding divisiveness.
Specific to the role of women, the Church gives thanks for the feminine "genius",
appearing in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations, and for the
charisms of the Holy Spirit on women's manifestations of faith, hope and love.
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, all Christians, both men and women, share
equally in the "common priesthood of believers." Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
priests also share in the "ministerial priesthood" of Christ, the High Priest. However, no
individual has the "right" to be ordained to the ministerial priesthood. Ordination to the
ministerial priesthood must be conferred by a validly ordained bishop on a baptized man.
A candidate must receive the authorization of the Church, which has the authority and
responsibility to determine if a true call to the priesthood exists for the said candidate.
Below is a 1995 responsum, issued by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [now Pope
Benedict XVI], then Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, in response
to the to the question of, "whether the teaching that the Church has no authority
whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women, which is presented in the Apostolic
Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to be held definitively, is to be understood as belonging to
the deposit of faith,'
The answer follows:
Responsum: In the affirmative.
This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of
God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of
the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal
Magisterium (cf Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
Lumen Gentium 25, 2). Thus, in the present circumstances, the Roman Pontiff,
exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf Lk 22:32), has handed
on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held
always, everywhere, and by all, as belonging to the deposit of the faith.
Further, as you may know, on May 30, 2008 The Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith issued the general decree, "On the Delict of Attempted Sacred Ordination of
a Woman." The decree affirms that, "he who shall have attempted to confer holy orders
on a woman, as well as the woman who may have attempted to receive Holy Orders,
incurs in a latae sententiae excommunication," that is, an automatic excommunication.
Futher, reconciliation for this excommunication must come through the Holy See in
Rome.
As your Bishop, I urge you, to refrain from participating in what will be an invalid
attempt at "ordination." This opportunity is taken to inform you that, should you proceed
with this action, you would in fact, separate yourself from the Catholic Church, by your
own free choice.
With this in mind, for the good of your immortal soul, I exhort you to choose not to
participate in this attempted "ordination."
+ Frank Dewane
Bishop 0f the e Diocese of
Venice in Florida
December 26, 2011
Dear Bishop Dewane:
I have received your letter regarding my ordination on January 21, 2011. I understand that you are fulfilling your obligation as Bishop and I take your words seriously. However, I must reply that as I have tried throughout my life to answer the call of the Gospel to serve God’s people, I must again answer this new call to sacramental ministry with the poor and otherwise marginalized persons in our midst. Members of the Catholic community here including the people of the Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community and the Bishop of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests have affirmed my call, in fact, they also have called me forth to serve.
While a Benedictine sister, I served as theology teacher, sacristan, trainer of altar boys and member of liturgy committees. I never thought of myself as being called to the existing all-male clergy. However in recent years, it has become clear to me that I am called by God to take on the sacramental ministry with our people. Four of the formerly homeless persons from our ministry presented me to Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan for my ordination to the diaconate.
I am convinced that in spite of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis women are being called by God to ministerial priesthood. In prophetic obedience we must answer and my answer is “Yes”. Surveys of Catholic faithful have reported that the majority are in favor of the ordination of women. Recognition of a woman’s call to ordination by the Vatican probably won’t happen in my lifetime nor in yours, but I do believe it will happen.
As a member of the Pontifical Peace and Justice Commission and attendee at the Bejing Conference on Women, you must be aware of the many injustices suffered by women worldwide. What a difference it will make for all women in our world when the Roman Catholic Church recognizes that God calls women as well as men to ministerial priesthood. What a blessing for the Church and our world it will be.
Thank you for your concern. Oremus pro invicem.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Deacon Judith Beaumont
BISHOP DEWANE'S Letter:
December 1, 2011
Dear Ms. Beaumont:
Greetings in Christ!
It has been brought to my attention that you purportedly reside in the Diocese of
Venice in Florida and may attempt to be "ordained" to the ministerial priesthood here
within this Diocese on January 22, 2012. This is a most grave and serious matter of
consequence for your soul.
The Catholic Church has always taught that the Church has no authority to
confer priestly ordination on women. The Church shares this teaching with our Orthodox
Christian brothers and sisters. The ministerial priesthood is a gift from God, not
something that someone "earns," "deserves" or has a "right" to, due to advanced
education, devoted service in the Church, or simply because of one's own personal
desire. The reasons for this include: the example recorded in sacred Scripture of Christ
choosing His Apostles; the constant practice of the Church, which imitated Christ in
choosing only men; and the Church's living teaching authority.
In calling only men as His Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and
sovereign manner. Throughout His earthly ministry, Our Lord also emphasized the
dignity and the vocation of women, and in so doing, did not conform to the prevailing
customs, traditions, and legislation of the time. Still, among His twelve Apostles, Jesus
Christ did not include any women. This fact withstands any so-called "scholarship" to the
contrary. Sacred Scripture further reveals that Jesus did include the participation of women
in His public ministry in ways that shows a differentiation of roles between men and
women. Together both worked to build up the unity of the Church, avoiding divisiveness.
Specific to the role of women, the Church gives thanks for the feminine "genius",
appearing in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations, and for the
charisms of the Holy Spirit on women's manifestations of faith, hope and love.
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, all Christians, both men and women, share
equally in the "common priesthood of believers." Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
priests also share in the "ministerial priesthood" of Christ, the High Priest. However, no
individual has the "right" to be ordained to the ministerial priesthood. Ordination to the
ministerial priesthood must be conferred by a validly ordained bishop on a baptized man.
A candidate must receive the authorization of the Church, which has the authority and
responsibility to determine if a true call to the priesthood exists for the said candidate.
Below is a 1995 responsum, issued by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [now Pope
Benedict XVI], then Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, in response
to the to the question of, "whether the teaching that the Church has no authority
whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women, which is presented in the Apostolic
Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to be held definitively, is to be understood as belonging to
the deposit of faith,'
The answer follows:
Responsum: In the affirmative.
This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of
God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of
the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal
Magisterium (cf Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
Lumen Gentium 25, 2). Thus, in the present circumstances, the Roman Pontiff,
exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf Lk 22:32), has handed
on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held
always, everywhere, and by all, as belonging to the deposit of the faith.
Further, as you may know, on May 30, 2008 The Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith issued the general decree, "On the Delict of Attempted Sacred Ordination of
a Woman." The decree affirms that, "he who shall have attempted to confer holy orders
on a woman, as well as the woman who may have attempted to receive Holy Orders,
incurs in a latae sententiae excommunication," that is, an automatic excommunication.
Futher, reconciliation for this excommunication must come through the Holy See in
Rome.
As your Bishop, I urge you, to refrain from participating in what will be an invalid
attempt at "ordination." This opportunity is taken to inform you that, should you proceed
with this action, you would in fact, separate yourself from the Catholic Church, by your
own free choice.
With this in mind, for the good of your immortal soul, I exhort you to choose not to
participate in this attempted "ordination."
+ Frank Dewane
Bishop 0f the e Diocese of
Venice in Florida
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