Living Gospel Inclusivity and Empowerment Now- https://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2025/10/rev-dr-bridget-mary-meehan-arcwp-chat.html
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
ARCWP Ordains Debra Meyers as first Roman Catholic Woman Priest in Historic Cincinnati Ordination on May 25, 2013
On Saturday, May 25, 2013, Debra Meyers of Batavia, Ohio was ordained a priest in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests by Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan. She was the first woman ordained in Cincinnati. The ceremony took place at St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church which was filled with enthusiastic supporters of the women priest movement.
During Justin Meyers' emotional presentation of his mother, the ordinand, he talked about her lifelong devotion to her family, her community and the poor and marginalized. Paul Tenkotte, Chair of the Department of History and Gender Studies at Northern Kentucky University, praised Dr. Meyers for her promotion of gender justice and women's empowerment.
In her homily, Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan spoke about the Samaritan woman at the well. "Jesus offered a profound example of Gospel equality that shocked his male apostles then, and continues to shock today -- especially the Roman Catholic hierarchy....Today God is calling women to be leaders in the church proclaiming freedom and equality in ways that will liberate and heal us from the bondage of sexism and patriarchy."
After Bishop Meehan laid hands on Debra in the official ordination rite, the entire community was invited to do so as the MUSE Choir of Cincinnati sang "Dona Nobis Pacem". Debra and all the priests present co-celebrated Eucharist with Bishop Meehan and the entire assembly.
Newly ordained ARCWP priest Debra plans to celebrate Eucharist at the three-year-old inclusive woman-priest-led community in Cincinnati. Her plans also include outreach to young women who are interested in a renewed priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.
www.arcwp.org
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
ARCWP Eve of Ordination in Cincinnati
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| Janice, Donna, Rosie, Leslie, Elly and Dotty |
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| Bridget Mary, Janice, Elly, Rosie, Donna, and Dotty |
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
"Breaking the Holy Ceiling: Group to Ordain the First Catholic Priest in Cincinnati"/ARCWP to Ordain Debra Meyers
http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-27770-breaking_the_holy_ce.html
"Despite strong Vatican opposition, one group is preparing to ordain Cincinnati’s first Roman Catholic woman priest on May 25.
The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) already ordained a woman priest in Louisville, Ky., and it’s hoping to carry the movement around the country, including Cincinnati.
The Vatican and local Catholic leaders oppose the movement, and the ordination isn’t technically legal under the Catholic Church’s rules. But ARCWP says its ordinations put pressure on the Vatican to pull back rules that are keeping it in the past.
Locally, Debra Meyers will be ordained as the first Catholic woman priest. Meyers holds a Ph.D. in history and women’s studies and a master’s in religious studies. She is currently a professor of history and women’s studies at Northern Kentucky University, and she also serves the Resurrection Community in Cincinnati where she promotes equality and social justice. For Meyers, this is a chance to break the glass ceiling and prove women can take up the highest roles in Catholic organizations, which she says is a necessary next step for the Church to keep up with the times.
CityBeat interviewed Meyers about her ordination." The full interview, edited here for clarity and brevity, is available at citybeat.com.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Lunch with Christ Sophia Community Louisville/ Janice Sevre-Duszynska's garden in KY.
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| Betty, Mary Rose, Kim, Bridget Mary and Janice |
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| Janice, Betty, Bridget Mary and Annie |
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| Janice in her garden in KY. |
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| Janice with her Salmon Poppy |
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| Janice with Peonies |
Monday, May 20, 2013
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Is The Cincinnati Enquirer Afraid of the Archbishop of Cincinnati?
Is The Cincinnati Enquirer Afraid of the
Archbishop of Cincinnati?
Release date: May 20, 2013
Contact: Janice Sevre-Duszynska, D.Min. (media),
Why would The Cincinnati Enquirer not
cover an ordination because it is “illegal” in the Roman Catholic Church?
We sent The Enquirer the press release
for the Saturday, May 25th ordination of Cincinnati’s first woman
priest, Dr. Debra Meyers. She will be ordained at 1 p.m. at St. John’s
Unitarian Universalist Church, 320 Resor Avenue in Cincinnati 45220.
(See press release below).
The local media has covered our ordinations across
the country because they are news and of interest to the public. Reuters and
The Louisville Courier Journal covered our recent April 27th
ordination of Dr. Rosemarie Smead in Louisville.
We wonder why The Cincinnati Enquirer is
not interested? Does it have anything to do with the institutional church’s
stance on women priests?
Women priests are leading the Catholic Church
into a new era of justice and equality for women in the church. We are the
“Rosa Parks” of the Roman Catholic Church. We think a news blackout by The
Enquirer because we are “illegal” according to church authorities is one
view, but not the view of the majority of Catholics who would welcome news of
the first woman priest ordination in Cincinnati.
Historic First Ordination in Cincinnati as Dr.
Debra Meyers will be ordained a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
Release date: May 7, 2013
On Saturday, May 25, 2013, Dr. Debra Meyers of
Batavia, Ohio will be ordained a priest in the Association of Roman Catholic
Women Priests. The presiding bishop will be Bridget Mary Meehan of Falls
Church, Virginia and Sarasota, Florida. The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m.
at St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church, 320 Resor Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio
45220.
All are welcome.
Media are invited to a pre-ordination
conference on Saturday, May 25, at 11:30 a.m. at the church with the candidate
and Bridget Mary Meehan. Call Janice (859-684-4247)
to schedule an interview. Respectful filming/photo taking during the ceremony
is acceptable.
The ordained is theologically prepared and has
many years of experience in ministry.
Dr. Debra Meyers earned a Ph.D. in History and
Women's Studies and a MA in Religious Studies with an emphasis on pastoral
care. The author of several books, she is a professor of History and Women's
Studies at Northern Kentucky University. Her ministry focuses primarily on
single mothers and their children who make up the vast majority of impoverished
people in our country. She also serves the Resurrection Community in Cincinnati
where they are living the Gospel of equality and social justice. Dr. Meyers is
a wife, the mother of two successful children and a grandmother.
"God called me to the Catholic priesthood
as a child and every step of my academic and spiritual life as well as my
social justice activism has prepared me to serve God's people as a
pastor," said Dr. Meyers. "I thank ARCWP for the opportunity to
fulfill God's call."
Since two-thirds of the world's poor are
women, justice and equality must be top priorities for our church. Our world
and church can no longer function without the voices of women's lived experience.
Women priests are visible reminders that all women are images of God.
On March 13, five hours before the new pope
was elected, a woman priest celebrated Mass in Rome. The church is at a
crossroads with a new pope and women priests. This paradigm represents a holy
shakeup and is pregnant with potential for renewal and change. Pope Francis's
simplicity and solidarity with the poor and marginalized is the Good News that
Catholics have been waiting for. Now is the time to embrace women.
We are encouraged by the tender gesture of
Pope Francis who washed the feet of women in prison on Holy Thursday, thus
breaking the sexist tradition of washing only men's feet.
During the Easter homily Francis affirmed
women as the first witnesses to the Resurrection. "This tells us that God
does not choose according to human criteria...The women are driven by love and
know how to accept this proclamation with faith: they believe, and immediately
transmit it, they do not keep it for themselves."
Women who have accepted the call from God to
priesthood and who have become women priests want to share "the joy of
knowing that Jesus is alive, the hope that fills their heart."
The Association of Roman Catholic Women
Priests calls on Francis to embrace the full equality of women, including women
priests.
Women priests are answering the call and our
movement is growing since it began in 2002 with the ordination of seven women
on the Danube. There are now 150 in our Roman Catholic Women Priests' Movement
in the world, including 100 in the U.S. living and serving in over 60 inclusive
Catholic communities and welcoming all to receive the sacraments.
According to a recent CBS Gallup Poll, over
70% of Catholics in the U.S. support women priests. There is no shortage of
vocations as women are now saying "Yes" to this call and are being
ordained. Two women will be ordained priests and two will be ordained deacons
in Falls Church, Virginia in June.
See:
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Link to Mailing addresses for Sr. Megan, Greg and Michael/Transform Now Plowshares
Link to mailing addresses for Greg Obed, Sister Megan Rice, and Michael Obed, social justice advocates who broke into nuclear weapons facility to witness for non-violence and justice.
http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/mailing-addresses-for-greg-megan-and-michael/
"A Pentecost Reflection" by First Roman Catholic Woman Priest from South America, Olga Lucia Alvarez, ARCWP
| Translated from Spanish to English by Judy Lee, ARCWP www.arcwp.org http://evangelizadorasdelosapostoles.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/es-la-iglesia-un-agente-de-cambio/  |
| Olga Lucia Alvarez is a Roman Catholic Woman Priest in Colombia |
Olga Lucia begins with the picture of our women priests baptizing a baby girl who is Aida's grand daughter.
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| Judy Lee, ARCWP baptizes Aida's grand daughter in Colombia, South America |
Olga Lucia notes our jobs and the
jobs of parents and grandparents a nd God parents to raise this child in a faith
of love and justice. She then shows the community of Janice and Rosemarie at prayer and then shows excerpts from the life of Saint Laura, the first Colombian Saint to be canonized on Sunday past by Francis I. The point is, she notes, that the people of God are empowered with Pentecost power to create justice and wipe out poverty here and now.
What a wonderful sacramental meditation for all of us.
translated from Spanish by Judy Lee , ARCWP, www.arcwp.org
http://evangelizadorasdelosapostoles.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/es-la-iglesia-un-agente-de-cambio/
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles/ Video on Youtube available to Public
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3htra0nHU
In this clip, I review the role of Mary of Magdala as the apostle to the apostles, as an example of Jesus' vision of Gospel equality. This is a GodTalk production that originally aired on cable tv at FPA.
Enjoy!
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp.org
www.godtalktv.org
In this clip, I review the role of Mary of Magdala as the apostle to the apostles, as an example of Jesus' vision of Gospel equality. This is a GodTalk production that originally aired on cable tv at FPA.
Enjoy!
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp.org
www.godtalktv.org
Friday, May 17, 2013
"Pope Francis:Twenty Things You Didn't Know"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9931413/Pope-Francis-20-things-you-didnt-know.html
"He's had a girlfriend, he loves the tango, and at one point he worked as a bouncer. Here's 20 things you didn't know about this most humble of Popes."
"He's had a girlfriend, he loves the tango, and at one point he worked as a bouncer. Here's 20 things you didn't know about this most humble of Popes."
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests/WWW.ARCWP.ORG/Update 2013/NEW VIDEO on YOUTUBE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBrJSZk5t0
Watch new youtube video with update 2013 on the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Visit us at www.arcwp.org
Watch new youtube video with update 2013 on the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Visit us at www.arcwp.org
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
A Male Priest's Support of Woman Who Will be Ordained by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests in June
http://www.phrogge.com/
"What can I possibly say to her in the face of her profound personal courage? I feel humbled even to be in her presence. I have been a priest for a few years, but, then, I am of the accepted gender, while she is not. The accepted gender has been determined solely by others of the same gender, who claim to be acting “after the example of Christ, and at his command”*. Other than the minions of the accepted gender’s managers, few folks these days believe the institution’s stated excuses for not allowing women to be ordained. Yet, with the emotional investment of the institution and its religious police, taking such a step is an act of courageous faith....
I think she is following Jesus’ words to us that, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross every day and follow me”. She, and other such priests before her, display courage, no doubt of that. She will be subject to threats, name-calling, vitriol, and undoubtedly “christ-like paternal concern” from management. She has a tough road ahead of her, made even more difficult by those claiming to be acting in Jesus’ name, doing things and having attitudes that Jesus didn’t have or do. The “Catholic Taliban” is alive and well.
She has a solid prayer life, no doubt of that. She will need it on her journey. She will have the support of a Eucharistic Community, even though institutional management will vehemently deny folks who support and agree with her the right to use these words. But the Eucharistic Reality will still surround them. When Jesus said “wherever two or more gather in my name I am with them” he didn’t say anything about getting anybody’s permission or authorization, what words to use or clothes to wear.
I wish her courageous firmness, and perhaps a bit humility, on her journey. She will need it. Jesus’ followers are not always the kindest or most charitable folks. She will learn as she celebrates Eucharist the power and reality of Jesus’ words – all of them. Hopefully she will come to “recognize and know what she does, and imitate what she handles”**. Perhaps she will come to recognize Jesus present in the most unexpected folks, relationships, and situations, and realize that grace has brought her to where she is needed, and grace is always powerfully real...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
Thank you, dear Brother, for your open, loving support of a future woman priest. Your words are a source of inspiration to many.
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
"What can I possibly say to her in the face of her profound personal courage? I feel humbled even to be in her presence. I have been a priest for a few years, but, then, I am of the accepted gender, while she is not. The accepted gender has been determined solely by others of the same gender, who claim to be acting “after the example of Christ, and at his command”*. Other than the minions of the accepted gender’s managers, few folks these days believe the institution’s stated excuses for not allowing women to be ordained. Yet, with the emotional investment of the institution and its religious police, taking such a step is an act of courageous faith....
I think she is following Jesus’ words to us that, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross every day and follow me”. She, and other such priests before her, display courage, no doubt of that. She will be subject to threats, name-calling, vitriol, and undoubtedly “christ-like paternal concern” from management. She has a tough road ahead of her, made even more difficult by those claiming to be acting in Jesus’ name, doing things and having attitudes that Jesus didn’t have or do. The “Catholic Taliban” is alive and well.
She has a solid prayer life, no doubt of that. She will need it on her journey. She will have the support of a Eucharistic Community, even though institutional management will vehemently deny folks who support and agree with her the right to use these words. But the Eucharistic Reality will still surround them. When Jesus said “wherever two or more gather in my name I am with them” he didn’t say anything about getting anybody’s permission or authorization, what words to use or clothes to wear.
I wish her courageous firmness, and perhaps a bit humility, on her journey. She will need it. Jesus’ followers are not always the kindest or most charitable folks. She will learn as she celebrates Eucharist the power and reality of Jesus’ words – all of them. Hopefully she will come to “recognize and know what she does, and imitate what she handles”**. Perhaps she will come to recognize Jesus present in the most unexpected folks, relationships, and situations, and realize that grace has brought her to where she is needed, and grace is always powerfully real...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
Thank you, dear Brother, for your open, loving support of a future woman priest. Your words are a source of inspiration to many.
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Rosemarie Smead, ARCWP, Newly Ordained Priest- First Liturgy in Louisville, Kentucky, May 11, 2013
"God of amazing surprises, Creator of tiny bugs and awesome plants. Designer of earth's wonders, Giver of life and laughter, we praise your passionate love hidden, yet revealed, everywhere in the cosmos."
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| Rosemarie Smead, arcwp, in stole seated at table with Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community |
So began the Eucharistic Prayer of newly ordained priest Rosemarie Smead's 1st Liturgy in Louisville Saturday evening, May 11th. More than 50 gathered in the children's chapel of St. Andrew United Church of Christ. Fittingly, she chose Bridget Mary's wondrous and awe-inspiring "Liturgy to Celebrate New Life, Creation, and New Beginnings."
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| Donna Rougeux, arcwp with yellow stole, shared homily with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp |
We were at five tables with Eucharist bread and wine at each for the Body of Christ to consecrate, belonging to the Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community. A family therapist who has worked with teenagers for many years, Rosemarie wore the "children of the world" stole with a tablecloth of the same design. After housekeeping, (email sign-up list, our brochure, and a brief summary of our ARCWP community), we stilled ourselves with the chant, "Seek the Face of God" by Susan Butler. Our Gospel reading was from John 14: 11-20.
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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp, in white stole shared homily with Donna Rougeux, arcwp |
..."I will ask the One who sent me to give you another Paraclete, another Helper to be with you always -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept since the world neither sees Her nor recognizes Her; but you can recognize the Spirit, because She remains with you and will be within you. I won't leave you orphaned; I will come back to you."
We priests from Lexington, Donna Rougeux and I, were invited to give the homily. Donna focused on the letting go and coming into new life of the spirit. I spoke about my week with the prophetic Transform Now Plowshares activists who obeyed the promptings of the Spirit of Truth and entered the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Knoxville, Tennessee: Sr. Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli.
"You are the Body of Christ" we said to each other around the tables. This was a first experience for some who later articulated how moving and renewing an experience it was for them. In the hush of our Communion joy, we chanted "Do Not Be Afraid" and "Whichever Way You Turn" (there is the face of God) also by Susan Butler.
After we sang four stanzas of "All Are Welcome" Rosemarie outlined the needs and responsibilities of the community and gave a schedule for Liturgies which will be held there the first and third Saturday of each month at 5 p.m. "Thank you for your courage to support a renewed priestly ministry," Rosemarie said. We shared each other's company and some of us went for supper at Kingfish on the Ohio River.
article by Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp
For more information on women priests or the Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community, contact our website at www.arcwp.org
"Invisible War Exposes Pervasiveness of Sexual Assault in U.S. Military"/ The Rape of Military Women Should NOT Be an "Occupational Hazard" that Merits "No Redress"
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/invisible-war-exposes-pervasiveness-sexual-assault-us-military
"According to the victims and their advocates in the film, the crux of the problem seems to lie with unit commanders who have no legal training, and sometimes no higher education. It is up to them to adjudicate cases, whether or not accusations move through the military justice system. Often, they are the assailants or their buddies are; meanwhile, victims can be prosecuted for various reasons: giving a false report (even if they didn’t) and committing adultery (even if they were raped and are not even married.)
Almost all of the victims have attempted suicide at least once. One of the saddest moments in the film is when Cioca finds and reads the suicide note she wrote for her mother. After one attempt, Cioca said she decided to live once she learned she was pregnant, hoping the life within her would not have to live through what she had.
Equally sad is the story of one Navy recruit who joined the military because her father, still in the Army, encouraged her. He breaks down when he recalls the phone call that told him she was no longer a virgin because she was raped.
Almost all of these young women joined the military out of idealism and the desire to serve their country. The reports of rapes and assaults at the prestigious Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., are stunning.
Two days after seeing the film in April 2012, Secretary for Defense Leon Panetta took away the right to adjudicate rape cases from commanders.
The film does not tell us what the military, overall, is doing to make rapists and assailants accountable. A pitiable percentage of these sexual predators are prosecuted; there are virtually no consequences for rapists in the military, nor is there a database for offenders. They only make it to the national database if they receive more than one year’s punishment for a crime (that the military then deems equal to a felony).
The lawsuit filed by the former servicewomen, many of whom are interviewed in the film, was thrown out. The Department of Defense deemed that their rapes and injuries were the result of an “occupational hazard” and therefore merited no redress...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
The Obama administration needs to take action immediately to punish the crime of rape in the military with serious jail time. No more denials or hand-slapping or looking the other way by the brass can be tolerated. The culture must be changed in this case from the top down. It is time for Obama to hold the military accountable. A database for offenders must be established for all of these assults, and all assults prosecuted. No more punish the victim policies! The rape of courageous women serving our country should not be an "occupational hazard" that merits "no redress!" Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
"According to the victims and their advocates in the film, the crux of the problem seems to lie with unit commanders who have no legal training, and sometimes no higher education. It is up to them to adjudicate cases, whether or not accusations move through the military justice system. Often, they are the assailants or their buddies are; meanwhile, victims can be prosecuted for various reasons: giving a false report (even if they didn’t) and committing adultery (even if they were raped and are not even married.)
Almost all of the victims have attempted suicide at least once. One of the saddest moments in the film is when Cioca finds and reads the suicide note she wrote for her mother. After one attempt, Cioca said she decided to live once she learned she was pregnant, hoping the life within her would not have to live through what she had.
Equally sad is the story of one Navy recruit who joined the military because her father, still in the Army, encouraged her. He breaks down when he recalls the phone call that told him she was no longer a virgin because she was raped.
Almost all of these young women joined the military out of idealism and the desire to serve their country. The reports of rapes and assaults at the prestigious Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., are stunning.
Two days after seeing the film in April 2012, Secretary for Defense Leon Panetta took away the right to adjudicate rape cases from commanders.
The film does not tell us what the military, overall, is doing to make rapists and assailants accountable. A pitiable percentage of these sexual predators are prosecuted; there are virtually no consequences for rapists in the military, nor is there a database for offenders. They only make it to the national database if they receive more than one year’s punishment for a crime (that the military then deems equal to a felony).
The lawsuit filed by the former servicewomen, many of whom are interviewed in the film, was thrown out. The Department of Defense deemed that their rapes and injuries were the result of an “occupational hazard” and therefore merited no redress...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
The Obama administration needs to take action immediately to punish the crime of rape in the military with serious jail time. No more denials or hand-slapping or looking the other way by the brass can be tolerated. The culture must be changed in this case from the top down. It is time for Obama to hold the military accountable. A database for offenders must be established for all of these assults, and all assults prosecuted. No more punish the victim policies! The rape of courageous women serving our country should not be an "occupational hazard" that merits "no redress!" Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
Monday, May 13, 2013
First Disciples Create Model for Dealing with Contention in the Church by Bishop Tom Gumbleton
http://ncronline.org/blogs/peace-pulpit/first-disciples-create-model-dealing-contention-church
..."God is present for everyone, but we have to be alert to God. In the Catholic catechism, there's a definition of what our conscience is, and it's actually taken from the Second Vatican Council: the divine voice echoing in the depths of our heart as a law written by God in human hearts.
The divine voice of God echoing in the heart of each one of us, but we have to be quiet at times. We have to separate ourselves from all the things going on in the world around us in what people call now "centering yourself" -- going into the depths of your heart and hearing God speaking to you. God is there, but we have to take the time to listen. As we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles and elders together with the whole church decided what to do; they listened to the whole church.
There's a great teaching in our church called the sensus fidelium, the sense of the believing people. God speaks not just through the pope or to the bishops, the hierarchy. God speaks in the depth of the heart of each of us. The church has to enter into dialogue as that first community of disciples did to listen to one another, draw from the depths of the Spirit speaking to all of us, and then come to our conclusions. Now you might say, "That's impossible; that will never happen."
I just discovered yesterday or the day before that actually something very similar to this has just happened in a church in Germany. The bishops there gathered together 300 people for a four-day period to discuss what changes, what reforms needed to be developed within the church. Afterward, the president of the German Bishops' Conference spoke, and he said that one of the things that he, the bishops, and the church now were going to call for would be the ordination of women to the diaconate.
That's something we've been told you can't even talk about. Now the German church is saying, "Yes, we're calling for that." We're in a new time. We need more ministers in our church. There are women who claim and hear God speaking within them, calling them to minister. Now the German church having gathered together, listened to one another, and listened to the Spirit speaking to them are saying, "We need this reform now." And we do, I think.
It seems very obvious that we have just an extraordinary lack of ministers in our church. Why else are we closing all of our churches? We don't have enough ministers. Basically, that's the real reason. Now the church is listening in Germany, at least. That means, though, the church can do the same thing everywhere. We need to do that in our church. It starts with each one of us.
Try to listen deeply to what God is telling us about these things that are going on in the world around us, about the whole issue of homosexuality, about the issue of ordination of women, about the issue of how we bring peace into our world, about giving up violence, listening to God, bringing about change in ourselves and then trying to be bringing about this change in our church as we enter into deep dialogue with one another."
..."God is present for everyone, but we have to be alert to God. In the Catholic catechism, there's a definition of what our conscience is, and it's actually taken from the Second Vatican Council: the divine voice echoing in the depths of our heart as a law written by God in human hearts.
The divine voice of God echoing in the heart of each one of us, but we have to be quiet at times. We have to separate ourselves from all the things going on in the world around us in what people call now "centering yourself" -- going into the depths of your heart and hearing God speaking to you. God is there, but we have to take the time to listen. As we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles and elders together with the whole church decided what to do; they listened to the whole church.
There's a great teaching in our church called the sensus fidelium, the sense of the believing people. God speaks not just through the pope or to the bishops, the hierarchy. God speaks in the depth of the heart of each of us. The church has to enter into dialogue as that first community of disciples did to listen to one another, draw from the depths of the Spirit speaking to all of us, and then come to our conclusions. Now you might say, "That's impossible; that will never happen."
I just discovered yesterday or the day before that actually something very similar to this has just happened in a church in Germany. The bishops there gathered together 300 people for a four-day period to discuss what changes, what reforms needed to be developed within the church. Afterward, the president of the German Bishops' Conference spoke, and he said that one of the things that he, the bishops, and the church now were going to call for would be the ordination of women to the diaconate.
That's something we've been told you can't even talk about. Now the German church is saying, "Yes, we're calling for that." We're in a new time. We need more ministers in our church. There are women who claim and hear God speaking within them, calling them to minister. Now the German church having gathered together, listened to one another, and listened to the Spirit speaking to them are saying, "We need this reform now." And we do, I think.
It seems very obvious that we have just an extraordinary lack of ministers in our church. Why else are we closing all of our churches? We don't have enough ministers. Basically, that's the real reason. Now the church is listening in Germany, at least. That means, though, the church can do the same thing everywhere. We need to do that in our church. It starts with each one of us.
Try to listen deeply to what God is telling us about these things that are going on in the world around us, about the whole issue of homosexuality, about the issue of ordination of women, about the issue of how we bring peace into our world, about giving up violence, listening to God, bringing about change in ourselves and then trying to be bringing about this change in our church as we enter into deep dialogue with one another."
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests/Professional Photos by Giulia Bianchi
http://forwomenpriests.tumblr.com
If you share any of these photos, please re-post them
"courtesy of www.giuliabianchi.com
Here are a few of Guilia Bianchi's professional pictures of Rosemarie Smead's at Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests Ordination on April 27, 2013 in Louisville, KY.
Sister Megan Rice Interview VIDEO and article in Irish Central
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/-Catholic-nun-among-three-convicted-of-break-in-to-US-defense-nuclear-bomb-facility--VIDEO-206901161.html
Click on this link and watch powerful video of Sr. Megan Rice sharing why she broke into nuclear bomb facility -Y12 in Oak Ridge Tennesssee.
The activists admitted cutting several fences, walking through the complex for hours
"An elderly Catholic nun is among the three people convicted for damage they caused when they broke into a defense facility where enriched uranium for nuclear bombs is stored.
Sister Megan Gillespie Rice, 82, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed admitted to cutting the fence and gaining access to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in July 2012.
The defendants called themselves "Transform Now Plowshares," a reference to the biblical phrase: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks."
The jury deliberated for almost three hours before returning a guilty verdict in Knoxville federal court. The Irish Times reports that Rice stood straight up and smiled when it was read.
The three peace activists were convicted of damaging a national defence premises. The penalty for such a crime carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Prosecutors claim the break in at Y-12 disrupted operations endangered U.S. security and caused physical damage that cost over $8,500 to repair.
“These are people of conscious, nonviolence and justice. And they certainly put the US government to shame,” Paul Magno, a supporter of the activists and member of the group Plowshares, said afterward.
“We are a nation of laws. You can’t take the law into your own hands and force your views on other people,” Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Theodore had said in a closing argument.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests who attended the trial to support Rice, said the activists were “challenging unjust, inhumane and immoral behavior filled with insatiable insecurity and greed.”
“My hope is that the people wake up to the freedoms being taken away in the name of so-called security as well as to the egregious waste of their hard-earned taxpayers’ money,” she said in a statement..."
Click on this link and watch powerful video of Sr. Megan Rice sharing why she broke into nuclear bomb facility -Y12 in Oak Ridge Tennesssee.
The activists admitted cutting several fences, walking through the complex for hours
"An elderly Catholic nun is among the three people convicted for damage they caused when they broke into a defense facility where enriched uranium for nuclear bombs is stored.
Sister Megan Gillespie Rice, 82, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed admitted to cutting the fence and gaining access to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in July 2012.
The defendants called themselves "Transform Now Plowshares," a reference to the biblical phrase: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks."
The jury deliberated for almost three hours before returning a guilty verdict in Knoxville federal court. The Irish Times reports that Rice stood straight up and smiled when it was read.
The three peace activists were convicted of damaging a national defence premises. The penalty for such a crime carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Prosecutors claim the break in at Y-12 disrupted operations endangered U.S. security and caused physical damage that cost over $8,500 to repair.
“These are people of conscious, nonviolence and justice. And they certainly put the US government to shame,” Paul Magno, a supporter of the activists and member of the group Plowshares, said afterward.
“We are a nation of laws. You can’t take the law into your own hands and force your views on other people,” Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Theodore had said in a closing argument.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests who attended the trial to support Rice, said the activists were “challenging unjust, inhumane and immoral behavior filled with insatiable insecurity and greed.”
“My hope is that the people wake up to the freedoms being taken away in the name of so-called security as well as to the egregious waste of their hard-earned taxpayers’ money,” she said in a statement..."
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| Left/ Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP at liturgy with Plowshare Activists and Supporters before Trial |
Friday, May 10, 2013
Pope Francis and LCWR; "More Papacy Changes, More it Stays the Same"/Disappointing for Women in the Church
http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/lcwr-more-papacy-changes-more-it-stays-same
by Jamie Manson
"...If there is a point on which both Francis and the sisters agree, it is the importance of "touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and in children."
But Francis does not seem to understand that it is precisely because women religious regularly touch that wounded body of Christ that they have such rich theological imaginations and a longing to delve into the spiritual questions of our time. Their intensely sacramental lives of service help clarify their priorities in their pursuits of justice and mercy.
All that women religious have done -- the work they have committed to, the leadership style they have developed and the theologians they invite to their meetings -- has been inspired by their ministry to the broken body of Christ. What Francis and the doctrinal congregation may interpret as a "deviation from doctrine" or a "failure to obey" are really just the fruits of women religious fulfilling their vocation as a prophetic life form.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that the Vatican is punishing women religious for failing to strictly adhere to doctrines that they have had no voice in developing and no role in shaping -- precisely because they are women.
The look and feel of the papacy may be changing under Francis, but the fundamental understanding magisterium's authority and the requirement that the women obey the men, I'm afraid, will continue to stay the same."
[Jamie L. Manson received her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, where she studied Catholic theology and sexual ethics. Her NCR columns have won numerous awards, most recently second prize for Commentary of the Year from Religion Newswriters (RNA).]
by Jamie Manson
"...If there is a point on which both Francis and the sisters agree, it is the importance of "touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and in children."
But Francis does not seem to understand that it is precisely because women religious regularly touch that wounded body of Christ that they have such rich theological imaginations and a longing to delve into the spiritual questions of our time. Their intensely sacramental lives of service help clarify their priorities in their pursuits of justice and mercy.
All that women religious have done -- the work they have committed to, the leadership style they have developed and the theologians they invite to their meetings -- has been inspired by their ministry to the broken body of Christ. What Francis and the doctrinal congregation may interpret as a "deviation from doctrine" or a "failure to obey" are really just the fruits of women religious fulfilling their vocation as a prophetic life form.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that the Vatican is punishing women religious for failing to strictly adhere to doctrines that they have had no voice in developing and no role in shaping -- precisely because they are women.
The look and feel of the papacy may be changing under Francis, but the fundamental understanding magisterium's authority and the requirement that the women obey the men, I'm afraid, will continue to stay the same."
[Jamie L. Manson received her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, where she studied Catholic theology and sexual ethics. Her NCR columns have won numerous awards, most recently second prize for Commentary of the Year from Religion Newswriters (RNA).]
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Blessing by Woman Priest Janice Sevre-Duszynska Outside Jail Holding Peace Activists known as Transform Now Plowshares: Sister Megan Rice, Jim Walli and Greg Boertje- Obed
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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP, Shares Blessing for Peace Activists outside Jail In Tennessee |
Actvists face 30 years in prison.
They are prophets for our time, reminding us that God calls us to live in love, do justice, and reflect compassion. Sr. Megan, Jim, and Greg should have received a medal from the government for exposing the security violations at the site.
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