The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) agrees with Pope Francis who said: "Women have much to tell us in today's society. At times we men are too 'machista'..." However, we say, that until women are affirmed as priests, gender equality will not be a reality in the Catholic Church. The hierarchy, including Pope Francis, cannot continue to discriminate against women and blame Jesus for it. Women priests are now serving in grassroots communities that are inclusive and welcoming to all, including those alienated and marginalized in our Church today. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP www.arcwp.org
ARCWP Historic Photos of Ordination in Orlando, Florida
The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests ordained three deacons and one priest on January 17, 2015. Jim Marsh of Albany, NY and St. Petersburg, FL., Kathryn Shea of Orlando, FL and Mary Catherine of Gorham, NY were ordained deacons. Rita Lucey of Orlando, FL was ordained a priest.
Mary Catherine White
Kathryn Shea
Jim Marsh
Rita Lucey
"Wife, Grandma, Catholic Priest? Rebel Women Defy Church Ban" NBC Today BY TRACY CONNORhttp://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wife-grandma-catholic-priest-rebel-women-defy-church-ban-n286766
Eighty-year-old Rita Lucey has been a military wife, a foster parent and a great-grandmother. But one title she coveted was off-limits because she's a woman: Roman Catholic priest.
That, the Florida golden-ager says, all changed Saturday when she was ordained by a renegade group in a ceremony steeped in church ritual but wholly rejected by the Vatican.
With her family watching, Lucey joined a small but growing group of convention-busting women who have branded themselves priests despite the threat of excommunication.
"It's such an injustice within the Catholic Church that women are not treated equally," Lucey told NBC News.
Watch Cynthia McFadden's Report on Women Priests This Sunday on Today
The ceremony in a borrowed Protestant church had many hallmarks of a regular Catholic ordination: Lucey wore white robes and received a red stole. A female bishop laid hands on her, and she prostrated herself in the aisle. Afterward, she gave out Communion.
To the Catholic Church, the entire rite is bogus because canon law says only men can be priests. Even liberal Pope Francis has ruled out the prospect of women priests.
That hasn't stopped Lucey and 200 other women worldwide -- 160 of them in the United States -- who have undergone unsanctioned ordinations since an excommunicated Argentinian father bestowed the priesthood on seven women on the Danube in 2002.
REINHOLD MATAY / FOR NBC NEWS
Rita Lucey blesses juice as part of the communion ceremony after she was ordained as a priest for the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests at the Christ Church Unity on Jan. 17 in Orlando, Fla.
"It's the Rosa Parks movement of the Catholic Church," said Bridget Mary Meehan of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. "The Vatican cannot continue to discriminate against women and blame God for it."
Meehan, an excommunicated nun who was made a bishop by the movement in 2009, said the priests come from all walks of life: "We have a lot of grandmothers, we have some women who are lesbians...we are starting to attract some younger women."
The group even includes what Meehan calls "catacomb nuns" -- anonymous sisters from orders overseen by the Vatican who are worried they would be forced out if their names were made public.
They celebrate Mass in spaces rented from friendly Protestant churches and administer sacraments. "I've confirmed children," Meehan said. "We anoint the sick. We do gay marriages."
None of that is sanctioned by Rome, though the U.S. women priests insist they are bona fide because a clergyman in good standing -- referred to only as Bishop X -- ordained the first female bishop.
The church hierarchy gets hot under the collar over these activities. Last week, the Kansas City bishop sent a certified excommunication letter to 67-year-old Georgia Walker, days after her ordination.
George Weigel, the author of "Evangelical Catholicism," likened the movement to "Republicans for Socialism," and questioned why the women think being a priest is the most important role.
"That's clericalism of a very old-fashioned sort," he said.
The church maintains that only men can be ordained because priests act "in the person of Christ," who was a man and chose only men as his disciples.
REINHOLD MATAY / FOR NBC NEWS
Rita Lucey, center, is anointed with oil as part of the ceremony where she was ordained as a priest for the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests at the Christ Church Unity at Jan. 17 in Orlando, Fla.
In the pews, however, there is widespread support for the idea of women priests. A Pew Research poll in March found 68 percent of American Catholics think the gender barrier should be demolished.
"The joke among priests my age is we're in favor of the ordination of women as long as they take the 6 a.m. Mass," said Father Tom Reese, a senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, who took his vows in 1974.
Reese, who is progressive, said he thinks the Vatican should open the priesthood to women, but even he is conflicted about the rebel ordinations.
"A couple of individuals can't make the rules up for themselves," he said.
"Some people who support the ordination of women feel we should not do these ordinations because it's divisive and these things take time and you move with consensus," Reese added. "On the other hand, this is sometimes the way change happens."
While Pope Francis has shown himself to be a big-tent Catholic, making overtures to gays, divorced Catholics and even atheists, he hasn't warmed to the idea of female fathers.
"The door is closed," he said four months after ascending to the throne of St. Peter.
The women priests think that door isn't locked, though.
"Like Obama, he has to move slowly in making some of these radical decisions, but I think if he lives long enough he will be making some of these changes," said Lucey, a longtime social-justice activist. "Jesus broke many of the taboos of his time."
Meehan, who says between 30 and 100 people attend her services in Sarasota, isn't sure she will see female priesthood recognized in her lifetime.
"We may be long gone, but at least we were pioneers," she said. "These gutsy women are laying it down for equality.
"I call it a holy shakeup," she added. "We are not second class. What's second class about our souls?"
“A Justice-
Seeking Woman in the Gospels Inspires Justice Seekers Today”
By Bishop Bridget
Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Today we celebrate a justice-seeking woman in scripture. Today we celebrate justice-seeking ordinands in the Association of Roman Catholic Women
Priests. We will not relent until Gospel equality and justice is a
reality in our church and world.
In Luke’s Gospel we encounter a justice-seeking widow badgering a
corrupt judge until he relents and does the right thing. According to scholars, this widow is a
courageous woman without resources or family members to assist in her appeal
for justice. During this time and culture, a male relative would have
accompanied a woman in a court case. In
this story of Gospel equality and social justice, a courageous woman wins
justice by her persistent effort. Unafraid to confront a corrupt judicial
system slated against her, she refuses to quit, until justice is done. Neither will we!
The persistent widow is a role model for all who are
seeking justice within our church and society.
As Isaiah reminds us, we are called to be God’s compassion to
those in need of comfort and liberation. Like deacon Phoebe, whom Paul praised
as an outstanding leader in the church, we are called to lead our church today
into a new era of Gospel equality and partnership, one with the community of
the baptized.
Today we rejoice as we ordain 4 justice seekers.
Rita Lucey of Orlando, a member of Pax Christi, has been married for
63 years. She is a mother of four, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of three. As a justice-seeking woman and human
rights activist Rita spent six months in federal prison to close the U.S. Army
School of the Americas. Because of her witness for justice issues and her experience
in prison she advocated for women in prison and served as a Hospice Volunteer
for 25 years. As a priest, Rita will celebrate sacraments in the homes of Catholics who feel alienated from the Church.
Kathryn Shea of Sarasota, is a mother of two children and
grandmother of two grandchildren. She
has been married nearly 30 years to Stephen, an ordained minister of the
Disciples of Christ. As a
justice-seeking woman, Kathryn protested US nuclear arms build-up and
interference in Central America, and was arrested and jailed for civil
disobedience numerous times. Kathryn, who is the president and CEO of the
Florida Center for Child and Family Development in Sarasota, FL, is a
passionate activist for the healthy development of young children, especially
children at-risk. As a deacon, she will serve Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive
Catholic Community in Sarasota, Florida as a member of the liturgical ministry
team.
Jim Marsh of Albany, NY and St. Petersburg, FL has served
his local church communities as Parish Councilor, Lector, Eucharistic Minister,
and Religious Educator. In
the early 1980s, as a gay man, he was involved in establishing a local DIGNITY
Chapter in the Capital District region of NY where he served as a sacramental
coordinator. As a justice-seeking man, he worked to create a viable Eucharistic
community for those of many faith traditions who were “on the margins” of
society and called “disordered” by church authorities. As a deacon, Jim will
continue his ministry of service with others in promoting inclusive,
egalitarian, justice-seeking communities of faith, inspired by Sophia-Wisdom.
Mary Catherine White of Gorham, New Hampshire, has been married to
her soul mate, Adam White, since 2006. She has two adult daughters and a five
year old grandson. For nearly twenty years, Mary wore many hats in her local
Catholic faith community: Director of Religious Education; Spiritual Director;
RCIA Coordinator; Small Faith Community Coordinator; Minister of Communion who
presided at Communion Services in the pastor's absence; Liturgical Dancer, and
Choir member. As a justice-seeking woman, Mary is a member of a blossoming
inclusive Catholic community that has called her to serve as its priest. She looks forward to her ministry with
the people of New Hampshire's North Country.
The good news is according to polls, close to 70% of U.S.
Catholics support women priests. Even Cardinal O’Malley in his 60 Minutes
interview with Norah O’Donnell, said he favors women priests: “If I were
founding a church, I’d love to have women priests. But Christ founded it, and
what he has given us is something different.”
Let’s examine the evidence in the bible and Vatican
scholarship,
First, Jesus was not a priest, nor did Jesus ordain anyone a
priest. The apostles were not priests or bishops. Jesus called women and men to
be disciples, and treated them as partners and equals. In all four gospels,
Mary Magdalene was the primary witness to the central event of Christianity —
Christ’s resurrection.
Second:in early Christianity,
scholars conclude that women served as deacons, priests and bishops. (See Gary
Macy,The Hidden History of Women's Ordination and Dorothy Irvin's
archaelogical researach)
Third: in 1976, the Vatican’s own Pontifical Biblical Commission
stated that there is no theological basis to exclude women from the priesthood.
Fourth: according to Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, #29) “every type
of discrimination … based on sex … is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary
to God’s intent.”
Does a teaching that states women can receive six sacraments
and men can receive seven sacraments indicate that discrimination is a core
issue here?
The bottom line is: the church cannot continue to discriminate
against half of its membership, and blame Jesus for it.
When the institutional church prohibits ordination and fails to
treat woman as spiritual equals at every level, it thereby, gives permission to
the rest of the world to oppress and dominate women. We must make the
connection between discrimination against women in the church and abuse,
violence, and gender injustice the world.
In the church’s recent Synod on the Family, women were not only
missing from the all male, celibate voting bishops, but also, missing in the
final document on church teachings that will affect women’s lives around the
globe.
Journalist Angela Bonavoglia writes the following stinging
critique of the Synod on the Family in an article entitled “Where Are the
Women? “There were passing references to violence against women in the family
and in the world in the final Synod document, but nowhere do the Church fathers
make a moral case for protecting women from such violence in their own homes
and supporting them in leaving such relationships… This omission is doubly
concerning coming from a church that forces childbirth on unwilling women by
supporting laws that block access to birthcontrol…” (Where Are the Women? By Angela
Bonavoglia | November 20, 2014http://www.womensmediacenter.com/feature/entry/the-synods-final-document-where-are-the-women#.VHKOmUJZXtg.email
In order to be credible, the Synod on the Family must reflect women’s
experiences. They could check in with some of our women priests who are mothers
and grandmothers! We are faithful Catholics who love our church and are offering
it a renewed model of priestly ministry that is non-clerical and
non-hierarchical, one with all in the community of the baptized.
Our movement began with 7 courageous women who were ordained on
the Danube River in 2002. In 2003, our first women bishops were ordained
by a male bishop with apostolic succession. Therefore, our ordinations are
valid, but we are disobeying an unjust male-made canon law that discriminates
against women.
There are now 200 in the international women
priest movement in 10 countries, including 160 in the U.S. serving 60
communities. We celebrate inclusive liturgies with feminine as well as
masculine images of God. All are invited to our Eucharistic table
including LGBTs, and divorced and remarried Catholics. Like Rosa Parks in the
Civil Rights movementwe are
breaking an unjust law in the Catholic Church and leading the church into
living Gospel equality now.
In conclusion, I will offer a few examples of how our ARCWP
priests are seeking justice with other justice seekers in the Body of Christ:
At Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community in Sarasota,
women priests and married priests gather around the altar with the entire community
to pray the Eucharistic Prayer. Each week there is a dialogue homily.
In Albany NY, the Inclusive Catholic Community is offering a
spiritual home to many who have walked away from the institutional church. They
are studying scripture scholarship that focuses on the life of Jesus and the
central message of the Gospel. And, they are embracing a theology of blessing
that requires restorative justice and equality for all.
On Nov. 15, 2014, five of our women priests gathered with hundreds
at the gates of Ft. Benning GA. to celebrate aEucharist of the Peopleon the 25th anniversary of the
Martyrdom of two women coworkers and 6 Jesuits at the University of Central
America in El Salvador in 1989.
Georgia Walker, who was ordained a priest on Jan. 3, 2015 in Kansas City,
crossed the line at the old nuclear bomb parts plant in South Kansas City to
protest the toxic waste dump there. Hundreds of workers either died or are
suffering from major chronic illnesses due to exposure to chemicals at that
site. For her non-violent, justice-seeking action, Georgia was convicted of
trespassing and was sentenced to one-year of unsupervised probation by the
Municipal Court of Kansas City.
Today we celebrate the ordination of Rita, Kathryn Jim, and Mary Catherine, four
prophetic witnesses to Gospel equality.
Like the persistent widow, our women
priests’ movement is a holy shakeup rising up for justice in the Catholic
Church!
Bridget Mary Meehan, D.Min., a Sister for Christian Community, was
ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 31, 2006.
She was ordained a bishop on April 19, 2009. Dr. Meehan is currently Dean
of the Doctor of Ministry Program for Global Ministries University, and is the
author of 20 books, including Living
Gospel Equality Now: Loving in the Heart of God, The Healing Power of Prayer
and Praying with Women of the Bible.
She presides at liturgies in Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
in Sarasota, Florida. Dr. Meehan can be reached at sofiabmm@aol.comand www.arcwp.org
A 2009 Pew study found that of 39 percent of young adults who leave the Catholic Church, and who are now unaffiliated with a religion, said they were “unhappy with the way religion treated women.”
In a separate study last year, nearly 70 percent of US Catholics said they believe women should be ordained to the priesthood.
NBC will run interview of Rita Lucey of Orlando
and Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan of the Association of Roman Catholic Women
Priests (ARCWP) as Rita is ordained a priest Jan. 17, 2 p.m. at Christ Church
Unity, 771 Holden Ave. in Orlando.
The clips will be shown on NBC Today on Sunday,
Jan. 18, 8-9 a.m.EST.
On Saturday, Jan. 17th at 2 p.m. the
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests will ordain Rita Lucey, 80, the
first woman priest in Orlando, FL. Three deacons will also be ordained: Kathryn
Shea of Sarasota, Jim Marsh of Albany, NY and St. Petersburg, FL and Mary
Catherine White of Gorham, NH. The presiding bishop will be Bridget Mary Meehan
of Sarasota. The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at Christ Church Unity, 771
Holden Ave. in Orlando. All are welcome.
Rita Lucey, 80, of Orlando, a mother, grandmother and member of Pax Christi, has been married for 62 years. As a military wife of 20 years she became the Religious Education Director on military bases stateside and overseas and “was always impressed by the sharing of ONE chapel by people of all faiths.” She is a human rights activist who, at the age of 64, spent six months in federal prison to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Because of her witness for justice issues and her experience in prison, she has advocated for incarcerated women and has also served as a Hospice Volunteer for 25 years. She gives local talks on the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Rita has a Masters in Pastoral Studies from Loyola New Orleans.
There are now 200 ordained in the international women
priest movement in 10 countries, including 160 in the U.S. serving 60
communities. We celebrate inclusive liturgies with feminine as well as masculine
images of God. All are invited to our
Eucharistic table including LGBTs, and divorced and remarried Catholics. Like
Rosa Parks in the Civil Rights movement, women priests are breaking an unjust
law in the Catholic Church.
See major coverage of Kansas City woman priest ordination
..."On Jan. 7, Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph sent Walker a letter informing her that she'd incurred automatic excommunication for participating in an ordination ceremony not recognized by the Vatican...In an email to The Huffington Post, Walker said that she was "very disappointed to be excommunicated.""I love the Church and I particularly love the local parish in which I have previously been very active," Walker told HuffPost on Wednesday. "However, I am not at all surprised."
Bridget Mary Meehan of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, who conducted Walker's ordination ceremony, responded to Finn's letter on her personal website Monday."The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests are faithful members of the baptized who serve our beloved church in a renewed priestly ministry that welcomes all to celebrate the sacraments in inclusive, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered communities wherever we are called," Meehan wrote.
Meehan, who identifies as a bishop but whose title is similarly not recognized by the church, argued for ARCWP's claim to validity, citing the organization's "apostolic succession with the Roman Catholic Church.""The principal consecrating Roman Catholic male bishop who ordained our first women bishops is a bishop with apostolic succession within the Roman Catholic Church in communion with the pope," she wrote on her website. "Therefore, our bishops validly ordain deacons, priests and bishops..."
Jack Smith, director of communications for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, noted in an email to HuffPost that Pope Francis clearly reaffirmed in his 2013 apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" that priesthood is considered the domain of baptized males only. In the same document, the pope said the church must "create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church," a point that Smith also addressed in his email.
"We certainly agree with Pope Francis on the importance of increasing women’s roles in leadership in the Church," Smith wrote. "In this diocese, women serve as directors of diocesan offices, members of the diocesan finance council, heads of schools and charitable agencies and numerous other leadership roles......
"For Meehan, Walker's excommunication raises larger questions about the future of women in the Catholic Church."Women's full equality in the church is the elephant in the church's living room," Meehan wrote in an email to HuffPost. "I think the institutional church is moving in the direction of gender justice and women priests are leading the way toward the full equality of women in the church and society..."
Walker, for her part, described where she'd like to go from here in her email to HuffPost."I intend to move ahead with my plans to form an intentional, inclusive Roman Catholic community with persons who are interested in participating in weekly liturgies," she wrote. "This type of worship community will be egalitarian, non-hierarchical and all will be free to actively participate in the worship, service and governance. All will be welcome at the table."
left :Georgia Walker , Janice Sevre-Duszynska, and Bridget Mary Meehan
http://www.kctv5.com/story/27843515/catholic-church-excommunicates-woman-priest= I am very disappointed to be
excommunicated. I love the Church and I
particularly love the local parish in which I have previously been very
active. However, I am not at all
surprised. Bishop Finn enthusiastically
follows the letter of Canon Law. For example,
he fires gay and lesbian employees despite their competency and loyal service,
he encourages the denial of sacraments to those who have divorced or who have
had children outside of legal marriage and he discourages Roman Catholic
parishes from sharing in ecumenical services with those of other
denominations. He excludes those from
the Eucharistic table who are the very people who I intend to serve! Many persons in Kansas City were afraid to
attend my ordination for fear of the repercussions they might face from the
chancery—from losing their jobs or being excommunicated themselves. It is a strange way to govern the church by
fear in a country that strives to ensure freedom and a Church which preaches
that God loves all of creation.
One of the priests in my community sent me
the following wordsfrom
St. Paul which may put this letter and notice in right perspective: "Who will bring any charge against those
whom God has chosen? Who is he that condemns?......Who can separate
us from the love of God? ..... I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,nor any powers,neither height nor depth,nor
anything else in all creationwill
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord."(See Romans 8:33ff)
I intend to move ahead with my
plans to form an intentional, inclusive Roman Catholic community with persons
who are interested in participating in weekly liturgies. This type of worship community will be
egalitarian, non-hierarchical and all will be free to actively participate in
the worship, service and governance. All
will be welcome at the table. The
members of the Association of Roman Catholic Woman Priests are leading the
Church in a new direction with full participation for women and all other
persons marginalized by the Church. I am
a part of that prophetic movement. I
have been ordained by a Bishop who has been ordained in apostolic succession
and I plan to serve in the role of priest as a facilitator of worship for those
who feel excluded from the traditional Roman Catholic Church.
Walker says she plans to continue attending Mass at her parish church, St. James, though she will not be taking part in any liturgy."I'm not going to take Communion," she toldNCR. "I won't in any way compromise the parish, but I attend to still be part of the community and go there for worship on Sunday."Bridget Mary Meehan, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests bishop who presided over Walker's Jan. 3 ordination, posted to her blog both Finn's letter anda personal response, arguing that women ordained through the association are not leaving the church, but are leading it.
REINHOLD MATAY / FOR NBC NEWS
REINHOLD MATAY / FOR NBC NEWS
