For me the Pentagon represents the dark side of the psyche. Its Legions and weapons of mass destruction have wreaked chaos upon many innocent children, women and men, (including its own soldiers-our children) as well as to our Holy Mother Earth.
So before leaving the house last Thursday for the Holy Innocents Retreat, I grabbed the perennial companion from my days of witnessing to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: Women, Earth and Creator Spirit by beloved Sister Elizabeth Johnson, from the Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality, St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana.
I wanted to share a prayer and blessing from this booklet that would reclaim the massive space occupied by the Pentagon in the name of Holy Mother Earth and The Sacred Feminine, restoring its Life-giving powers. So with the heavens awash in rainfall, I began with my own words followed by an introduction, then a prayer from artist and religious thinker Meinrad Craighead:
I reclaim this place for the children of Holy Mother Earth and for all that is Life-Giving.
‘”The symbol of the Creator Spirit is like the Native American indwelling spirit named Old Wind Woman: ‘The dark wind of my Mother expands and contracts, winding to and from the hub of the spinning wheel, which is everywhere. She spirals, uncoiling and returning to her source; her spirit evolving, involving the entire universe.’”
Meinrad Craighead, The Mother’s Songs: Images of God the Mother (NY: Paulist, 1986) 65.
I bless this place with the fiery power of the Spirit of which Hildegarde of Bingen writes:
“’I, the highest and fiery power, have kindled every living spark
And I have breathed out nothing that can die….I flame above the
Beauty of the fields; I shine in the waters; in the sun, the moon and
the stars, I burn. And by means of the airy wind, I stir everything
into quickness with a certain invisible life which sustains all…..I,
the fiery power, lie hidden in these things and they blaze from me.’”
From Hildegarde of Bingen: Mystical Writings, Fiona Bowie and Oliver Davies, eds. (NY: Crossroad, 1990) 91-93.
Each day within the warmth, comfort and safety of our own hearths we are confronted with the heart wrenching suffering of so many of our sisters and brothers across Holy Mother Earth. With these thoughts embedded in my soul, I felt strongly about my need to participate in the 2018 Holy Innocents Retreat and Pentagon Witness with Catholic Workers and others in the peace movement.
My contribution to the Lectio Divina scripture sharing AND my third Pentagon action-witness arose from my recent trip to the SOAWatch Border Encuentro in Nogales, AZ and Mexico. While there, I saw where the shooting of the 15-year old Mexican teenager by a US border guard took place. The child was shot first in the head and then ten times in the back, and the guard was acquitted at trial.
John Lindsay-Poland, who was with the Fellowship of Reconciliation from 1989 to 2014, led a workshop about the militarization of Mexico mainly by the U.S. I brought back with me the booklet "Gross Human Rights Abuses: The Legal and Illegal Gun Trade to Mexico" produced by the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights and "Stop US Arms to Mexico." I am astonished at the insatiable greed of international arms manufacturers, although most sales to Mexico are from U.S. weapons manufacturers which supply guns, bullets and now drones. These are being used by the Mexican military and local police stations.
As we gathered on the Mexican side of what we call "The Border," a young wife and mother of three young children spoke of how the Mexican military broke into their home and took away her husband three months before. She has not heard from him since nor does she know where he is or what has happened to him. She pledges to stay strong and continue the search for him. We also heard from an Abuelita who wept unceasingly for the recovery of her grandson who presumably perished in the Sonora Desert.
We recognized the suffering of the people of God from the U.S. militarization of the homelands of Central American indigenous people as well as the ongoing suffering in Colombia. In Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador, indigenous are slaughtered while trying to protect their lands.
Years before, I heard stories during the UN Commission on the Status of Women from women from Iraq, Afghanistan, The Sudan, Congo and Nigeria. More recently, I have heard about what is happening in Syria, Somalia and Niger as well as in Egypt, which I visited in 2006. Some of us hear the cries of the children and their families in Yemen and Palestine. Those in Yemen have their lives devastated from the US arms sales to the Saudis, and the people of Palestine suffer the inhumane consequences of the U.S. government alliance with the inhumane occupation by the government of Israel.
Mother Earth herself is a suffering Holy Innocent, as Pentagon warmongering is the number one perpetrator of ecocide. I had to engage in an act of resistance on December 28.
(The above photo was taken at the start of the Pentagon witness)
Dear Friends,
From December 27-28, about 20 members from the Atlantic and Southern Life communities, and other peacemaking friends, gathered for a retreat at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in Washington, D.C., and a nonviolent witness at the Pentagon to commemorate the Massacre of the Holy Innocents – past and present.
The retreat began at 2 PM on December 27 with introductions and orientation followed by a very rich community Lectio Divina scripture sharing on Matthew's account of the massacre of the innocents. (Mt. 2:13-18)
After a short break, Joan and Don Wages, along with their amazing college age sons, Nolan and Jackson, offered an inspiring presentation about their family journey to follow the Gospel call of nonviolence. This included Don sharing about why he left his job working for the military contractor Lockheed Martin, and Joan's decision to become involved in social activism and civil resistance actions. The remainder of the afternoon was spent in preparation for the nonviolent witness at the Pentagon.
After dinner we celebrated liturgy together. As part of the liturgy we listened to and reflected together in small groups on the audio version of Martin Luther King Jr's powerful Christmas Sermon on Peace of 1967, which was recorded as part of the Massey Lectures on CBC radio. The sermon was accompanied by a compelling slide show documenting King's involvement in the civil rights and peace movements.
Braving a heavy steady rain, the community gathered early the next morning at the Pentagon's southeast entrance with signs and banners. As we exited the metro we were met by a Pentagon police detail who escorted us to the designated protest area. As Pentagon workers walked by, an introduction to our presence was offered. The Gospel passage about the slaughter of the holy innocents was proclaimed. The Coventry Carols was sung. A litany was offered (see below) interspersed with the refrain: "War Hurts Children—Help Us End War." And a prayer and blessing was given by Janice, one of the four about to risk arrest.
Carrying copies of the "Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons" with the intention of delivering it to a Pentagon official and requesting that the U.S. ratify it, four members of the community made their way to the police check point closest to the building where they encountered Pentagon police. They were told by the officers that they must leave or face arrest. While the first several paragraphs of the Treaty were read, a Pentagon worker passed by and said "Thank you for keeping us honest." After arrest warnings were given they were placed under arrest. As the four were being escorted to police vehicles, the rest of the community, from a distance sang "The Cry of Ramah!" The witness concluded with everyone singing "Vine and Fig Tree" as the community processed down the escalator and into the Pentagon metro station lobby.
Upon returning to the church, there was a pot-luck breakfast, clean-up, and an evaluation of the Pentagon witness and retreat. We were all ever so grateful for our time together.
The four who were arrested were taken to the Pentagon Police center where they were processed and charged with "Disobeying A Lawful Order." All were released and given a March 21 court date
at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA.
However, the group will request a new court date as several people will not be able to make the assigned court appearance.
Those Arrested:
Joan Wages
Bill Frankel-Streit
Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Dave MacMillan
Pentagon Litany
The Massacre of the Innocents Starts at the Pentagon! Let us Stop It Here and Now!
Intro:
Today, Christian churches commemorate the Massacre of the HolyInnocents, recalling how Herod, fearful ofbeing removed from power, sought to destroy the child Jesus by ordering the slaughter of boys under two years old in and around Bethlehem. We, members of the Atlantic and Southern Life Communities and other peace groups, come to the Pentagon, the center of warmaking on our planet, to remember the innocents who have died--past and present--due to greed, oppression, racism and war. Today, in this time ofperpetual war and climate chaos, the lives of countless innocents, like those in Bethlehem, are endangered. Our faith compels us to nonviolently resist this onslaught.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
The United States military magnifies destruction across the globe, especially in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and throughout the Middle East. From overt wars to covert “dirty wars,” which involve the use of lethal killer drones, countless lives are destroyed, displaced and disappeared. We are ever so mindful that children are always the first victims of war.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
In Yemen, the U.S. continues to provide direct military support and weapons to Saudi Arabia in its brutal war against the Houthi rebels, even though a recent Senate resolution called for an end to such support. Thousands have died from the war, starvation is widespread and suspected cholera cases have exceeded one million.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
Save the Children conservatively estimates that 85,000 Yemeni children under age five have died from starvation and disease during the last three years. Mainstream media and even governments of large and wealthy countries are finally beginning to acknowledge the anguish suffered by Yemeni children and their families. Stark photos show listless, skeletal children who are minutes or days away from death.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
Since 2010, according to TheNew York Times, the United States has sold the Saudis thirty F-15 multirole jet fighters, eighty-four combat helicopters, 110 air-to-surface cruise missiles, and 20,000 precision guided bombs. Last year, the United States also sold the Saudis ten maritime helicopters in a $1.9 billion deal. A Lockheed Martin made bomb was used in the Saudi bombing of a school bus in Yemen on Aug. 9, 2018 killing over 40 children. Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
The violence of the U.S. power structure is unrelenting. Within our own boundaries it continues to crush the poor, target people of color, demonize Muslims, oversee a mass incarceration complex, demean, detain, tear gas and separate immigrants and their families and militarize the southern border. To date eight migrants have died at the border in U.S. custody, including two children, Felipe and Jakilyn.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
Fear, violence and greed are the hallmarks of the Trump Administration and U.S. power structure. And always, the existence of nuclear weapons puts all life in utter peril. This threat is further exacerbated by past and present provocative actions towards N. Korea and Iran by an unpredictable president, the deployment of U.S. missile defense systems designed to threaten and contain Russia and China, and the U.S. militarization of space.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
Every day, the world’s addiction to oil, natural gas and nuclear power is the cause of environmental contamination that is threatening global devastation. The Dakota Access pipeline is but one example of the earth's desecration, and which is continuing to be courageously resisted by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other water protectors. With nearly 800 military bases worldwide establishing its vast war machine, the Pentagon is the world's single biggest consumer of fossil fuels, making it a major contributor to destabilizing the climate.
Refrain: War Hurts Children, Help Us End War!
“Redeem the times,” proclaims the late peacemaking prophet, Jesuit Priest, Daniel Berrigan, along with countless others. “The times are inexpressibly evil. And yet, the times are inexhaustibly good, solaced by the courage and hope of many. The truth rules, Christ is not forsaken."
The violence, massacres and disregard for the truth and human life stops here today at the Pentagon. Now is the time for personal and societal transformation. In solidarity with sisters and brothers around the world, we resolve to:
--renounce and resist all killing, violence, racism and torture
--end environmental destruction, poverty and economic inequality
--respect the human rights of all people, especially immigrants and refugees --train and form diplomats, truth commissions, developers of international economies, trade specialists, nonviolent reconciliation teams, hospital ships, institutes for justice and peace, renewable energy implementation, mass transit lines, etc.
--commit in policy that our country eliminate war and weapons forever, hammer all swords into plowshares and convert the war economy so our planet and people may live
--build homes for all, assure healthy food for all, develop health care and education for all, plan an economy for full employment
--implore the U.S. and all nuclear nations to sign, ratify, and implement the UN Treaty for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
--celebrate God’s creation with joy.
As we move into a New Year we invite you to join with us as we strive to create the beloved community and a nonviolent world.
My response: Liberation theology teaches that God speaks for justice through the poor. "The poor have an inherent authority because Jesus recognized that authority in them."the poorest, weakest, marginalized people have authority and we're not going to wait around for the bishops to recognize it with us.'" Jesus recognized that the women disciples had authority. So did Paul who affirmed Phoebe, Prisca and Junia as deacon, apostle, and leaders in Christian communities in Romans 16. Today the "People's Magisterium" of ordinary Catholics in poll after poll affirm women priests. They are calling women to preside at weddings, funerals, liturgies and no longer waiting for the bishops to catch up. The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is leading the way to partnership and equality in grassroots communities now, united as one in the People's Magisterium. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, https://arcwp.org
"Magisterium" is one of those incense-perfumed Catholic words, reeking of pomp and power. The Vatican says as much on its website, explaining that "ecclesiastical magisterium" means that teaching about what Jesus meant "is proper to the College of Bishops or to individual bishops linked in hierarchical communion with the Supreme Pontiff."
Magisterium is a top-down deal, with the pope and the bishops conveying the message of Jesus from the Throne of St. Peter to the faithful far below in the piazza and beyond.
Magisterium of the People (2018) | Official TrailerThe new documentary "Magisterium of the People" turns the term on its head. The film opens with Notre Dame Sr. Beth Davies, an elderly nun who lives in St. Charles, Virginia, deep in the heart of Appalachia, talking about her work with coal miners.
"When you're ministering to people and listening to people," she says to the camera, "I can't tell you the number of coal miners who say, 'I don't want to do this. I love these mountains, but I have to feed my children.' They're going in every day torn, absolutely conflicted."
That conflict is at the heart of this unexpected and powerful film which aired on Christmas Day on the Canadian network Salt & Light TV.
"Magisterium of the People," the latest documentary from Sebastian Gomes, was inspired by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia — nuns, priests, laypeople — who go into Appalachia to listen to the stories of the region's residents and report their findings in the form of a "People's Pastoral," playing on the church's name for an open letter from a bishop to his clergy and flock.
The group's most recent pastoral appeared in 2015, following two previous documents, in 1975 and 1995, which have been published as a book. The letters are, as the original People's Pastoral put it, a "telling of the story of 'the least among us' including Earth, our listening of that story, and the Church's response to it."
Gomes first encountered Catholic Committee of Appalachia when he read its 2015 pastoral while doing research for a follow-up to his 2014 film, "The Francis Effect," about the change Pope Francis has brought to Catholicism.
"I was really looking for stories where the impact [of Francis] could be felt by ordinary people," Gomes told Religion News Service. "Then I came across the story of The People's Pastoral and I thought this was a great story of the Francis impact."
Gomes title, he says, "is derivative of the term the Magisterium of the Poor, which was originally a concept that came out of Liberation theology. The poor have an inherent authority because Jesus recognized that authority in them."
In the film, a priest named John Rauch leads Catholic Committee of Appalachia members to eastern Kentucky to witness what Rauch calls a "mineral colony" where coal mining has enriched many but has also caused misery and destruction.
A local couple, Elaine Tanner and Jimmy Hall, gives the filmmakers a tour of their ravaged property.
"Here's where we watched the top of the mountain drop," says Tanner, pointing to a map where the coal company lopped off 500 feet of earth in search of coal seams. "We stood there helplessly as that mountain fell and the inspector says to Jimmy, 'You don't own that property — my maps say the coal company owns it.' "
The land, said Hall, has been in his family for more than six generations. For proof he walks the filmmakers through the family cemetery, pointing out headstones of the clan going back decades. Hall points to those etched with the branch of the U.S. military in which the dead once served.
"I'm as American as you can get," Hall says. "My family all supported whatever the United States said. 'You go to war,' then you go to war. And the ones that are up in that cemetery, [this land] is what they fought for. I have the letters that were sent home. They couldn't wait to get back here. Nowadays, there's a lot of people who can't wait to get out of here. There's nothing left. The coal company took it and hauled it away."
It becomes clear that Hall is hardly the stereotyped hillbilly or "Make America Great Again" booster. The film lands its punches by doing the very thing the People's Pastoral set out to do: giving voice to people who have not been heard.
"You can't argue with his patriotism," said Gomes. "Yet he's saying, 'The coal companies screwed us and now our water is poisoned and our mountain is destroyed and there's nothing we can do.' His voice is very powerful."
Elaine Tanner and Jimmy Hall surrounded by signage at their Kentucky home in the documentary “Magesterium of the People.” (Photo courtesy of Salt and Light)
As Catholic Committee of Appalachia was preparing its 2015 People's Pastoral, it got wind of another document coming from Rome, issued by Francis in June 2015 called "Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home."
In Laudato Si', Francis calls on the world to take "swift and unified global action" against climate change, environmental vandalism and rampant consumerism. The Catholic Committee of Appalachia delayed publication of its letter to coincide with Francis' encyclical but, Gomes noted, "they were doing what Francis was doing before there was Francis."
That same year a Franciscan friar, John Stowe, was appointed bishop of Lexington, Kentucky. When the People's Pastoral was published, he sent it to his fellow bishops across the United States, an endorsement the Catholic Committee of Appalachia never expected.
"It's always been hard for the institutional church to be prophetic," Stowe says in the film, "but I think because Francis speaks with such a prophetic voice it allows the other groups within the church who have been prophetic in their vision of things, and their way of listening to people the way CCA has done, they find a validation and an encouragement in that."
Moments like this are the closest "Magisterium of the People" gets to a fist-pumping moment. The film pulls you in with its deceptively gentle movement. It doesn't yell at the viewer, like so much of what passes for cultural commentary these days.
Gomes realizes not everyone is going to be a fellow traveler, but that's fine.
"When you invoke the term 'magisterium' and use it for anything other than episcopal or papal authority, there are serious questions that will be raised," he says, "but here you have a group of laypeople who said, 'We understand what the gospel is about — we've been doing this for a long time — and the poorest, weakest, marginalized people have authority and we're not going to wait around for the bishops to recognize it with us.' "
My Response: In our ordinations, we combine both approaches that Dr. Ruether describes in this comprehensive article. In the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests' ordinations, the bishop lays hands and the entire assembly is invited to lay hands on the ordinand(s) to reflect the call of the ordinand to inclusive, egalitarian ministry within a "discipleship of equals " empowering model of Church.
I am fully aware of the history of apostolic succession. with its medieval theology. This continues to be the theology of the institutional Church today. As prophets of the future, our ARCWP bishops ordain women priests in "valid apostolic succession" according to the Vatican's current practice in order to foster gender justice within the present Church. We are leading the Church- from within- on a journey away from a theology that asserts special powers reserved to the priest presider in the celebration of sacraments to an egalitarian theology that emphasizes the community's role as celebrant of sacraments. At our ordinations, for example, representatives of the local community call forth and examine candidates for ordination, and everyone is invited to lay hands on the ordinands.
While some may view our both/and approach as an ironic paradox, I believe that our international movement gives millions of Catholics hope that equality will one day be a reality in the Church. The call of the Spirit often leads to special challenges and surprising blessings. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, sofiabmm@aol.com, 703-505-0004
"In 2002 seven Roman Catholic women were ordained in Austria on the Danube River by an independent Catholic bishop, Romulo Antonio Braschi. Later unnamed Roman Catholic bishops ordained some of these women priests as bishops. These women bishops, in turn, have been ordaining other women deacons, priests and bishops. From this beginning there has developed a movement, Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), which presently claims four women bishops and 45 women priests in the United States, as well as others in Europe and Canada. This movement has shaped a thoughtful ecclesiology defining itself both as in valid succession in the Roman Catholic tradition and also as a valid reform that is reclaiming the authentic discipleship of equals of the earliest church based on the redemptive mission of Christ.(1)
Rejecting the papal declaration of May 28, 2008, that the women and the male bishops who originally ordained them are "excommunicated latae sententiae" (automatically), RCWP declared that "we will continue to 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." RCWP claims to stand in "apostolic succession" based on the validity of the episcopal ordination of their founding bishop:
The ordinations of Roman Catholic Womenpriests are valid because of our unbroken line of apostolic succession within the Roman Catholic Church. The principal consecrating Roman Catholic male bishop who ordained our first women bishops is a bishop with a line of unbroken apostolic succession within the Roman Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope. Therefore, our bishops validly ordain deacons, priests and bishops. Consequently, all qualified candidates, including baptized ministers and priests from other Christian traditions, who are presented to our bishops for ordination are ordained by the laying on of hands into the same line of apostolic succession in the Roman Catholic Church.(2)
Clearly the pope does not agree with this view. For him the women bishops, priests and deacons — as well as the originating bishops — are automatically excommunicated, based on the fact that these ordinations took place against church teaching and without papal approval. Besides this, there is the theological assumption that women by their very nature are incapable of receiving valid ordination as priests in the Roman Catholic Church.(3) (The Vatican mentality toward women was revealed on July 15, 2010, with the release of a document lumping sexual abuse of children by priests and women's ordination as both "very grave crimes.") What then is the concept of "apostolic succession" and "full communion with the pope" that this movement assumes can be unaffected by this profound conflict with papal authority?
Before discussing this issue, let us look at a different approach to valid ordination that has emerged in a faith community in San Diego, Calif., under the leadership of one of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Jane Via. Desiring to create and be a part of a vibrant Catholic community that reflected her vision of what such a community should be, Via, a religious educator and lawyer, developed, with the help of ex-priest Rod Stephens, the Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community (MMACC) in 2005.
For some years Nancy Corran, a woman of Protestant background who holds a degree in theology from Oxford and a Master's of Divinity degree from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., has served with Jane Via and Rod Stephens as a pastoral associate. In 2009 Corran decided that she wanted to become a Catholic in the context of the Mary Magdalene community. The leadership of the Mary Magdalene church decided to call her as a priest to their community. However they decided not to call a bishop from the RCWP movement to come and ordain her, but rather to ordain her as a collective action of their faith community. They based their right to do this on their reading of early church history in which they learned that Christians in the early centuries had called priests and ordained them through the collective action of local faith communities. This ordination of Corran to the deaconate and then to the priesthood by the collective action of MMACC took place July 30 and 31, 2010. Everyone in the community, including the children, laid hands on Corran and signed the official paper as her ordainers.
This decision by MMACC has caused consternation among some in the RCWP movement. Some have even suggested that this action undermines the "apostolic succession" of their movement. By implication the ordination of Corran would be outside of this lineage of "apostolic succession." The emergence of this difference sparks inquiry into the basis of this concept of "apostolic succession" which has become so important for the RCWP movement, and upon which they base the validity of their own ordinations, despite its repudiation by the pope. Why does the leadership of MMACC feel they can disregard this, even though Via was herself ordained in this movement? What does "apostolic succession" as the basis of valid ordination of priests by bishops mean?
This concept of apostolic succession is widely contested. Although claimed by Roman Catholicism, most Protestants, based on historical studies of early Christianity, see this as an historical fiction with little basis in "apostolic" or first century Christianity. In the view of most modern church historians, first and second century Christianity was highly diverse. Christianity manifested itself in several movements that reflected a variety of world views of the time. In many cities of the eastern Mediterranean, such as Alexandria, some of the first Christian groups were Gnostics of various kinds.
According to the gospels, Jesus chose 12 disciples in his life time.(4) After his death, one of them, Judas Iscariot, the traitor of Jesus, was replaced by Matthias by collective action of the remaining 11 disciples (Acts I: 15-26). But these 12 disciples have left little record of evangelizing Gentiles and founding churches around the world. In fact, the original idea of the 12 disciples probably was intended to represent the 12 tribes of Israel, not a group of worldwide founders of churches from which a succession of bishops descended.
The concept of a Gentile church drawn from all nations originated with the evangelizing mission of Paul, himself not a member of Jesus' original disciples, but rather a convert to the Christian movement after Jesus' death. In the story of the spread of Christianity outside Palestine, the names of most of the 12 disciples disappear. The only ones claimed to be related to areas outside Palestine are Peter, associated with Antioch and also with Rome (in death), John in Ephesus, although not as a church founder, and Thomas in India, the last of questionable historicity.(5)
The concept of a monarchical episcopacy; that is, city-based churches headed by a bishop in hierarchical power above elders (presbyters) and deacons, emerged slowly between the late first and early third centuries. Ignatius of Antioch claimed such a monarchical episcopacy for himself in the church of Antioch in letters written in the early 2nd century on his way to martyrdom in Rome, but he makes no mention of Peter as the founding apostle of his church.(6) Irenaeus of Lyons, combating various gnosticisms in his writings Against the Heresies in the late second century, expounds the idea of a succession of teachers that guarantee apostolic teaching versus gnostics. For him the church of Rome is the primary example of such a succession of bishop-teachers. (7)
Several "tools" of orthodoxy emerged in this period. One was a canonical New Testament composed of writings known to be of older tradition and hence as "apostolic." These were seen as distinguishable from the plurality of writings circulating among the churches that used the names of apostles — such as the Gospel of Peter, the Acts of Peter and the Revelation of Peter, the Acts of Andrew and the Acts of John — but perceived as heretical in content.(8) A historical lineage of teaching going back to the 1st or early 2nd centuries, guaranteed by a succession of bishop-teachers, was seen as validating this apostolic tradition. These tools emerged in order to separate what was being defined as orthodoxy against the plurality of other traditions of a more gnostic type.
In the process of defining this "apostolic tradition" against the "heresies," writers like Irenaeus constructed an historical argument that posited that what was emerging as "orthodoxy" in the late 2nd century was the original teaching of Jesus and the apostles — while the various other forms of Christianity were decried as later deviations. Modern historians generally have decided that the historical reality was more the opposite of this schema. In other words, many variant Christianities were actually earlier. What was being defined as orthodoxy was a construct that emerged later. The successful purge of this earlier diversity allowed the emerging orthodoxy to claim historical originality.(9)
A lineage of bishops descending from founding apostles of leading churches was the key idea in this emerging claim of "apostolic teaching." In this construct the twelve disciples were sent forth around the world, founded churches in key cities with themselves as founding bishops, and gave each church an apostolic teaching that was identical. The succession of bishops descended from the founding apostle carried this same teaching unchanged through the generations. This concept of apostolic succession, with successions of bishop-descendents of founding apostles, bears little basis in the historical reality of how Christianity actually spread, although it was a useful (and doubtless sincerely believed) idea to define an emerging orthodoxy for churches seeking a common front against their rivals.
Rome was an early claimant for this role of guarantor of apostolic teaching, although, interestingly enough, the monarchical bishop appears to have been slow to emerge there. The 2nd century "orthodox" Roman church was one among several Christian groups in the city. But this emerging church maintained into the third century a more collective form of church government in which the bishop was a leading elder, rather than a monarchical bishop in hierarchical relation over the other elders. (10)
A significant document that testifies to the tradition of this Roman church is that of Hippolytus of Rome, a Greek-born presbyter of this church who wrote in the early 3rd century a treatise called The Apostolic Tradition. Hippolytus was a rigorist thinker who sought to exclude various heresies from acceptance. He was briefly elected bishop as a rival to a more lax leader of the church, Callistus, who later tradition defines as "pope" from 217-222 A.D. Hippolytus, writing in The Apostolic Tradition, reflects his own memory of how things were done in this church back into the mid-second century. Significantly he assumes a collective authority in which the church as a whole or "all the people" together call the bishop. The presbyters and "any bishops who happen to be present" give their consent and lay hands on this leader. Clearly what is understood as the church order of mid-second to early third century Rome is one of collective calling and ordination by the local faith community as a whole.(11) This is the tradition claimed by Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community today.
The notion of the "apostles," that is, the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus, founding churches and inaugurating a succession of monarchical bishops, became formulated in its historical form in the late second and third centuries and appears as a set idea in the History of the Church by Eusebius, who wrote successive versions of this work from 305 to 330 AD. For Eusebius, orthodoxy was guaranteed by apostolic succession through the foundation of churches by apostles and the passing down of identical apostolic teaching through their succession of bishops in each church. Eusebius has many references to bishops of various churches from Asia Minor to Italy, but he can only produce continuous lists from apostolic times to his own time for four leading churches: Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and Rome.(12) He has a few partial lists for other churches, such as Corinth, but does not claim apostolic founders for them.
Careful examination of his lists for the four leading churches raises the question whether any of these were actually founded by one of the 12 apostles. Jerusalem claims as its founding leader, James, the brother of Jesus, who was not a disciple in Jesus' time, but was converted to Christianity after his death. The names of 12 Jewish leaders of this church "of the circumcision" are claimed from the time of James until the Roman destruction of the city in 139 A.D. when this church disappeared. But it is hard to imagine that this extensive list actually represents a succession of monarchical bishops, rather than names of coexisting leaders. When this church disappeared in 139 A.D., a second list of bishops is claimed for a gentile church in a newly founded Roman city near Jerusalem, but one is puzzled about how this list can be seen as continuing the line from James, Jesus brother.
The lineage of Alexandria does not claim an apostle founder but cites Mark, author of the Gospel of that name, as its founder. But the succession of bishops of that city is likely a later construct, as orthodoxy gradually asserted itself against earlier gnosticisms. In Antioch, "where the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts11:26) Peter was apparently present on more than one occasion. Eusebius claims Peter was the first bishop of Antioch, with Ignatius as his second successor,(13) but Ignatius himself seems unaware of this.
Rome, which became the model for the idea of apostolic succession, claims both Peter and Paul as founders. But we know that the church of Rome already existed at the time of Paul's ministry in Greece, when Peter had not been to Rome. Peter may have been martyred there, but did not found the church of Rome and was probably not a leader there, much less a "bishop." So, in each case, the connection of later bishop lists to a supposedly founding apostle fades on examination.
Not only is there a historical gap between apostles and later bishop lists, but also, this original concept of apostolic succession that developed in the late second to fourth centuries did not originally have anything to do with passing down the priestly power to do Eucharist from Jesus to apostles to bishops (who were thereby empowered to ordain other bishops and priests with the charism to do Eucharist). Apostolic succession was originally about apostolic teaching,(14) not priestly power to do Eucharist. It was a way of claiming a unitary form of Christian teaching from Jesus through the apostles for a lineage of bishop-teachers that could be defined across churches against heretics, thus ruling out the earlier diversity of forms of Christianity.
The idea of apostolic succession as a transmission of Eucharistic power from Jesus and the apostles to bishops is a later idea that emerges slowly to replace the earlier emphasis on a lineage of apostolic teaching. It becomes fully developed only in the 12th century when a concept of priesthood is defined based on the power to "confect" the Eucharist (that is, the power to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ), as the central idea of ordination, excluding earlier ideas of ordination based on installation into various offices. This earlier view of ordination as installation into holding offices allowed various people to be seen as ordained, including women as queens, abbesses and deaconesses.
As ordination came to be linked primarily with priesthood and its ability to "confect" the Eucharist the idea of ordination as installation into an office was eliminated and, with it, the possibility of women being ordained. Only men who share Christ's maleness could inherit this power to do Eucharist which was supposedly passed down from Christ himself to his twelve apostles and from them to their bishop-descendents. Thus the triumph of a priestly eucharistic concept of ordination, passed down through apostolic succession, is itself an integral part of a process in which women were eliminated as ordainable.(15)
Ironically, it is this 12th century concept of apostolic succession as the transmission of the power to do Eucharist which is claimed by the RCWP movement as they lift up the episcopal ordination of their founding bishops as proof of the validity of their own ordinations. This concept of valid ordination, transmitted through the apostolic succession from their founding bishops, works only if one implicitly assumes a mechanistic view of the transmission of this power from one bishop to another. In other words, ordination in apostolic succession is assumed to transmit a kind of spiritual power as a personal "possession" which the ordained persons can dispose of as they wish — apart from agreement with the pope as authorizer in the Roman Catholic Church of who can or should be ordained.
This power can then be assumed to continue in force, even allowing the bishop ordaining the women to be described as in "full communion with the pope" despite being excommunicated by the pope. Thus being in "communion" with the pope in this context has nothing to do with being in agreement with the pope on who can be ordained, but rather as possessing this ordaining power as a personal endowment that can be transmitted to others by engaging in the sacramental act of ordaining.
By contrast, the leaders of Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community go back to a much earlier view of church and ordination closer to apostolic times, manifested in Hippolytus' treatise on The Apostolic Tradition. Here ordination has to do with installing a person in an office of teacher and worship leader for a faith community who "all the people" of that community call and ordain collectively.
Does this mean that the MMACC community is "right" in their views, and the RCWP should abandon their faulty claims to apostolic succession? This is not the point. Rather both movements can recognize their common ground on which both can claim the validity of their divergent forms of ordination. This common ground lies in a history and tradition of Christian churches as faith communities linked to the past through memory and through constant imaginative efforts to reconstruct what is most life-giving in their traditions and to base themselves on faithful reproduction of that life-giving tradition. RCWP and MMACC are both seeking to be "apostolic" in their thinking and living through different versions of that process."
(1) "Ordinations," romancatholicwomenpriests.org (2) Ibid. (3) This view of women's incapacity to be ordained due to the defective nature of femaleness was developed by Thomas Aquinas, based on Aristotelian anthropology. See Kari Borreson, Subordination and Equivalence: The Nature and Role of Women in Augustine and Thomas Aquinas (Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1981), pp. 236-239. (4) The lists of 12 apostles are found in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16. Acts 1:13 contains eleven names, dropping Judas Iscariot. The lists are not fully consistent. Matthew and Mark list a Thaddeus. Luke and Acts lack this name, but have Jude, son of James instead. (5) See the Wikipedia articles on "John the Apostle" and "Thomas the Apostle." (6) See The Letters of Ignatius of Antioch, Gerald G. Walsh, trans. The Apostolic Fathers, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 1 (NY: CIMA Publishing Company, 1947), pp. 83-127. (7) Irenaeus, Against the Heresies, III.3,23 (8) See Harry Y. Gamble, The New Testament Canon: Its Making and Meaning (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985). (9) The scholar whose work helped establish this view is Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971). (10) See Kurt Aland, A History of Christianity, vol. 1 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), p. 120. (11) The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus, Burton Scott Easton, trans. (Archon Books,1962). (12) Eusebius, The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine, G.A. Williamson, trans. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965) appendix, pp. 415-17. (13) Ibid., p. 145 (Book III.36) (14) See Irenaeus, op.cit., who refers to the succession of bishops at Rome as teachers who all agreed in teaching "right doctrine," offering no "secret teaching." (15) For a key book showing the development of this kind of view of ordination and the suppression of earlier forms of ordination that included women, see Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women's Ordination(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
"The primary task of a chancellor in the Roman Catholic Church is to serve as the chief record keeper of the diocese. In that capacity, Ciangio oversees files that date back to 1853 and are kept in an array of deep metal cabinets at the archdiocese offices on Clifton Avenue in Newark, as well as at Seton Hall University.
The Caldwell resident is presiding over those documents at a precarious moment in the history of the Catholic Church: The investigation of priests for alleged sexual misconduct across New Jersey is underway. And calls about predator priests have been pouring in since this summer's Pennsylvania grand jury report.
We are searching through the files for criminality. We are getting the information out and complying with all the requests. We've reported everything to the Prosecutor's Office," Ciangio said firmly, adding that there are fewer than 10 investigations from the diocese that are actively being pursued and it's unknown when they will be completed..."
One night as St. Teresa of Avila prayed, she heard laughter everywhere and God said to her, " enjoy me." Perhaps, this is the divine message to the hierarchy about women priests! Like bright rays of sunlight streaming through fluffy white clouds, God's loving presence has illuminated my path from childhood days. When I reflect on my memories of an Irish childhood I realize that the Catholic Church is in my DNA.
My First Communion in Rathdowney, County Laois, Ireland
In
grade school I experienced a call to serve God, first as a nun in traditional
religious life and later, as that call evolved, to serve the people of God as a
priest and bishop in the international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. I grew up in a happy home where friends and neighbors were greeted
by my mother, Bridie, with cups of tea and scones, and by my Dad,
Jack, with story-telling and a tune on the trumpet or saxophone. After we emigrated to the United
States, our home was referred to as "the tea house" because of my parents’
warm hospitality.
Anointing my Dad, Jack
I was born in
Ireland, in 1948, into a warm and loving family. We lived in a littlegray cottage in Coolkerry, a rural area
outside Rathdowney, where cows and sheep grazed in green fields across from the
Erkina River. Amazingly, it looks the same today!
Our family's first home in Coolkerry, County Laois, Ireland
Erkina River
In this peaceful place, our family fished and played in its
shallow, cool water.
With Grandfather Beale, Bridie, my mother holding Patrick, my brother and Jack, my Dad with hands on my shoulders
We did not have
many toys, but the earth was our playground. I molded and shaped mud pies in
the rich moist soil of our garden. I imagined that mybaked goods were culinary delights like my
mother’s rhubarb pie, scones and cake bread! I loved to feel the wind blowing
my hair as I walked through the fields dotted with daisies, buttercups, golden
wildflowers and purple heather. I played hide and seek in hay stacks with
school chums, and hunted for eggs that the hens laid in our bushes. We
drank milk from Carroll's cows up the road and from our goat.
Coolkerry
At our open hearth, Mom always had a kettle on the boil, and every day we ate delicioushome-made soda bread. My brother, Patrick, who wasa year and one-half younger, and I walked home from school through the
fields.We often stopped at Vester
Campion’s on the way out of Rathdowney for “sweets” (penny candy or ice cream
wafers) which I put on Dad’s tab!
Sean, my youngest
brother, was born in 1953. Dad worked at the bank as a porter and played in
Billy Ryan’s band on weekends.On
Sundays Dad took us for walks through the lovely countryside, and as we
strolled leisurely along he told us enchanted stories of fairies, banshees,
rabbits and badgers. Each story, which introduced us to the mystical magic of
the Celtic spirit, began the same way. “A long, long, long time ago in
Ireland…”
My
grandfather, Pat Beale, was a gentle, quiet man who often watched Patrick,
Seanand me when we were small children.
He took us out to pet Neddy, our donkey, and to see Mom milk the goat who sometimes would try to grab her hair!
With grandfather Pat Beale in Coolkerry, Ireland
Patrick and I had a pet lamb that
we fed with a baby bottle. One time the lamb swallowed the nipple from the
bottle, and we ran to tell Mom this tale of woe. She assured us that all would
be well. The lamb did not get sick and we learned our lesson.Each day we drew water from a well near the
river, and used rain water to bathe. Our Saturday evening ritual included warm
baths in large tubs place on the kitchen floor. Dad and Mom worked as a team.
One washed us the other dried us, then off to bed. Even though we did not have
central heat, just an open fire place and hot water bottles for our beds, I
never remember being cold.
On Sundays,
Grandfather yoked the pony to the trap and went to first Mass, then Mom and Dad
went to second Mass. One time when Grandfather was minding us, he fell asleep,
and the three of us had great time with the flour. When Mom and Dad came home,
the flour was all over the floor. Later they discovered that Grandfather was
not feeling well. However, he gave exact instructions to my parents about “his
last wishes.” He told them that he was at peace, and that they were to treat
everyone well at the wake, have lots of food and drink for all who came. He
even told them that he wished to be buried in the new cemetery near the town,
not in Hamnacart where his wife was laid to rest.Then, after a brief illness, Grandfather died
and was laid out in brown habit in his own bed.People came from miles around to his all-day and all-night wake. They
remembered Pat by telling stories, laughing, crying and toasting him as they
enjoyed delicious food and drink.I
still remember how peaceful he looked lying there on his bed.I spent the night of the wake and funeral day
with neighbors. As the funeral procession passed by,I counted the cars and thought that he must
have been well-loved because such great crowds came to say farewell.
Our family
was known as the musical Meehans, and our home was always filled with the sound
of music. My first memory is of Dad playing "O My Papa" on the trumpet.
Jack Meehan plays the beautiful Irish song the "Rose of Mooncoin" with a Galway Band at Elaine Meehan and John Duff's wedding in Tullamore, Ireland in 2009.
Dad’s father, Grandfather Jack Meehan, was one of the founding
members of the Ballyroan Band in the late 1880s and his sons, my dad, John
(also called Jack), Jimmy, and Paddy all played in this band. Dad was a gifted
musician who has played with many bands during his 75 year career, and during
hisretirement years he played both
trumpet and saxophone for our inclusive Catholic liturgies and social
gatherings in Florida and Virginia until he passed into the fullness of God’s
embrace in 2012.
Ballyroan old schoolhouse where Dad went to school
Our family has
always been a praying family.In Irelandwe gathered around the turf fire each
evening to recite the rosary. My mother was a firm believer in the saying that
a family that prays together, stays together. I had a sense early on that
heaven and earth were closely connected, and the saints, angels, the Blessed
Mother, and Jesus were family members who lived in heaven. I fell in love with
God at a young age, and sensed that God was very fond of me, and close to
everyone, including all creatures great and small.
I attended
senior infants and first class in the National School in Rathdowney. The
Sisters of St. John of God taught there, and I remember being slapped on my
hand with a ruler when I answered a question incorrectly. In Irish schools at
that time this was standard operating procedure, and I often had knots in my
stomach for fear of being struck by the ruler. Obviously, school was not a fun place in Ireland in the 1950's!
St. Brigid of Kildare in Rathdowney, County Laois
Early on I
was inspired by St. Brigit of Kildare, my patron saint. The stories about her
blend Christian beliefs and pagan myths. St. Brigit was named after the Druidic
mother goddess of fertility and abundance in ancient Ireland. St. Brigit saw to
it that there was more than enough food, drink and love to nourish all who came
to her hearth and home. No person who was poor or without resources ever left
her presence without sustenance.Brigit
even gave the feast day vestments of Bishop Conleth to the poor. In Trinity
Church in Rathdowney, where I celebrated my first communion, there is a
beautiful stained glass window of St. Brigit, dressed in purple, holding a
pastoral staff.
According to The Irish Life of St. Brigit, Bishop
Mel, who was St. Patrick’s nephew, ordained Brigit a bishop. As the story goes,
Bishop Mel said, “Come, O holy Brigit, that a veil may be placed on your head
before the other virgins.” Then, filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, the
bishop read the form for ordaining a bishop over Brigit. While she was being
consecrated, a brilliant fiery glow ascended from her head. MacCaille, Bishop
Mel’s assistant, complained that a bishop’s rank was bestowed on a woman.
Bishop Mel argued: “But I do not have any power in this matter. That dignity
has been given by God to Brigit, beyond every other woman.” Indeed, other
bishops sat at the feet of Brigit’s successor until the Synod of Kells ended
the practice in 1152. This monastic bishop was peculiar to Irish law, and
indicated the powerful positions of abbots and abbesses of the great
monasteries (from Oliver Davis,editor
of Celtic Spirituality, 1999 cited in
Meehan, Praying with Celtic Holy Women,
p.30).
Celebrating Liturgy with progressive Catholics in the Dublin area in August 2017. Mary Theresa Streck ARCWP (on my left- breaking bread) and I met with women in Ireland interested in our movement in 2017 and 2018.
According to
tradition St. Brigit built her monastery in Kildare near a large oak tree in
480 A.D.Both Brigit of Kildare and
Hilda of Whitby founded monasteries in which women and men lived, some as
celibates, and others as married couples with children, but all living in
Christian community having dedicated their lives to Christ. In the sixth
century, three Roman bishops sent a letter to two Breton priests, Lovocat and
Cathern, banning women from presiding at Mass: “You celebrate the divine
sacrifice of the Mass with the assistance of women. . . . While you distribute
the Eucharist, they take the chalice and administer the blood of Christ to the
people. . . . Renounce these abuses.”My
passion for justice and equality for women in the church is rooted in my Celtic
soul that draws its inspiration from my patron saint, Brigit of Kildare.
In June,1956, we emigratedto theUnitedStates.
It took seven days to cross the stormy north Atlantic. As we sailed into New
York Harbor the majestic Statue of Liberty stood as a beacon of welcome to our
new home. We were awestruck by the skyscrapers that loomed ahead of us, and
felt the heat of the sun beating down on us.The next day we drove to Philadelphia to a feast with our cousins
who had emigrated from Ireland decades before. After this delicious meal we
drove to our new home in Arlington, Virginia, where we settled in quickly. Dad
went to work in a maintenance job in the DC Public Schools, and was invited to
join a local band that played for the Irish Club in DC. Mom, a home-maker, took
care of Sean, prepared us for school, and babysat for a few young children in
our home.
Photo of our family after we immigrated to the United States. My Aunt and Uncle, Molly and Fergus McCarthy sponsored us and we lived with them in Arlington, Virginia in 1956
IstillremembermyfirstyearatSaintThomasMoreSchoolas
a traumatic experience. Iwasachubbylittlegirlwithcurlyhair.Atrecess,someofmyclassmateswouldtease
meaboutthewayItalked.Somecalledme “fatso”andwouldnotletmejoinintheirgames.I oftencried,couldn’tconcentrateinschool,andfeltasifIdidn’tbelong.Ididnotbegin to flourishin mynewenvironment untilthe fourth grade,whenalovely,gentle nun,SisterMaritaLouise,expressedherbeliefinme.Myspirit soared, my
grades improved, and I made new friends. Affirmations always build us up.
I attended Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School, and
for the most part, I enjoyed the experience. For me, high school was a time of
serious study and reaching out—doing service projects in clubs, like putting on
a party for children with special needs. Music and laughter is the common
language of the soul that connects us beyond our limitations. I felt that God
was calling me to consecrate my life to service, but I struggled with the nun bit.
Me, a nun? You have got to be kidding! I enjoyed life too much.
After viewing the movie “The Nun’s Story,” the idea of
convent life repelled me. So I had some heart-to-heart conversations with God
in which I did most of the talking. There was no way that I was going to scrub
a floor, like the submissive nun did in the movie, and let someone deliberately
walk all over it! So I applied and was accepted at George Mason University, but
in the end I made a deal with God that if I found religious life to be like
“The Nun’s Story,” I’d be out of there!
We returned to Ireland several times, always to a warm
welcome from our extended family. On one of our vacations in Ireland our family
was having a great time in Ballyheigue, a scenic town on the western coast of
Ireland. One windy summer’s evening, when everyone else was at tea, I took a
walk by myself. I was feeling anxious about a major change in my life. As I
strolled along the ocean’s edge, the majestic waves were breaking at my feet
and a strong wind at my back was propelling me forward. Clouds floated across
the evening sky, shapes shifting as theydrifted effortlessly by, and the crimson sunset painted the horizon with
golden red hues. I felt a peace descending on me. In the depths of my soul I
heard God assuring me, “I will love you forever, with my infinite love.” At that
moment I knew that no matter what happened, all would be well. Words are
inadequate to express how deeply I felt God’s love surrounding me. It was a
mystical experience, and is, to this day, one of the most powerful spiritual
experiences of my life.
Visitingorreminiscingabout theplacesthathave beensignificantinourlivesisoftenhelpful and affirming.Some people make spiritual
pilgrimage to the houses that have been home for them in the past. Imadesuchavisittothethree-roomcottagewhereIandmytwobrothers,
Patrick and Sean,spent our earliestyears together with
our grandfather, Papa Beale. I
walked to thespringwherewedrewwaterfromthewell.ThenIwenttoGrogan,tothechurch,now boardedup,whereMomandDadweremarriedfiftyyearsago.Isatinthechurchin RathdowneywhereImademyfirstholyCommunion,rightunderthestained-glasswindowofSaintBridget.IstoppedatLady’sWell,whereDad’sbandwouldplayeveryyearonthefeastof theAssumption,andfromwherewealwayscarriedhomebottlesofblessedwater.Mylaststop wasthecemeteryoutsideBallyroan,toplacemyhandonthetombstoneofGrandfatherand GrandmotherMeehan.
Thesekindsofjourneysaffirmedmy Celtic roots.We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.There
is a thin veil between this world and the next, and all of life is ladenwithgrace—both
our times ofjoy and our times of
sorrow. Our loved ones who have gone before us stand ever ready to help us. They rest in the eternal
embrace and are but a prayer away.
Our family celebration of Jack and Bridie Meehan's 50th wedding anniversary. During the Mass, Katie, seated on grandpa's lap pointed to two doves "kissing" on our chimney top! Bottom row: Aunt Molly, Mom, Dad, and me, top row: left to right: Nancy Meehan holding son Danny, Sean Meehan, Valerie Kritter and Patrick Meehan
I frequently attended daily Mass in grade school, and experienced a special closeness to Jesus in the Eucharist. The call to
priesthood, to celebrate the sacred in sacramental encounters and liturgical
prayer, I believe, was imbedded in my soul in those early years of my life. But
I could not name it yet, so I started the journey on the road traditionally set
aside for women called to serve God by serving others.
After graduation from Bishop O'Connell High School I
entered the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters.
Bishop Dennis O'Connell Class of 1966 50th reunion in 2016
There were ninety postulants who
entered the convent on September 15, 1966. The new motherhouse was still a work
in progress so there were workers all over the building who provided a major
distraction. We learned how to make tight beds that you could bounce a quarter
on, and when our Postulant director did not know what to do with us, she sent
us up to brush our teeth.Our rooms were
separated by partitions and curtains. At night we were supposed to finish our
day in sacred silence and our last act was to pray prostrate on the ground.
Well, the first night I prostrated the wrong way.I wondered what the giggling was about! I
have so many wonderful memories of our band, the group I entered with forty-four
years ago. We had a reunion four years ago at Stone Harbor for both the “ins”
and “outs.”
With Mom and Dad on my profession day in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Order on June 29, 1969 at Immaculata, PA.
I am grateful for the ten years I spent as an IHM
Sister. I learned a great deal about the spiritual life and about the gift of
consecrated life. In 1977, after my mother had serious back surgery, I took a
leave of absence to help care for her. It was during this time that I realized
that traditional religious life was no longer a good fit for me. This began a
lengthy process of discernment that included prayer, reflection and
conversations with companions on the journey and different religious
communities. Finally, in 1996, I joined Sisters for Christian Community, a
prophetic ecclesial community of consecrated women “living a commitment to serving
the people of God in a ‘new pattern of the consecrated life that is
self-determining, self-regulating, self-governing.’”There is no category in the institutional
church to define us. Our vision is to strive for a community of equals and to
live the prayer of Jesus “that all may be one.” This dynamic, courageous group
of women pioneers, whom I joined are “freelance nuns” who affirm each
member’s unique and diverse call. They encouraged me to follow my conscience as
I discerned a call to priestly ministry.
Through the
years I became aware that other denominations were ordaining women, and I
pledged myself to work for ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church. I
strongly sensed God's call to priesthood when I worked for fifteen years as a
pastoral associate at Ft. Myer Chapel in Arlington, Virginia. I did everything except preside at Mass and sacraments.
Often, when I conducted a communion service in the absence of a Catholic
priest, the people would express their gratitude for the “lovely Mass.” Even
though I made it clear that this was a Communion Service, they often called it
a Mass. So it dawned on me that they would easily accept me as their priest if
I were ordained.
I often
prepared couples for marriage, but the chaplain, who did not know the couple,
officiated at their wedding. Some of the chaplains that I worked with would
have been delighted if I could have officiated at weddings and in anointing the
sick. They had so many duties with the military that they would gladly have
shared the ministry with me. So my call to priestly ministry, over the years,
was gradually confirmed by this wonderful community that I dearly loved, and by
several communities that I have served over the past twelve years. One of these
communities in Northern Virginia met for twelve years to reflect on the Sunday
Scripture readings in preparation for liturgy.
In 2004, Dad and I became snowbirds, bought a small mobile home and settled in Sarasota for the winter months. I called this home, Mary's House, and dedicated it to Mary Mother of Jesus.
In
2005 I was invited by a group of women from different faith traditions in our Florida community to lead
discussions on women of the Bible. During one of these sessions I shared with them that I
was invited to attend the first North American ordinations of Roman Catholic
Women Priests, on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The women were delighted and told me
that not only should I attend, but that I should be ordained and that they
wanted me to be their priest! One woman even donated her frequent flyer miles so
I could fly free to Canada.
I was awestruck in Gananoque by the ordination
ceremony, and knew that this was the path God was calling me to.
Four of the nine women were ordained as priests and five as deacons aboard the Thousand Islander III boat that sailed on St Lawrence River. Michele Birch Conery ARCWP was the first Canadian woman ordained a priest at this ordination. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4717277.stm
Soon after, I
applied and was accepted as a candidate. I completed the preparation program,
which consisted of ten units of sacramental and pastoral theology. In addition,
I have a Master of
Arts in Religious Studies from Catholic University in Washington DC, and a Doctorate in Ministry from Virginia Episcopal Seminary.
The first U.S. Ordination on July 31, 2006 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Bridget Mary Meehan, left in red stole, was ordained a priest in Pittsburgh, PA, by Bishop Patricia Fresen in the center, Bishop Gisela Forster on the right and Bishop Ida Raming next to Bridget Mary on left
On July 31, 2006, I was one of twelve women ordained
by three women bishops, Patricia Fresen, Gisela Forster, and Ida Raming, in
Pittsburgh, on the river boat “Majestic.” My dad, my brother Patrick, my soul
friends Sister Regina Madonna Oliver, Peg Bowen, and several more beloved
friends attended. As the bishops and people laid hands on us, I felt the
Spirit’s presence like an electrical current moving through us. My dear Dad and
several close friends stood behind me with hands on my shoulder and head as
hundreds of people came through the line to lay hands on and pray over me and
the other ordinands. It was an awesome experience to be blessed by family,
friends, and people I never met before. We were launched by the people of God
into a new future. Like the women who followed Jesus, Roman Catholic Women
Priests were leading the Church to a new era of Gospel inclusivity and
partnership in the United States. A new day was dawning for the Catholic Church
as twelve women walked into history, shook up the male hierarchy, and
challenged sexism in the church. By offering a renewed model of priestly
ministry in a community of equals, women priests ignited a revolution in the
Roman Catholic Church.
Bridie Meehan, my mother
My mother,
Bridie, did not live to see me ordained, but I know her prayers enfold me and
strengthen my faith. My eighty-eight year-old dad, Jack, passed into God’s eternal embrace in 2012. He continues to bless
me as I play recordings of his joyous rendition of “When the saints go marching
in” at Memorial Services. I believe that there is a cloud of witnesses, my
family and friends who have gone before me, cheering me on from heaven. Each
day, I place myself in the circle of their love. My brothers, Patrick and Sean
and their families are supportive of my calling.
In many ways, they keep me
grounded in reality, and remind me that the change that I have dedicated my
energy to may not happen in my lifetime.
Before going
to Florida in 2006, Dad and I met with the PAX community, an established
Northern Virginia Roman Catholic community who have hired their own priests for
30 years and planned their liturgies with these presiders. They asked me to
preside at their Thanksgiving liturgy because they felt they were ready for a
woman priest. A liturgy team met with me for two hours to prepare this liturgy.
I wore a stole at their request and we celebrated the liturgy in a large room
in a house. People sang joyously, shared openly and participated fully.
Soon after
Dad and I returned to Florida, members of our house church began to gather on
Saturday evenings and warmly welcomed one another. Dad played a processional
hymn like“Amazing Grace,” on the sax
with a wee bit of jazz, that drew all of us into the spirit of praise for our
Saturday evening Mass at Mary, Mother of Jesus House Church and from 2008- 2018 at St. Andrew UCC.
Our close-knit community sings and opens our hearts to one another as we share stories of our
faith lives during the shared homily, and recite the Eucharistic Prayers
together. “Do this in memory of me” we pray and so we took Jesus’ words
literally to celebrate together the mysteries of our faith at the sacred
banquet. As devout Roman Catholics have done through the ages in their local
churches, we, the Body of Christ, are sharing the Eucharist, the Body of
Christ, with the Body of Christ.We, the
gathered assembly, celebrate our mystical communion in Christ with all the
saints, who have gone before us and with the pilgrim people of God, the entire
church as we celebrate sacraments.
The only
difference is that I am a Roman Catholic Woman Priestpresiding in a church that has yet to accept women’s ordination,
even though women served the Christian community in ordained ministry during
its first twelve hundred years (see Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination, and Ute Eisen, Women Officeholders in Early Christianity).
Our energized inclusive community is not waiting for permission from church
authorities. As one woman noted, “The Vatican will catch up one of these days.” Until then, we said: “Let’s praise God
you holy people with holy music.” And so we did every week in the winter from 2006-2008 in our
cozy home only a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It is such a joy-filled liberating experience to welcome all to receive sacraments at the Banquet Table -divorced and remarried, LGBTQi- everyone- no exceptions. We live the most important rule of all Jesus' invitations to "love one another" as we follow our consciences. Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community is one of eighty faith communities of progressive Catholics in the United States with women priests who are leading a quiet revolution to gently topple a clerical "top down" male-dominated structure in a long overdue, holy, joyful shakeup of the Roman Catholic Church!
One woman, Marie, who had
been divorced and remarried, cried when she received communion at our house
church last spring. After a hostile encounter with a priest years ago, she felt
unworthy to receive the Eucharist in her parish community. Now she said:
"I feel like I have come home at last."Marie had invited me to celebrate Mass in her
home next season in Florida.I preside
at "home Masses" when people ask. When people are sick and infirm, I
gather with their family and friends in their own surrounding to celebrate the
sacrament of the anointing of the sick in a communal setting, inviting others
to also anoint and pray together for healing and wholeness.
In the 21st
century, Catholic worship, centered in the Eucharistic thanks-giving and
self-giving of Jesus, is once again being celebrated in house churches. Roman
Catholic Women Priests are leading the way to reclaim the ancient tradition of Eucharistic
table sharing that builds community. Like the holy women and men of the early
church, we are gathering together to break open our lives, to share bread and
wine in memory of Jesus, and to live the Christ-Presence in our work for
justice, peace and equality in our world.
Therefore, it
is appropriate that the community, not the priest alone, say the words of
consecration together. Gary Macy, chairperson of the Theology and Religious
Studies Department at the University of San Diego, concludes that, in the
understanding of the medieval mind, regardless of who spoke the words of
consecration—man or woman, ordained or community—the Christ presence is a
reality in the midst of the assembly.
Roman
Catholic Women Priests are dreaming daring dreams and discovering fresh
visions at the heart of Christianity that is pouring new life into the Roman Catholic Church.
Jack Duffy
Jack Duffy, one of our Sarasota House Church members shares what it
means to worship in spirit and truth as the Body of Christ: “In this small,
intimate, friendly, around-the-table setting, the worship was deep, spiritual,
holy. We could all really sense that Jesus was there with us.The Masses celebrated by Bridget Mary, a
validly ordained Roman Catholic priest, were no different from those we have
attended done by other validly ordained male priests. Her ordination was
completely valid; as are the Masses at which she officiates. Having a woman
priest may seem ‘new’ and radical; however, it is fairly certain that women—and
married men—had been the ones presiding at the Eucharistic celebrations in the
early Christian Church.So when the
Roman Catholic Church finally evolves to this ‘new’ and radical way of
operating, it isn’t really new at all.A
prominent US Catholic Bishop from Detroit speaking here in Sarasota two weeks
ago predicted the Church of the future will most likely see married and female
priests.”
In 2008, Mary
Mother of Jesus Catholic Community decided to run an ad in the local Sarasota Herald Tribune, inviting all to
attend a weekly, inclusive Catholic Mass in our house church, which still, at
that point, met in my home. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Venice responded
immediately. They asked the Herald-Tribune
to stop running this religious service announcement, but the editors decided
not to comply.
It was the
“snowbird season” when people came to Florida to enjoy the sunshine and escape
the cold weather. I received lots of phone calls, and each week more people
crowded into my tiny living room for Mass. On several occasions we had to
borrow our neighbor’s chairs. Then parking became a problem because there were
too many cars on our street and the Association asked that we park in a lot
about a half-mile away, which meant volunteers would do traffic control and
shuttle people back and forth from the parking lot to our mobile home. We
continued to place our ad in the newspaper. Then the diocese placed an
announcement in the Herald-Tribune stating that “no such worship site exists
within the Diocese, nor is it recognized by the Diocese of Venice” (see article
“Religious Fraud or Religious Conviction,” by Tom Lyons, Sarasota Herald Tribune, Feb.26, 2008).
After several
letters of protest from our community were published in the newspaper, ABC TV
showed up and filmed a Mass in our home. They interviewed Jack Duffy, a member
of our community, who said: “A church like Epiphany Cathedral is so big and
huge, but this is more personal, more intimate and we can feel a little more
tighter relationship with Jesus. . . . I can see where officials in the
Catholic church might not approve of it, but as my wife so clearly says, we are
spirit-filled, common-sense Catholics. This just makes sense.”
The ABC
interview quoted my argument that our Roman Catholic Women Priests initiative
was grounded in Gospel equality and early church history: “Jesus was a rule
breaker and he got in plenty of trouble for breaking the rules. . . . Most
people do not know that women were deacons, priests, and bishops and were
ordained for the first 1200 years of their history. When they discover that
they are simply taken aback."
Adela
Gonzales White, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Venice stated: “Bridget Mary
Meehan and her house church are not associated with the Catholic Diocese of
Venice” (“Sarasota woman says she’s a Catholic priest,” ABC/Suncoast, March 5,
2008). After the program aired, the Diocese took out ads listing Sunday
Liturgiesinside their Diocese.
Regardless of
their intent, our community tripled in size. As a result, we needed to move our
Saturday evening liturgies from my home to a larger home. After three weeks, we
outgrew the larger home and found a warm and welcoming sacred space at St.
Andrew United Church of Christ. Before every Saturday liturgy Helen Duffy and Imogene Rigdon greeted every person who entered the church, both regular attendees and first time visitors. They continued to welcome everyone for 4-5 years, and to this day returning visitors recall the joyful, inclusive welcome they received to Mary Mother of Jesus from Imogene and Helen!
From 2008 to
2018, our community has continued to grow. There are approximately fifty
members during the winter season and thirty members during the off-season
months.“From the beginning Mary Mother of Jesus members met regularly to consider together the various issues and problems they faced as a newly forming group. Our discussions and decisions have always taken place in a circle of equals.
The entire community has an annual meeting at which all members gather
to set policy, make decisions and approve our annual budget. We now have six
women and two men who are priests who preside at liturgies.
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community gathers around altar every Saturday at 4 PM at St. Andrew UCC to celebrate Liturgy/Mass
I was
ordained a bishop on April 19, 2009. Since then, I have ordained 54 deacons and/or priests in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. (https://arcwp.org)
One of the highlights of my first year as bishop was the historic Florida ordinations. In Dec. 2009, our Mary Mother of
Jesus community hosted the first diaconate ordinations in St. Andrew Church.
Joining us were members of our sister-church, Good Shepherd Community in Ft. Myers,
with their RCWP pastor, Judy Lee, who was the administrator of the
Southern Region at that time. Dena O’Callaghan and Katy Zatsick, the ordinands for
the Diaconate, were accompanied by their families.
On Feb. 5th, 2010 we celebrated the
priestly ordinations of Dena and Katy, and the diaconate ordination of Mary
Ellen Sheehan from Georgia. The diocese of Venice announced that all who attended the ordination would be excommunicated.
Actually, the bishop's threat (Sarasota
HeraldTribune article reported
by Anna Scott on Feb. 6th, 2010) increased our attendance.
Several people told
us they came to be in solidarity with the women being ordained, and to support
our justice movement for women in a renewed priestly ministry in our church.
The people of God seem to regard this punishment as a badge of honor. Over 250
people gathered in the jam-packed church. All of the courageous Catholics who
attended this ordination, and all our supporters and communities are together
breaking the stained glass ceiling in the Roman Catholic Church. The good news
is that these Catholics are speaking truth to power by their presence and
support of our ordinations.
Two years earlier, the Vatican had laid down the gauntlet declaring, on May 29, 2008, that any woman who sought ordination, or a bishop who conferred
holy orders on her, would be immediately “punished with excommunication.” It
went a step further in 2010, categorizing any such attempt as delicta graviora — a grave crime against
the church — the same category as priests who sexually abuse children.https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/opinion/sunday/women-as-priests.html
My Response to Vatican Decree of Excommunication:
Disbelief
The Vatican has a long
history of excommunicating, interdicting and punishing people in one century
and canonizing them in another century. Pope Benedict canonized Mother Theodore
Guerin, an excommunicated nun in 2005, and canonized Mother Mary MacKillop,
another excommunicated nun, in 2010. Mary Ward, a foundress of a religious
order modeled on the Jesuits, was vilified by church authorities. She was
imprisoned at one point, and recently has been declared venerable, a step on
the path to sainthood. One, of course, cannot forget St. Joan of Arc, patron of
France, who rejected giving assent to church authorities and followed her
conscience. She was burned at the stake and later declared a saint! St. Thomas
Aquinas, one of the church's greatest theologians, was excommunicated after his
death!
The Vatican stated that
we are excommunicated, however, we do not accept this and affirm that we are baptized
members of the church, andour baptism
cannot be cancelled for disobeying a man-made canon law. We serve Catholics in grassroots communities
in the United States who are committed to gender justice, inclusivity and
equality.
left to right, Janice Sevre Duszynska (visiting our MMOJ Community in Sarasota, Fl), Bridget Mary Meehan, Lee Breyer, Michael Rigdon and Katy Zatsick- Lee, Michael and Katy are priests who serve our inclusive MMOJ community as priests.
left to right, Janice Sevre Duszynska
(visiting our MMOJ Community in Sarasota, Fl), Bridget Mary Meehan, Lee
Breyer, Michael Rigdon and Katy Zatsick- Lee, Michael and Katy are priests
who serve our inclusive MMOJ community as priests.
Mary Mother of Jesus
Inclusive Catholic Community (MMOJ) has hosted ordinations of the Association
of Roman Catholic Women Priests (see www.ARCWP.org) beginning in December 2009 and these have continued with five women
being ordained in January 2014. I reside in Sarasota so the hosting of
ordinations will continue into the future.
Regular Saturday liturgies
began in December 2009 with time taken off during the summer months.By 2011 MMOJ offered masses every Saturday
during the year and this continues with co-presiders now leading the liturgy
with an ordained priest.
During this time a strong
community relationship with St. Andrews had developed and many program and
liturgy offerings are now coordinated together and have participants from
both congregations attending.The two
communities offered an informational evening on Immigration Reform with the
speaker being an immigration lawyer who attends MMOJ.Members of both communities volunteered at
the Gulf Gate Festival held on the property of St. Andrews.
In December 2013 MMOJ
hosted a Christmas dinner for its members and the members of St.
Andrews.About 40 people attended.
I have offered annual retreats for the members
of MMOJ over the years.
In 2013 MMOJ offered its
first memorial service for a person-in-need who was without a family and
provided a religious ritual for the disposal of the cremains.The community also hosted both a memorial
liturgy for my Dad and followed by a meal in a member’s home.In March of 2013, members participated in a
liturgy during the conclave which elected Pope Francis. They also supported
the travel of Janice Sevre Duszynska, an ARCWP priest, to travel to Rome for
the conclave as a witness for the movement and the ministry of women priests.
Katy Zatsick ARCWP founded
a new MMOJ community at Sun City in 2013. Since then, this new house church community has been meeting
monthly with a liturgy held in a resident’s home and will continue to do
so.MMOJ at Sun City Center offered
its first commitment service for a couple in 2013.
Activities of Mary Mother of Jesus
MMOJ Inclusive Catholic Community
offers Saturday liturgies open to the residents of Sarasota and surrounding
communities. MMOJ at Sun City Center continues to offer monthly liturgies in
a resident’s home.For the first time
members of St. Andrews and Mary Mother of Jesus held a joint service on Holy
Thursday.
In 2014 our community hosted
its first Sacrament of Confirmation ritual for children and adults of Good
Shepherd Community located in Ft. Myers FL.This faith community was co-pastored by Judy Lee and Judy Beaumont two
Roman Catholic Women Priests, until Judy Beaumont’s death in January 2018.
We co-sponsored with Call
To Action and St. Andrews UCC for workshops by Dr. Matthew Fox theologian and
another by Dr. Marilyn Jenai, transpersonal psychotherapist.
MMOJ members jointly with
members from St. Andrew UCC have volunteered with programs for those who are
homeless in Sarasota.This support
included a sponsored concert which raised money for scholarships of students
who are homeless.Members also visited
with those who are homeless providing food for a meal.Members also assembled 50 Easter gift bags
and distributed them on April 14. We engaged in pastoral care and prayers
with those who are homeless when visiting their site that is located in
Sarasota.
MMOJ promotes educational
outreach has included a viewing of Pink Smoke, a documentary history of the
RCWP movement, in various venues from homes to other churches and community
organizationsThis includes having a
woman priest available to answer questions.MMOJ offers a book discussion for the education of its members. Under
the leadership of Janet Blakeley ARCWP, director of spiritual development, we
study popular authors in contemporary theology and discuss the impact their
writings have on our spiritual transformation and advocacy for justice.
MMOJ created a website www.marymotherofJesus.org as a way to inform its members of events and
activities and explain the mission of the community to those who search the
web looking for information.
Mary Mother of Jesus
invites its members to participate in activities of Pax Christi, a Catholic
national peace organization – and Call to Action, an organization of groups
working for church reform.Pax Christi
members hold peace vigils on the property of St. Andrew before death penalty
actions conducted by the State.MMOJ
members attended the Annual Peace and Justice Memorial Day service hosted by
Pax Christi and other organizations.
Mary Mother of Jesus is a
501-c-3 organization. It functions as a non-profit. iA Board of Directors and its officers have
been elected, bylaws have been approved, a structure document for MMOJ has also
been approved and community meetings have been held.The Board has been meeting monthly and
provides reports to community members.
The Future
Mary Mother of Jesus will
continue to offer weekly liturgies and Catholic rituals of the sacraments. The
community will continue its outreach of inclusive worship and educate the
community and visitors about the ministry of the Association of Roman
Catholic Women Priests. We will continue to work for justice and peace and to
further ecumenical understanding through joint ministry with the members of
St. Andrews and other organizations in the larger community.
Mary Mother of Jesus will
also continue to support other local charities for peace and justice through
financial support and volunteers from the MMOJ community.
As we evolve we will call
forth and support women candidates for a new model of priestly ministry in
our inclusive community of equals. Mary Mother of Jesus is an empowering
community creating new forms of liturgical worship for the 21st
century in the tradition of the Catholic Church.
I co-officiated at the wedding of Sheila Carey and Ed Bohn in November 2017 on Manasota Beach, Florida.
There are approximately 264 members in our international women priest
communities in 33 states and in Germany, Austria, France, Scotland,
Canada,and South America. From our
birth on the Danube River, the Roman Catholic Women Priest has evolved into two streams in Europe (West
and East), two in Canada (West and East), and two in the United States (RCWP
USA and ARCWP).
The specific charism of
ARCWP within the broader global Roman Catholic Women Priests initiative is to
live Gospel equality and justice now for all including women in the church and in
society. We work in solidarity with the poor, exploited, and marginalized
for structural and transformative justice in partnership with all believers,
embracing both contemporary theology and egalitarian structures. Our ARCWP vision is to act as a community of equals in decision-making both as an organization and within our faith communities. We advocate a renewal of Jesus’ vision in the Gospel, and celebrate our oneness with the community of the baptized, in a non-clerical model of church that promotes a peaceful and just world. We offer a pathway to priesthood for women called who have had years of experience in ministry, but do not have a degree. Our ARCWP program begins by affirming the religious and life experiences of our candidates and proceeds to custom design a program of preparation that will develop the knowledge and skills our candidates need for a new model of ministry in the 21st century.
Mary Theresa Streck and I co-founded People's Catholic Seminary (PCS) a new interactive, holistic program of studies and spiritual programs that is online. In partnership with Global Ministries University, we offer an affordable Master’s degree of Pastoral Ministry. PCS utilizes resources like blogger and Zoom to communicate and build community across the United States, Canada, Europe and beyond. https://pcseminary.org/
Association of Roman Women Priests Community Celebrates the Ordination of Elena Garcia as a priest in Sarasota, Florida
As Pope Francis considers
the possibility of ordaining women deacons in the Roman Catholic Church, I
believe that our focus needs to be on living the full equality of women in the
priesthood and on opening all decision-making roles to women in the Church. One night as St. Teresa of Avila prayed, she heard laughter everywhere and God said to her, " enjoy me." Perhaps, this is the divine message to the hierarchy about women priests!
Welcoming all to the table and affirming all ministries as equal in
an inclusive Church is a powerful way to heal centuries of toxic patriarchy and
clericalism. The international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a prophetic,
holy shakeup that is changing the Church, creating a more vibrant community of faith one joy-filled ordination, one inclusive community
and ministry at a time! This vision and mission has become the passion of my
life!
Click on link below to one minute movies from ARCWP deacons and priests: “What I want the world to know about my call to priesthood.”
Mary Mother of Jesus
Inclusive Catholic Community celebrates Eucharist, shares in homily and prays
Eucharistic prayer together in Sarasota, Florida each Sat at 4 PM at St.
Andrew UCC (2018)
Bridget Mary Meehan, MA,
DMin, ARCWP, a Sister for Christian Community, is an author of 20 books on
prayer and spirituality including The Healing Power of Prayer New Expanded
Edition, Praying with a Passionate Heart, Affirmations from the Heart of God,
Living Gospel Equality Now, Praying with Visionary Women and Praying with
Celtic Holy Women. She presides at inclusive Catholic liturgies and weddings
in Sarasota, Florida.. She is a bishop serving the Association of Roman
Catholic Women Priests, dean of Global Ministries University’s Doctor of
Ministry and Master of Divinity Programs f t and co-founder of People’s
Catholic Seminary. https://pcseminary.org ,
www.arcwp.org
