As UN Considers Status of Women, It’s Time for the Vatican to Take Its Rightful Place

"It's hard to name a state or religious group that's done more than the Holy See to thwart the spirit and the letter of CSW which affirms that the fundamental freedoms of all women and girls is essential for the achievement of gender equality."

https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2019/03/13/as-un-considers-status-of-women-its-time-for-the-vatican-to-take-its-rightful-place/

The Holy See’s unwelcome participation in discussions as a Non-Member State Permanent Observer at the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations takes place at a critical moment in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Much has changed since 1964, when the Holy See invited itself to be a Permanent Observer. It’s time for the Holy See to make a graceful exit and focus on its own financial, criminal, and ministerial problems.* Simply put, they call it the United Nations for a reason. 

This week, as the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) convenes, is the time to finally have the governing arm of a religious group take its leave, so the CSW and other parts of the UN can work unimpeded.

Why does the UN privilege the Catholic hierarchy? We don’t know the answer to that, but what we do know is that it’s time for the church to stop exploiting that privilege at the expense of women, children and LGBTQI people around the world.

The Roman Catholic Church is a bit of an “accidental tourist” at the UN. Vatican City, the geographic place where the Holy See resides, was part of early international postal, radio, and telegraph agreements. A century ago, the decision to grant quasi-state status to a golf course-size parcel of land with more chairs than permanent residents happened without much thought to the precedent and consequences. Today, the institutional church is essentially a global, male-run, top-down corporation whose product is religion. Corporations are not states even if some, like the Roman Catholic Church, have bigger budgets and more employees than some nations.

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The Holy See operates with the Pope as CEO, not a president or a prime minister. The cardinals act as a board of directors that elects the next CEO and advises the pope on policy, personnel, and business. Bishops, whose responsibilities approximate those of executive vice presidents, are in charge of various localities and functions. Priests have jurisdiction in their parishes.

At the bottom, are lay people who contribute time and money. They should be like stockholders—or better, members of a coop—except they’re not. They’re more like increasingly disgruntled customers who cannot vote on virtually anything that a pastor cannot veto. The people in pews are speaking out—and increasingly leaving the church because they are fed up with the system though most retain a deep commitment to the Gospel. According to a Gallup poll released today more Catholics than ever are considering leaving the Church. 

Maybe Apple should successfully petition for Permanent Observer status using the Holy See as its role model?

Of course, the Holy See could decide that it wants to become a state, leaving the matters of the religion for lay Catholics to handle. I think we all know the chances of that happening. While many of us would welcome the opportunity to have voice and vote in a democratic ekklesia, as feminist theologian Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza has long advocated, it’s as likely as many of the other reforms lay Catholics have advocated over the decades, from the ordination of women to ending clergy sexual abuse and its coverups.  

The Holy See must choose between its secular status and its religious status.    

The February 2019 Summit in Rome on the “Protection of Minors in the Church” resulted in no policy changes, an outrage to many Catholics who were at a tipping point as patterns of abuse, lack of transparency, criminal collusion, and guilty verdicts against clerics proliferate. A new chapter in Catholic church history is unfolding with lay leadership and an end of clerical hegemony. What do these changes mean for the Holy See at the United Nations, particularly at the CSW?

Voluntary withdrawal from discussions at meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women is a good place to start. It is hard to name a state or a religious group that has done more than the Holy See to thwart the spirit and the letter of CSW which affirms that the “full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women and girls is essential for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.”

Most Catholics worldwide don’t know about the Holy See’s presence at the UN, much less its dubious claim to be a nation, or its pressure on member states to block consensus on important matters of health and well-being, especially for women and children. They will be unhappy when they find out. “Catholic” is not a nationality, and the hierarchy does not speak for the exponentially larger and growing base of lay Catholics who reject its authority and many of its policies.

As lay Catholics claim increased voice and vote, the church coffers reflect people voting with their wallets. Parish closings are common. The hierarchy will either agree to shared leadership or risk total financial collapse. Changes in the institutional church’s structure are in fact the fruit of new expressions of shared and differentiated authority. There are simpy too many ways to be “Catholic” in an age of instant communication for any one body to realistically claim exclusive use of the term. Moreover, the needs of the world’s poor and of Earth itself cry out for multiple forms of Catholic attention.

Non-Catholics need not fear charges of anti-Catholic bigotry if they critique the Holy See when it acts with impunity against the well-being of many of this world’s most vulnerable people. Instead, religious groups can help Catholics by supporting and promoting the role of the Roman Catholic Church as one more NGO alongside their own faith communities, and as one more NGO among other Catholic NGOs.

The end of the Holy See’s presence atthe Commission on the Status of Women would be a good first step toward the Roman Catholic Church’s change from a Permanent Observer at the UN to grateful acceptance of NGO status. I hope the institutional Roman Catholic Church will be wise enough to take this graceful way out before stronger measures are implemented.

*The author is a featured speaker at an event calling for the Holy See to be removed from participation in the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. — ed 

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/03/14/us/ap-us-united-nations-vatican.htm

Dissident  Catholics Assail Vatican Role at UN
By The Associated Press
March 14, 2019
NEW YORK — A group of activist Roman Catholics asked the United Nations Thursday to revoke the Vatican's observer status for failing to protect the rights of women, children and the LGBTQ community.

The group, calling itself Catholics for Human Rights, said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the Vatican must be stripped of its status in part because of the "magnitude of rape, sexual violence and torture perpetrated by clergy."

The activists, including lawyers and theologians, also said the Holy See excludes women from positions of authority and opposes contraception, same-sex marriage and abortion.

In Rome, the Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.N. chief spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it had no immediate reaction. Any change in the Vatican's status would have to be decided by U.N. member states.

How the Interfaith Alliance of Eastern Carolina Impacts Greenville, Pitt County AND BEYOND by Ann Harrington ARCWP

 L to R:  Pastor Rodney Coles, Chris Pernell, Samar Badwan, Lynn Caverly, Ann Harrington ARCWP

Matthew 5: 3-12, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and blessed are the peacemakers”.

I have heard this retranslated as “Evolved are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and evolved are the peacemakers”.

Could it be that we are the advance party for the next stage of human evolution?  In any case we are a few representatives of the many who have participated in the Interfaith Alliance of Eastern Carolina.  Each of us dearly hungers and thirsts and works for a more just and peaceful world. 

Thank you for being here.  My name is Ann Harrington.  Before I introduce myself more fully and the other panel members, I would like to thank Dr. Mary Nyangweso, Dr. Kathy Dawson and everyone in the Religious Studies Program who invited us to share our stories while this august conference is going on.  Please keep in mind that we are grassroots Interfaith activists and have not received the benefits or the harm of academic rigor in this area of our lives. Each of us has a unique story and mission.

We must also thank Rod Debs, retired Unitarian pastor for organizing us and putting together the slide show. 

Our topic is how the Alliance has impacted our community.  I hope we succeed in doing this. 

To my left is Samar Badwan, board member of the Islamic Center and Vice Chair of the Greenville Human Relations Council, next is Lynn Caverly, former Director of the Alliance, who will tell us the history of the Alliance.  Pastor Coles might be best described as a networking specialist and will speak on the Churches Outreach Network. Last but not least is Chris Pernell, director of Partners in Health and Wholeness for the North Carolina Council of Churches.

I have asked members of this panel to keep their remarks to no more than 5 minutes.  We want to leave time for questions and allow time for our attendees to share their wisdom and experiences.  If you are going over time, I am telling you now I am going to try and move you along.

Once again, my name is Ann Harrington.  I was ordained with the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests in 2014.  The women priest’s movement is a renewal, healing and justice movement within Roman Catholicism.  I have broken the Roman Catholic canon law that forbids the ordination of women. I am the founding priest and pastor of Free Spirit Inclusive Catholic Community here in Greenville, NC. 

 My call to priesthood is all wrapped up in this group.   Though I attended a few of the Alliance’s early meetings, I did not participate regularly until much later.  In 2002, I was an ordinary member of the laity of the Roman Catholic Church.   It was 10 years later that I heard my unexpected call to priesthood.  Lynn was co-director of the Alliance then and she invited me to be a speaker.  She and I had been dissident daughters of the Roman Catholic Church for some time.

On April 1, 2013 I brought the film “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican” for viewing and discussion to an Interfaith Alliance meeting.   “Pink Smoke” is a 2011 documentary on the women’s priest movement.  Thirty people showed up at the Unitarian church for that meeting.  From that group our infant community was born.  Free Spirit Inclusive Catholic Community, where all are welcome to fully participate in our liturgies, celebrated its first Eucharist on Pentecost, 2013.  

After the ”Pink Smoke” event, I  became a regular Alliance attendee. Free Spirit has hosted several Monday evening meetings and brought participatory dance to the Thanksgiving Celebrations. 

I think of myself as a planter of seeds of a new consciousness.  My unique gift to eastern North Carolina is offering liturgies using Creation/Evolutionary/Feminist Theology.  Our Ash Wednesday prayer was, “remember, you are stardust and unto stardust you shall return”.

 I share at our Monday Interfaith meetings my understanding of an authentic Catholicism that proclaims that God loves diversity and is experienced in many ways and celebrated in many kinds of traditions. The emerging church is swimming against the tide of centuries of patriarchal power structures, destructive clericalism and abusive Atonement Theology.  I also see myself as a bridge builder to the church of the future.  My understanding is that humanity has never been separated from God.  The Holy One has both male and female qualities and it is equally valid and important to call God mother as it is father.  God as I understand and experience Her is Everlasting and Unconditional Love.  We are all born worthy.   I see no validity in the doctrine of Original Sin, rather there was Original Blessing. 

 Catholic women priests use egalitarian language, such as kin-dom instead of kingdom.  We believe Jesus, in the words of former Catholic priest and New Testament Scholar, John Dominic Crossan, has said was a “radical egalitarian”.

Each week I lead a faith sharing group at Tarboro Community Outreach, a mission to the homeless and the materially poor, 25 miles from here.  A Catholic sister runs the Center and invited me to lead services there soon after my ordination.  I can assure you they have never heard the Word of God preached quite like I preach it.  We drum, we sing, we do Bible study.  We celebrate Eucharist and other sacraments. 

We women priests are following Jesus.  He never denied anyone his gifts. He preached with his life the God of Radical Inclusion.  

I thank the Interfaith Alliance of Eastern Carolina for embracing my priesthood and being a place for me to discover and share my gifts.  I thank the many people of faith and no faith who have graced our meetings with their presence and have shared their longing for peace and justice.  My life is much richer for it.

INTERFAITH ALLIANCE PANEL DISCUSSION MARCH 9, 2019 ECU SECSOR CONFERENCE

The Interfaith Alliance of Eastern Carolina participated in the Southeastern Regional Conference on Religious Studies (SECSOR) hosted by the Religious Studies Program at East Carolina University held on March 8-9, 2019.  The theme of the conference was “Religion, Animality and the Posthuman”.  The Alliance was invited to speak on our impact in the community.  Panel members and their topics were:

Ann Harrington ARCWP, Pastor/Priest Free Spirit Inclusive Catholic Community: “Planting Seeds of a New Consciousness”

Samar Badwan, board member Islamic Temple, co-chair Greenville Human Relations Council: “Interfaith Solidarity”

Lynn Caverly, former director of the Interfaith Alliance, “History and Highlights”

Pastor Rodney Coles, Churches Outreach Network, “Building Community Unity”

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Chris Pernell, North Carolina Council of Churches, Partners in Health and Wholeness: “Strength in Unity, Peace though Justice”

St. Brigit of Kildare A Woman of Hospitality and Appreciation for Abundant Food and Drink , Slainte!

by Pouclette

As we prepare to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, generous hospitality, a traditional characteristic of Celtic people, (certainly of all my family in Ireland and here in the U.S.) was also a hallmark of Brigit's life.

All were welcome at her table of plenty.  She saw to it that there was more than enough food, drink and love to all who came to her hearth and home.  The story goes that during one Easter season, Brigit noted that there was not enough ale for seventeen of her churches. She changed water into beer to make sure that her churches were well-supplied for the season!


Meehan and Oliver, Praying with Celtic Holy Women, pp. 32-33A Table Blessing Attributed to St. Brigit

I should welcome the poor to my feast for they are God's children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast for they are God's joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place,
Let the sick dance with the angels.

My Prayer:
O Holy One of compassion and healing,
You gave Brigit to us as a sign of your love.
You caress us with the warmth of the sun,
You encircle us in Love's embrace.
You are behind us and before us.
You are above us and beneath us.
I consecrate all that I am to You.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Slainte!(Sláinte is the basic form in Irish Gaelic. Variations of this toast include sláinte mhaith "good health" in Irish Gaelic (mhaith being the lenited form of maith "good"). In Irish Gaelic, the response to sláinte issláinte agad-sa, which translates "to your health as well".)

"The Shallow Interpretation of Clericalism" by Joe Holland Ph.D

http://corpus-blog.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-shallow-interpretation-of.html

Interfaith Remembrance Service in Honor of Residents Who Died in 2018 from Oakwood Manor Community, Sarasota, Florida with Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Opening Hymn: Holy Angels

Gathering Prayer: Loving God we gather now to remember the members of our OakManor Community who have died. We give thanks for their lives and the many blessing that they brought to us. We ask You to comfort their families, friends, and neighbors who miss them and grieve their loss. In this Remembrance Service, we light a candle to honor our dearly beloved, departed sisters and invite this community gathered here to share memories of their presence among us.

Pslam 23
Response: God is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Gospel: John 14: 1-3


Tribute to Oakwood Manor Members who have died.

A resident volunteer lights a candle and hares a thought, prayer, poem or brief story in remembrance of our deceased residents. (All are invited to write in the Remembrance Book tributes to deceased resident

At conclusion of each tribute, we pray together:
Loving God, we remember the blessings that (say the person's name) brought to us.

Closing Hymn: When the Saints Come Marching In

Cardinal Pell is sentenced to 6 years in prison for child sex abuse by Gerard O' Connell, Ameria

(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/03/12/cardinal-pell-sentenced-6-years-prison-child-sex-abuse?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_campaign=dbca2e27cd-DAILY_CAMPAIGN_2019_3_12_19_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0fe8ed70be-dbca2e27cd-58686749

..."The judge took more than one hour to retrace the evidence on which the jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilty on each of five counts of sexual offenses by the cardinal against two 13-year-old choirboys, one of whom has since died. He described the context in which he delivered his sentence and spoke of the impact of the cardinal’s abuse on the two boys.

He said the cardinal had carried out “a brazen and forceful sexual assault on the two victims,” that included “physical aggression.” He described the assaults as “opportunistic.”

The judge said Cardinal Pell engaged in “sustained offending” with “callous indifference.” He described the offenses as “a grave breach of trust and abuse of power,” carried out with “staggering arrogance.”

Judge Kidd explained the factors that guided him in his sentencing, including the fact that the cardinal is now 77 years old, has a heart condition and a pacemaker. Cardinal Pell also has problems with his knees that required surgery, for which he had been granted bail after the Dec. 11 verdict. The judge recognized too that Cardinal Pell had lead “a blameless life” since committing these offences 22 years ago. He noted as well the character references in the cardinal’s favor.

The judge said Cardinal Pell engaged in “sustained offending” with “callous indifference.”

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Judge Kidd had presided over the trial that concluded on Dec. 11, 2018 when a 12-person jury unanimously found the cardinal guilty on five counts of sexual offences against two 13-year-old choir boys inside St. Patrick’s cathedral, Melbourne, at the end of 1996 and early 1997. The maximum sentence for each of the five counts had been 10 years in prison on each count.

Cardinal Pell has repeatedly declared he is innocent of all such crimes, and his lawyers have lodged an appeal that will be heard by an Australian court in June 5-6. He will remain incarcerated as his appeal is heard.

After it was revealed two weeks ago that he had been found guilty on five counts of sexual offences against two minors, Pope Francis authorized the opening of an investigation of the Australian cardinal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican body that deals with allegations of abuse and acts as a tribunal on such cases.

Cardinal Pell is the most senior member of the Catholic Church—and the first cardinal ever—to have been sentenced to serve time in prison for such crimes. Appointed bishop and made cardinal by John Paul II, he served as one of the nine cardinal advisors to Pope Francis between 2013 and 2018 and was head of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy from 2014 to 2019. His conviction and imprisonment for the sexual abuse of minors is a terrible blow to the Catholic Church, not only in Australia but worldwide.

He is the second cardinal-elector to receive a sentence this month. In France Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was given a six-month suspended prison sentence last week for covering-up an abuse case. He has also lodged an appeal.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Victoria’s county court told Australian media that the judge’s “sentencing remarks will be broadcast live” because the court “was committed to the principles of open justice.” Some commentators speculated that the public broadcasting was intended to counterbalance the impression that the cardinal had received privileged treatment by the court. A gag order during the trial prevented Australian and most international media from reporting the guilty verdict last December. Whatever the reason, the decision to broadcast the sentencing was seen by many as a humiliation for Cardinal Pell, and the Catholic Church which he represents.

His lawyers, led by Sydney appeals expert, Bret Walker, the cardinal’s senior counsel, have lodged a request to appeal. They will argue that the guilty verdict should be overturned on three grounds.

The first claims the verdict was “unreasonable” since it was based on the “word of one complainant alone” and contrary to the evidence of 20 witnesses who offered contrary testimony. The second is based on the fact that the judge did not allow the cardinal’s defence to use a visual aid in its closing arguments that would have shown the allegations were practically impossible. The third ground relates to a “fundamental irregularity” in the trial that stopped the cardinal from entering a not-guilty plea before the jury.

The three appeals court judges could confirm the guilty verdict, acquit Cardinal Pell or order another trial.

But even if the cardinal is acquitted, his legal problems will not end. Australian media report that one of the victims from “the swimmer’s case,” filed a civil suit against the cardinal and other parties on March 6. The complaintaint had planned to give evidence in a criminal trial before charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. This case, based on an allegation of assault in a swimming pool in Ballarat in southeast Australia’s state of Victoria, is expected to be heard in 2020, according to local media.

The Royal Commission that investigated abuse in institutions across Australia, including the Catholic Church, has yet to publish the chapter of its report that relates to Cardinal Pell. The commission had questioned the cardinal by video conference from Rome; it has withheld its findings until the judicial process against the cardinal ended to avoid prejudicing the verdict. Its report, when published, is expected to come out hard against Cardinal Pell."

More than a third of American Catholics question membership in the church after sex abuse crisis, poll says, CNN

As a clergy sexual abuse scandal throws the Catholic Church into deep crisis on several continents, more than a third of American Catholics say they have questioned whether to remain in the church, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll, released Wednesday, found that 37% of American Catholics have questioned their church membership as result of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, a leap of 15 percentage points from the church's last major abuse crisis in 2002. That year, the Boston Globe uncovered widespread sexual misconduct by clergy and cover-ups by Catholic leaders, a scandal that soon spread across the country. 

This year, trust in the church is somewhat greater among Catholics who attend Mass weekly or monthly, Gallup found. 

While nearly half (47%) of self-identified Catholics who seldom or never attend Mass say they have considered leaving the church, less than a quarter of weekly Mass-goers say the same. 

The survey, based on interviews with 581 US Catholics who participated in Gallup polls from January 21-27 and February 12-28, comes as Pope Francis and other church leaders are grappling with the widespread scandal. 

Last month, Francis held an unprecedented summit of church leaders to address the scandal, but the meeting ended without concrete actions, which disappointed some Catholics. 

US Catholics 'mostly confident' in Pope Francis

The Gallup poll was released on March 13, the 6th anniversary of Pope Francis election to the papacy. 

While the pontiff remains extremely popular in many circles, questions about his leadership have swirled since the abuse crisis began engulfing the church in 2018. Francis has apologized for how he initially handled Chile's clergy abuse scandal and last month called for an "all-out battle" to combat child abuse.

Most American Catholics still have faith in Francis' leadership, according to the survey, with 40% saying they have a great deal of confidence in him and 18% saying they have "quite a lot." Catholics said much the same about the priests in their parish. 

"U.S. Catholics are still mostly confident in Pope Francis, but it could be argued that the 58% expressing confidence in him is somewhat weak given his role as leader of the Catholic church," Gallup said in an analysis of its survey. 

Women were more likely than men (65% to 51%) to say they have confidence in Pope Francis, but there were "no meaningful differences in the proportions of Catholics questioning their church membership by age or gender," Gallup said. 

American Catholics have considerably less faith in their bishops, Gallup found. Just 30% of American Catholics said they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the bishops. More than a quarter said they have little or no confidence in them. 

"While it is uncertain how many of the 37% of U.S. Catholics who say they're questioning remaining in the church will actually leave in response to the latest sex abuse scandal, any loss of adherents is certainly not welcome news -- especially when the church is dealing with larger societal trends moving away from formal religion," Gallup said.