The following is a letter sent by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious during its annual 2019 conference to President Trump on August 14. The letter, affirmed by the 663 LCWR members gathered in assembly in Scottsdale, Arizona, calls upon the president to end all divisive rhetoric. The letter states in part, "We implore you to never use language that disrespects, dehumanizes, or demonizes others. We expect our president, and all who serve this nation as leaders, to be always mindful of the common good and the dignity of each and every person. You hold a position that has the potential to inspire the best of every one of us and we ask you to use this unique status to bring about healing and never seek to create division." Describing the practice we, as Catholic sisters, use to daily examine our own words and actions in light of our beliefs, we urge the president to adopt a similar practice in regards to use of his moral authority.Read the full text below.
Mr. President,
We live in a world increasingly marked by hatred, brutality, and violent conflict. We see our own country threatened by increasing disparities in economic, political, and social power. We are caught in a political culture paralyzed by ideological extremism and hyper-partisanship. These are times that require exceptional insight and courageous leadership.
In the face of these unprecedented challenges, we are outraged and heart-broken when our political leaders appeal to our basest instincts and stoke the fires of fear that threaten to tear the fabric of our nation apart. We cannot, we will not, let the voices of hatred and fear carry the day.
Mr. President, we beseech you to end all divisive and polarizing rhetoric. We implore you to never use language that disrespects, dehumanizes, or demonizes others. We expect our president, and all who serve this nation as leaders, to be always mindful of the common good and the dignity of each and every person. You hold a position that has the potential to inspire the best of every one of us and we ask you to use this unique status to bring about healing and never seek to create division.
The people of this pluralistic nation form a diverse polity characterized by a wide variety of beliefs, experiences, and interests. Disagreements and differences have the potential to challenge all of us to abandon easy certainty and seek a fuller truth. The problem is not our many differences or passionate disagreements. Those differences are our greatest strength; those disagreements are opportunities for growth. It is how we handle those inevitable conflicts that spells the difference between building the common good and destroying the bonds that bind this nation.
In his address to the US Congress in 2015, Pope Francis invited our political leaders to promote respect for the dignity of every human person and to renew their commitment to a spirit of cooperation. He also addressed each of us and all who seek to lead this nation when he said, "Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility . . . You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk . . . Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity."
As Catholic sisters, our ministries frequently require us to be in the heart of situations of discord and division, and thus we understand the great complexities and challenges that are inherent in the work of reconciliation. We too have to reach deep within ourselves to bring forth the grace and strength that are needed to not give in to the temptation of labeling or judging those who are different from us. We share with you, Mr. President, that maintaining this fundamental stance in life requires discipline and fortitude and a constant examination of our daily thoughts and deeds in light of our beliefs. We sometimes come up short, but pledge to do better each day because we are aware of the moral authority we, as sisters, bear. We ask you, Mr. President, if you would consider a similar examination of the practice of your own moral authority.
We send this letter to you as 663 Catholic sister leaders gathered in assembly in Arizona. We and approximately 700 other Catholic sisters are members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and represent approximately 35,000 sisters who minister throughout this nation. We promise to never cease raising our voices on behalf of the common good and praying for the healing of this country.
Sincerely,
The Members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Assumption Sr. Rekha Chennattu speaks to an attendee of the "Daughters of Wisdom: Women and Leadership in the Global Church" conference in April 2018. Chennattu has written about the exclusion of women from ordained ministry in the Catholic Church. (Provided by Sr. Rekha Chennattu)
My Response: I agree that women's leadership must at this point include ordination, but not in a clerical model, which is indeed toxic. In addition the institutional church needs an updated theology that does not connect presiding at sacramental liturgies with ordination. Since 2002, the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement has been authoring a new model of priestly ministry in a discipleship of equals. In our inclusive communities, ordained and non-ordained often preside at liturgies. We have a total of 263 members on 5 continents, 13 countries and in 34 States in the U.S. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, https://arcwp.org, sofiabmm@aol.com Article:
"With dwindling vocations to the priesthood, especially in the West, the cry for women deacons is getting stronger, even while some fear a mixed-gender diaconate might serve to reinforce clericalism in the church.
Pope Francis is not altogether opposed to the idea. He has stated that he cannot ordain women as deacons without a theological and historical foundation.
The pontiff created a Vatican commission in 2016 to study the tradition of women deacons in the Catholic Church upon the request of the International Union of Superiors General. However, the Commission could not arrive at a consensus and have been told to continue their studies individually.
Theological experts from India are not optimistic about the outcome.
Feminist theologian Kochurani Abraham of Kerala said in a telephone interview that the Scriptures point to theological and biblical references to women deacons, particularly chapter 16 of Paul's letter to the Romans, which mentions Phoebe, a woman who served as a deacon.
Virginia Saldanha of Mumbai, a leader of the Indian Christian Women's Movement, questioned why women aren't already ordained as deacons.
"Why not have women deacons when most of the churches in the West are functioning because of women who are doing the work of deacons?" she said in a telephone interview. She cited the example of Ludwien Mortier, a pastoral assistant who has been running the Holy Family Parish in Lier, Belgium, for the past two decades.
Lier does everything the parish priest should do, except consecrate hosts and give absolution. She conducts funerals, Eucharist liturgies, prepares children for sacramental catechesis with an 80-year old priest visiting only on certain occasions to consecrate the Eucharist.
The people of the parish are happy with Mortier's service. Yet she has not been ordained even as a deacon. This is an "absolute injustice" to women, said Saldhana.
A survey conducted last year by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found that 72 percent of both male and female superiors of religious orders favour ordaining women as deacons. However, only 45 percent believe it will become a reality. Abraham is not in favor of ordaining women as deacons.
"Nuns are already doing the work of deacons and much more. With this tag they will only be more exploited and given lots more of duties with no recognition,"she said.
The concern is that even if women are made permanent diaconates they will not be given leadership positions or be involved in policy making in the church, said Abraham
Dr. Astrid Lobo Gajiwala from Mumbai, a theologian and activist, advisor to the Indian bishops on women's issues and medical ethics scholar, said,"We do not need deacons of either sex. It only leads to clericalism which is a scourge of the church."
"As deacons, women would be at the bottom of the hierarchy and accountable to the clergy. This can be disastrous for women because already their service is often exploited and reduced to servitude.The workspace power coupled with spiritual power is a dangerous combination as we have seen in cases of clergy sexual abuse," she said.
Sr. Rekha M. Chennattu, superior general of the Religious of the Assumption, in her article “Women in the Mission of the Church — An Interpretation of John 4," stated that: "There is a growing awareness among us today that women are not given their rightful place in Biblical exegesis and theology, and in the life and mission of the Church.
"This exclusion has been often justified by recourse to Scripture. It is generally accepted that reading Scripture is not neutral and interpreters are not free of presuppositions. Moreover some biblical texts themselves are indeed ideologically biased against women; and some texts are mistranslated and misinterpreted by the exegetes. Hence, the Bible has become an important source and legitimizer of excluding and alienating women from the mission of the Church."
The Samaritan woman described in John 4 takes the initiative in the mission of proclaiming Jesus without looking for approval from anyone and without seeking the permission of anyone, she stated.
While there are parishes where women religious and parishioners are running parishes, none are ordained, said Gajiwala. Jesus did not ordain priests. The theology that supports the ordination of men was created by ordained men in power to "justify and protect their own power over the Eucharist and the forgiveness of sins and therefore over the congregation,"she said.
"It is ridiculous to be bound by patriarchal practices that saw women as 'sinners, temptresses, and second-class citizens,'" said the theologian.
"One of the reasons underlying the ban on the ordination of women is the notion that women are unclean because they menstruate. Menstruating women could not approach the altar, much less hold the Eucharist," said Gajiwala.
Benedicta Lobo, a retired teacher who now teaches catechism, asked,"When married men can be ordained deacons, why not women?"She said Pope Francis has said that he values the "feminine genius,"but, she wondered, why he won't allow that to fully penetrate church leadership.
Gajiwala is also of the opinion that women should be given a role in the governance of the church. "Women are governing the world, why should the church be an exception? However, we do not need women deacons for women to be part of the decision-making in the Church," she emphasized.
"Women form 50 percent of the church and the majority in the pews. They hold up the church.What the bishops don't seem to realize is that if women walked out there would be no church. Not only because of their numbers, but also because women teach the young their faith; so if they walk out their children will go with them," she said.
The synod of bishops for the Pan-Amazonian region, which will take from Oct. 6-27 in the Vatican, will discuss the possibility of ordaining married men as priests. Due to an acute shortage of priests, the indigenous people of Amazon are being denied the Eucharist and the sacraments.
Chennattuwrote in her article, "Patriarchal cultures regard women as psychologically sentimental, intellectually inferior, socially marginal, religiously impure and culturally insignificant, and thus incapable of leadership."
That perhaps is the hidden premise of the Vatican's ordination of only men as deacons and its forthcoming synod to consider the ordination of married men to the priesthood. "
[Based in New Delhi, Rita Joseph has worked for the Press Trust of India (PTI), as the features editor (Delhi) of The Statesman newspaper, and as deputy editor of ucanews.com, an independent Catholic news source from Asia.]
Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea ARCWP, with a local community celebrating liturgy in Columbia, South America
My response: This excellent article addresses clericalism, which is a toxic disease in the Roman Catholic Church today. I believe it is important to point out to my readers that in our renewed model of priestly ministry, Roman Catholic Women Priests have created a vision of and structures for a modern day discipleship of equals in which service is at the heart of our mission. For example, the primary role of bishops is to ordain and to be pastoral/spiritual leaders along with all our priests and deacons. In addition, our inclusive communities and ministries function independently of our ARCWP/RCWP-USA organizations. All decisions, including finances, are made by these grassroots groups. See our website and list of communities for more information: https://arcwp.org and https://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/ Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, sofiabmm@aol.com
Article by Fr. Daly:
If the priesthood is to be reformed, we must tackle the disease of clericalism. It won't be easy. Clericalism is so deeply ingrained in our structures and way of thinking that we almost can't imagine how things could be otherwise.
In his 2018 "Letter to the People of God," Pope Francis condemned the sins of sexual abuse and the abuse of power in the church. He linked those sins to clericalism. "To say no to abuse is to say an emphatic no to all forms of clericalism."
What is clericalism?
The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests put out a white paper on clericalism in June 2019. It defines clericalism is "an expectation, leading to abuses of power, that ordained ministers are better than and should be over everyone else among the People of God."
In other words: clerics (bishops and priests) are often trained to think they are set apart from and set above everyone else in the church. Their word is not to be questioned. Their behavior is not to be questioned. Their lifestyle is not be questioned. They rule over the church as if they were feudal lords in a feudal society. That is often how they see themselves — lords of the manor, complete with coats of arms, titles of nobility and all the perks that go with "superiority."
It is not just clerics who are clerical. The laity often foster clericalism by always deferring to "Father" and putting "Father" on a pedestal. Clericalism is experienced in thousands of words and deeds that add up to a "culture" or atmosphere. Clericalism shows itself when:
Seminarians say they are called to "chalices, not callouses." (In other words, no physical work.)
People say, "Nothing is too good for "Father." Or, "Father never picks up the check."
Priests and bishops spend huge amounts of parish and diocesan money on themselves, with no controls. E.g., redecorating the rectory, building a new episcopal residence, taking lavish trips at church expense, or giving lavish gifts to each other with church money.
When the priest says, "This is my parish. My way or the highway."
When 18-year-old college seminarians wear clerical garb to set themselves apart.
When parents tell their children, "Never question a priest."
When people say that "the priests are 'next to God.' "
When bishops prioritize avoiding scandal over protecting victims of abuse by priests.
When thriving parishes are closed because there is a shortage of priests when there are deacons and lay people readily available to keep the community going.
All those things are symptoms of clericalism. The culture of clericalism can have horrific consequences.
The 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury set up to study clerical sexual abuse gave some egregious examples of priests and bishops who were protected from the consequences of sexual abuse by a "culture" of clericalism. Priests were routinely transferred around to avoid scandal, but nothing was done to warn the people in their new assignments. Priests were returned to ministry after "treatment" in church-run treatment centers that were not professionally staffed or competently run. Even after there was proven abuse and removal from ministry, priests continued to receive financial support while dioceses played hardball with their victims. Confidentiality agreements forced upon victims as part of settlement served only to shield the church from scandal and clerics from the consequences of their actions.
The Pennsylvania grand jury report gave several examples of children being beaten for talking "badly" about a priest when they came forward with their stories of abuse. In one case a girl who told her pastor of a sexual assault on her by another priest in the parish was humiliated in front of her biological father and told to recant that "made up story" of her assault. The grand jury said, "Her father did not believe her and proceeded to drag her home, yelling at her and slapping her along the way. When they finally got home, she was beaten more by her father, this time with a belt so that the belt buckle would strike her."
So long as a "culture" of clericalism means that parents believe priests over the anguished stories of their own children, it will be very hard to hold priests and bishops accountable.
Even Pope Francis is guilty of this sort of clerical preference for some Vatican insiders. When Australian Cardinal George Pell was convicted of sexual abuse of several boys by the court in Australia, he was allowed to continue as prefect for the economy (the money guy) in the Vatican, pending appeal. One of Pell's victims had committed suicide. Pell, like former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, was protected by clericalism. He was a member of the most exclusive "old boys" club in the church, the College of Cardinals.
In a way, priests and bishops are also "victims" of clericalism. If clericalism puts us on a pedestal, it also isolates clergy from ordinary friendships. We are always, "Father" or "Your Excellency" and never just Peter or Jim. If clericalism gives the priest and bishop greater control, it also gives them greater responsibility. Having unquestioned "authority" to speak on so many matters also means that priests are expected to have answers beyond their competence.
The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests report also observed, "Clericalism in lay people blocks the necessary feedback that helps keep the Church faithful to the gospel, and it blocks the feedback the ordained need to properly serve the community."
The laity, the clergy, and the church all suffer from the culture of clericalism. It distorts our human relationships and corrupts the body of Christ.
Worst of all, it is not faithful to the vision of Christ. He calls on us all to be servant leaders, not imperious rulers.
You know how those who exercise authority among the Gentiles lord it over them; their great ones make their importance felt. It cannot be like that with you. Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest, and whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. Such is the case with the Son of Man who has come not be served by others but to serve, to give his life as ransom for the many (Matthew 20:25-28).
[Fr. Peter Daly is a retired priest of the Washington Archdiocese and a lawyer. After 31 years of parish service, he now works with Catholic Charities.]
Editor's note: We can send you an email alert every time Fr. Peter Daly's column, Priestly Diary (formerly called Parish Diary), is posted. Go to this page and follow directions: Email alert sign-up.
Kim Panaro, ARCWP, and Julie Corron, ARCWP, led a Liturgy in Celebration of Belonging.
Welcome and Theme: Welcome to you all, especially our guests for
today’s special St. Baldrick’s celebration in memory of Ben Stowell. Our theme
this morning is “There’s Enough for Everybody.” Our liturgy today is also in
memory of Sr. Monica Murphy, who died suddenly this week. We will be praying in
solidarity with members of our Upper Room family and our brothers and sisters
from St. Vincent de Paul, who will be at Pyramid Life Center celebrating Sr.
Monica in a memorial today as well. In this same spirit of Enough, we invite
you to remain after liturgy to continue our celebration as Rev. Kathie Ryan and
Sam Stewart shave their heads to raise awareness and money for research into
childhood cancer.
Opening Song: “We Are All Angels” by Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/TV3gCB2Er7g
LITURGY OF THE
WORD
Readings
First Reading is a testimonial from Edwina Gateley
It was late at night. I was walking down the street in a rough
neighborhood. As I approached a large old stone church on the corner, I
noticed a group of women sitting on the steps which led to the sidewalk. They
were homeless bag ladies. Seeing me coming, one of them called out: “Come and
join us. We’re having a picnic!.” I was somewhat bemused at the
thought of a picnic on church steps at ten o’clock at night… I headed over to
the church.
One woman was perched on the top step, and the other four women
sat on the lower steps. In the center step stood a large plastic bottle
half full of ginger ale (probably fished out from some restaurant garbage
bin.) Next to the bottle there was a battered box of Dunkin
Donuts. “Sit down. Join us!” The woman on the top step declared. She then
lined up six styrofoam cups (which I assume she had dug out from the garbage
outside the local McDonalds) and half-filled each one with ginger ale. As
she poured the ginger ale into each cup she declared: “There’s enough for
everybody. There’s enough for everybody.”
Then, after handing each one of us a cup, she broke
in pieces the battered Dunkin Donuts holding them up and declaring again, “There’s
enough for everybody.”
Each of us was ceremoniously handed a piece of donut...
In silence, we sipped the ginger ale and ate the donut
piece.
In the silence and hospitality of that moment I knew with
utter certainty, that we were participating in a Eucharist. And I knew,
on a deep level, that God is often to be found in places we cannot even
imagine. As darkness fell, the women hobbled down the steps to their shopping
carts and disappeared into the night.
These are the inspired words of Edwina Gateley and the community
affirms them by saying: Amen.
Alleluia
Gospel
Luke 12:1, 15, 29-31; 34
Meanwhile thousands of people had gathered, a crowd so dense
that they were trampling each other. Jesus spoke first to the disciples: “Be on
your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Then he told the crowd, “Avoid greed in all its forms. Your life
isn’t made more secure by what you own-even when you have more than you need.”
“Don’t set your hearts on what you’ll eat or drink. Stop
worrying! All the nations of the world seek these things, yet your Abba God
well knows what you need. Set your sights on the kingdom of God, and all these
other things will be given to you as well. For wherever your treasure is,
that’s where your heart will be.”
These are the inspired words from the gospel of Luke and the
community affirms them by saying: Amen.
Shared
Homily
Julie's Homily Reflection: In
our first reading, Edwina Gateley recounts a story of generous hospitality from
those who have the least to give, on the steps of a church that is, in Rome at
least, obscenely wealthy. Edwina was gracious enough to humbly accept this
gift, this sacred meal. Would you be? Or would you cringe at the dumpster dive
menu? It’s one thing to give to the poor and then go back to our comfortable
lives. It’s quite another to join in the lives of those living on the margins
the way Edwina or Sr. Monica or Jesus did.
Then the gospel continues
where last week’s left off, challenging us about what is enough and about our
trust in the Divine Mystery. “Your life isn’t made more secure by what you
own-even when you have more than you need.” Ouch, so much for retirement
planning. And “For wherever your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be.”
In the old days, they used to say that you could tell what someone valued by
looking at their check register to see where their money went. How we spend our
money, our time, our talents, that is what we truly value. Do our lives
actually reflect what we think they do? Or are we at risk of “the yeast of the
Pharisees,” hypocrisy? If it’s not about what we think or say but what we do
that matters, do we need to make some adjustments to bring our actions into
alignment with our beliefs? If all we had was flat ginger ale and stale
doughnuts, could we trust that we had enough to share? Could we trust that
there’s enough for everybody? Or are we too scared to give freely of our money,
our time, or our talents?
What did you hear? What will
you do? What will it cost you?
As part of our shared homily,
we invite you to share on today’s readings. To give everyone a chance, we ask
that you keep your shares to one minute. Thank you.
Statement of
Faith
All: We believe in one God, a divine
mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The life of God that is our innermost life,
the breath of God moving in our being.
The depth of God living in each of us.
We believe that God's kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Eucharistic Prayer
of Belonging
Presider
1:
As we prepare for the sacred meal, we lay our stoles upon the table as a sign
that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. And we bring to this table
our blessings, cares and concerns.Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I
bring to the table….”
Presider
1:We pray for these and all unspoken concerns.
Amen.
Presider
2:We are a priestly people. We
are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
All: O
Nurturing, Mothering one, You are always with us. We are grateful for Your
constant loving and unconditional presence. At times we forget that You are
holding us, attending to us. We fall and You pick us up. You send strangers,
friends and family to our aid. We are never without Your Light and Spirit.
We experience
great joy and we experience great pain and suffering. You are with us in the
joy and the pain and suffering. When we experience Your presence we long to
sing our hymn of praise:
Presider 2: Please join us in Alleluia, Sing!
https://youtu.be/-FvAFEjAnrc
All: Creator and Lover of all
beings, we cannot grow in the darkness of this world without Your Light. Our
desire to be in Your light is a gift from You. Help us keep our hearts and
minds open to You through our love and care for each other and all creation.
Presider
2: Please extend your hands in blessing
All: This bread
and wine is a sign of Your nourishment and a sign of Your great love. Your
Spirit is upon us and we belong to You and one another.
We thank you
for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us,
revealing us as one with you, and all creation.
On the night
before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the people closest to
him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet. Once again he
showed us how to love one another.
Presiders stand at table, Presiders lift bread.
All: Back at the
table, he took the Passover Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered
it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.
Presider 2 lifts the cup as community prays the
following:
All: Then he
took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and
drink of the covenant
Made new
again through my life in you.
Whenever you
remember me like this,
I am among
you.
Bread and
wine is transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open
ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to
be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.
As we
celebrate and recognize You in this bread and wine we love and recognize you in
each other. We are filled with gratitude and joy. Glory and Praise to you both
now and forever. Amen
Presiders hold bread and cup:
All:
Through him, we have learned how to live.
Through him, we have learned how to love.
Through him, we have learned how to serve.
AMEN.
Presider
1:
Let us pray
together the prayer of Jesus:
O Holy One, who is within, we celebrate
your many names. Your wisdom come. Your will be done, unfolding from the depths
within us. Each day you give us all that we need. You remind us of our limits,
and we let go. You support us in our power, and we act with courage. For you
are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the
celebration among us, now and forever. Amen.
The Prayer of Jesus as interpreted by Miriam Therese Winter
Presider
2:
Please join in the prayer for the breaking of the bread:
Presiders break the bread
All: Loving
Source of our being, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We
live justly, we love tenderly, we walk with integrity in Your Presence.
Presider
1:Let us pray our communion
prayer together:
All:What we have heard with our ears, we will
live with our lives: as we share communion, we will become communion, both
Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Presider
2:Our Eucharistic celebration is all-inclusive.
We belong to the Loving One and to each other. Everyone is invited to receive
at this friendship table.
Please pass the gluten-free bread and
the nonalcoholic wine with the words: There’s enough for everybody.
Presider
1: Our Communion Meditation
is: Lilies of the Field by John Michael Talbot.
https://youtu.be/-dGcZ1R7FBE
BLESSING
Presider 2:Please
extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
All:May we
continue to be the Face of God to each other. May the certainty of our
connectedness to one another and all creation ignite us to love more
fully.May we, like Jesus be a shining
light and a blessing for all.Amen.
Closing Song: Room At The Table by Carrie Newcomer
