Needed Ireland's Daughters to Serve as Priests and Save the Church

There is no vocation shortage in Ireland or anywhere else if the institutional church was to affirm women's vocation to the priesthood.

Now is the time for courageous Irish women to step up to serve the Roman Catholic Church in a renewed priestly ministry in a community of equals! Let's get rid of the clericalism and share our beloved faith in Jesus who led the way by calling women and men as disciples and equals. St. Brigit of Kildare would be proud. She was ordained a bishop in Kildare where women and men served the Christian community in the double monastery there.

Like our foremothers who passed on our mystical, Celtic spirituality, Irish women today can lead the way toward justice and equality for women in the Church. After the boycott called by Jennifer Sleeman on Sept. 26th, I hope women in Ireland and around the world, will answer their God-given call to serve their communities as priests!

We owe a depth of gratitude to Jennifer Sleeman, the gutsy Irish grandmother who has called for a boycott of Mass attendance on Sept. 26th. Hopefully, many places, not just in Ireland, will catch the spirit and join Roman Catholic Womenpriests as we serve in inclusive communities where all are welcome in the U.S. , Canada, and Europe.

Women of the world, unite in solidarity to live Jesus call of Gospel equality now. Your faithful protest will not only shake up the boys in Rome, but may even change the institutional church in ways yet to be imagined!!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP/USA Southern Region.
Contact: sofiabmm@aol.com
http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

BACKGROUND:
"On August 11th, 80 year old Jennifer Sleeman of Ireland called all women in Ireland to stay home from Mass on September 26th (her 81st birthday) to raise awareness of the unjust treatment of women in the Catholic Church. This was prompted by the Vatican’s declaration that ordination of women is a sin as grave as pedophilia. She said, “I think this might give people who perhaps feel voiceless in the church a voice. There are lots of women who feel very strongly about being able to do more within the church but are simply not allowed to do so.”
Many women of St. Andrew Parish in Portland, Oregon have been moved by Mrs. Sleeman’s call to witness to the injustices to women in the Church. We have been inspired to invite others across the Northwest to join us in promoting awareness of the Church’s treating women as second class citizens by staging a public event on September 26 to pray, sing, and give testimony to the need for change in the Church. Our intentions are not to be divisive or disrespectful; rather, with great hope, peace and prayerfulness, we desire to make a strong statement for justice for women, and the need for change in the Catholic Church. "
LINKS:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0820/1224277229226.html
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Women-of-Ireland-asked-to-boycott-Sunday-Mass-100681334.htmlhttp://www.independent.ie/national-news/mass-boycott-woman-says-shes-stunned-by-support-2297963.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/world/europe/16vatican.html
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/dont-know-whether-laugh-cry-or-scream

Ireland's sons turn their backs on the priesthood
By Jerome Taylor, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Friday, 27 August 2010 - THE INDPENDENT UK
"The number of priestly ordinations in Ireland has dipped below England and Wales for the first time in living memory, new figures reveal. The recruitment crisis is a clear indication of how low the church has sunk in a country that once used to export Catholic missionaries to all corners of the globe and often provided Britain with a significant proportion of its priests. "
"According to new figures released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ireland, just 16 men are due to start training for the priesthood this autumn, less than half the 39 that signed up for the priesthood last year. In the 1980s Ireland would regularly draw more than 150 new recruits to the priesthood every year. "