We Stand With Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll Priest, Who Stands for Justice and Equality for Women in the Catholic Church

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2011 Contact: Erin Saiz Hanna , Executive Director 202.675.1006 (office), 401.588.0457 (cell) A Roman Catholic priest faces dismissal from the priesthood for his public support of women's ordination. But he is not just any priest. Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas (SOA) Watch, is internationally known for his work to end U.S. government-funded combat training of Latin American militaries. Today, he will risk nearly 40 years of priesthood to end sexism in the Church. On March 29th, 2011, Fr. Roy Bourgeois received a canonical warning from the leadership of his community, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Fr. Bourgeois has been given fifteen days to recant his belief that women, along with men, are called by God to serve as Roman Catholic priests. Failure to recant before Tuesday, April 12th, will result in a second canonical warning from his superiors, whereupon, Maryknoll leadership will submit their charge for dismissal to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) with a request for removal from the priesthood. "The Maryknoll community prides itself on being a voice for social justice," stated Erin Saiz Hanna, Women's Ordination Conference's Executive Director. "The threat to dismiss Fr. Bourgeois is not only a misuse of church discipline, but a betrayal to all those the Maryknoll community hopes to serve. It will not intimidate those of us who dare to shatter the stained glass ceiling." At 4:30 EST this afternoon, Catholics will join Fr. Bourgeois outside the Vatican Embassy in Washington, DC as he publicly responds to Maryknoll leadership. In his response, Fr. Bourgeois states, "It is my conscience that compels me to say publicly that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is a grave injustice against women, against our Church and against our God who calls both men and women to the priesthood.... In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe that God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I cannot do, therefore I will not recant." Read his full repsonse here. An online petition, sponsored by the Women's Ordination Conference, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, Call To Action-USA, and Roman Catholic Womenpriests-USA, and endorsed by 15 church-justice organizations, has garnered over 6,000 signatures of Catholics across the globe and will be delivered to the Vatican embassy at today's vigil. "Jesus himself welcomed women as well as men into ministerial leadership," said Jim FitzGerald, Call To Action's Executive Director. "We urge Maryknoll leadership to also stand in solidarity with their brother, Roy, and Catholics across the globe who know that a church with women and men as equals makes for a better church." In 1976, the Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded that there is no valid scriptural reason for denying ordination to women. However, the Vatican ignored this finding and in 1994, Pope John Paul II officially forbade discussion of women's ordination A statement released by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and Roman Catholic Womenpriests - USA affirms Fr. Bourgeois as "a true champion of justice for all." "Regardless of personal consequences, he refuses to be cowed by men who support an unjust law that knowingly discriminates against half the Body of Christ. He sees the face of Jesus in his sisters." ### Join Fr. Roy & Church-Justice Community Today, Friday, April 8, 2011 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Vatican Embassy 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008-3610 Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, 8th Day Center for Justice, The Federation of Christian Ministries' Roman Catholic Faith, Community Council, Call to Action USA, Catholic Women's Ordination UK, Hotline Human Rights Bangladesh Trust , Mary Magdala - Germany, National Coalition of American Nuns, New Ways Ministry, Pax Christi Maine, RAPPORT, Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Southeastern Pennsylvania Women's Ordination Conference, St. Anthony's Community-Santa Barbara, Voice of the Faithful-New Jersey, Womenpriests.org, Women's Ordination Conference, Women's Ordination Worldwide The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests are ordained women who live and minister in the United States and South America. The Association prepares and ordains qualified women to serve the people of God as priests and uses equal rites to promote equal rights to achieve justice for women in the church. Contact: Janice Sevre-Duszynska: 859-689-4247 Call To Action (CTA) is a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society. An independent national organization of over 25,000 people and 53 local chapters, CTA believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the whole church, not just in its appointed leaders. Contact: Nicole Sotelo, Director of Communications, 773.404.0004 x285 Roman Catholic Womenpriests - USA's mission is to spiritually prepare, ordain, and support women and men from all states of life, who are theologically qualified, who are committed to an inclusive model of Church, and who are called by the Holy Spirit and their communities to minister. Contact: Janice Sevre-Duszynska: 859-689-4247 Women's Ordination Conference, founded in 1975, is the oldest and largest national organization that works to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic church. WOC represents the 63 percent of U.S. Catholics that support women's ordination. WOC also promotes perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity. Contact: Erin Saiz Hanna, Executive Director 202.675.1006 (office), 401.588.0457 (cell)