http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=5117
VATICAN CITY (Catholic News Service) -- "Although she was never canonized, St. Hildegard of Bingen is to be added to the Catholic Church's formal list of saints, and Catholics worldwide may celebrate her feast day with a Mass and special readings by order of Pope Benedict XVI.
The Vatican announced May 10 that the pope formalized the church's
recognition of the 12th-century German Benedictine mystic, "inscribing her in
the catalogue of saints." The same day, the pope advanced the sainthood causes
of 19th-century U.S. Bishop Frederic Baraga of Marquette, Mich., and of Sister
Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, a member of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth
in Convent Station, N.J., who died in 1927. The pope's order regarding St.
Hildegard recognizes her widespread fame of holiness and the that Catholics have
venerated her for centuries.
In a 2010 series of audience talks about women's contributions to the church, Pope Benedict dedicated two talks to St. Hildegard. He said she is a worthy role model for Catholics today because of "her love for Christ and his church, which was suffering in her time, too, and was wounded also then by the sins of priests and laypeople." In St. Hildegard's time, there were calls for radical reform of the church to fight the problem of abuses made by the clergy, the pope had said. However, she "reproached demands to subvert the very nature of the church" and reminded people that "a true renewal of the ecclesial community is not achieved so much with a change in the structures as much as with a sincere spirit of penitence...."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Like the prophets of old, Hildegard preached an unpopular message of reform to Church officials.
Hildegard castigated Pope Anastasius IV, she wrote: "Wherefore, O man, you who sit on the papal throne, you despise God when you embrace evil. For in failing to speak out against the evil of those in your company, you are certainly not rejecting evil. Rather you are kissing it. And so the whole world is being led astray through unstable error, simply because people love that which God cast down." (Letters of Hildegard of Bingen, vol. 1.)
Hildegard allowed the burial of a man who had been excommunicated in the monastery cemetery. Several days after his interment, Church officials ordered his body exhumed and threatened Hildegard's community with interdict, which meant her nuns could not receive the sacraments or recite the divine office if it did not comply. Hildegard chose interdict and conscience.
Saints Hildegard Mother Thedore Guerin and Mother Mary MacKillop have two things in common. They were punished by the hierarchy of their time. Mother Guerin and Mother MacKillop were two nuns who were excommunicated by their bishops. Hildegard and her nuns were put under interdict. Now Pope Benedict has officially canonized these three gutsy women as saints and role models of holiness for the entire church. Obviously the take home message is the church is always in the process of reforming itself in every age, and excommunication is not a barrier to sainthood. If Hildegard were alive today, she would probably have some harsh words to say to Benedict and the bishops who covered up the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of youth. I disagree with the Pope who stated that her way would be penitence without change of structures, both are needed.
So cheer up, all you who face the ire of the hierarchy for your prophetic witness to justice and equality in the church including nuns and Girl Scouts. I consider my excommunication for prophetic obedience to the Gospel a badge of honor! It is a joy to walk in the footsteps of these gutsy women saints, trusting that there is nothing to fear because the power of God is with the marginalized and those who seek justice for all including the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. One day, I pray, a future pope will welcome our movement and that the church will adopt the structural changes that will transform it into a more open, inclusive, just and egalitarian community of faith, rooted in Jesus' example in the Gospels.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
www.arcwp.org
sofiabmm@aol.com
In a 2010 series of audience talks about women's contributions to the church, Pope Benedict dedicated two talks to St. Hildegard. He said she is a worthy role model for Catholics today because of "her love for Christ and his church, which was suffering in her time, too, and was wounded also then by the sins of priests and laypeople." In St. Hildegard's time, there were calls for radical reform of the church to fight the problem of abuses made by the clergy, the pope had said. However, she "reproached demands to subvert the very nature of the church" and reminded people that "a true renewal of the ecclesial community is not achieved so much with a change in the structures as much as with a sincere spirit of penitence...."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Like the prophets of old, Hildegard preached an unpopular message of reform to Church officials.
Hildegard castigated Pope Anastasius IV, she wrote: "Wherefore, O man, you who sit on the papal throne, you despise God when you embrace evil. For in failing to speak out against the evil of those in your company, you are certainly not rejecting evil. Rather you are kissing it. And so the whole world is being led astray through unstable error, simply because people love that which God cast down." (Letters of Hildegard of Bingen, vol. 1.)
Hildegard allowed the burial of a man who had been excommunicated in the monastery cemetery. Several days after his interment, Church officials ordered his body exhumed and threatened Hildegard's community with interdict, which meant her nuns could not receive the sacraments or recite the divine office if it did not comply. Hildegard chose interdict and conscience.
Saints Hildegard Mother Thedore Guerin and Mother Mary MacKillop have two things in common. They were punished by the hierarchy of their time. Mother Guerin and Mother MacKillop were two nuns who were excommunicated by their bishops. Hildegard and her nuns were put under interdict. Now Pope Benedict has officially canonized these three gutsy women as saints and role models of holiness for the entire church. Obviously the take home message is the church is always in the process of reforming itself in every age, and excommunication is not a barrier to sainthood. If Hildegard were alive today, she would probably have some harsh words to say to Benedict and the bishops who covered up the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of youth. I disagree with the Pope who stated that her way would be penitence without change of structures, both are needed.
So cheer up, all you who face the ire of the hierarchy for your prophetic witness to justice and equality in the church including nuns and Girl Scouts. I consider my excommunication for prophetic obedience to the Gospel a badge of honor! It is a joy to walk in the footsteps of these gutsy women saints, trusting that there is nothing to fear because the power of God is with the marginalized and those who seek justice for all including the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. One day, I pray, a future pope will welcome our movement and that the church will adopt the structural changes that will transform it into a more open, inclusive, just and egalitarian community of faith, rooted in Jesus' example in the Gospels.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
www.arcwp.org
sofiabmm@aol.com
The gaggle of you can sit in a circle and whine against the Vatican day in and day out as you wait to meet your maker.
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