January 06, 2012 Chicago's Cardinal Francis George apologized Friday for remarks aired on Christmas Day comparing the gay pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan."I am truly sorry for the hurt my remarks have caused," George said in an interview with the Tribune. "Particularly because we all have friends or family members who are gay and lesbian. This has evidently wounded a good number of people. I have family members myself who are gay and lesbian, so it's part of our lives. So I'm sorry for the hurt."
Living Gospel Inclusivity and Empowerment Now
Saturday, January 7, 2012
"Pushing Away the Marginalized to Reach Out to the Fringe" by Jamie L. Manson
http://www.ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/pushing-away-marginalized-reach-out-fringe
..."It's remarkable how a hierarchy that routinely appeals to the unchangeable nature of its doctrine of the priesthood to defend its stance against women's ordination can become so flexible about its priesthood when reaching out to those who will help toe their misogynist line. It's extraordinary the lengths the hierarchy will take to welcome a fringe group of evangelical Episcopalians who support their anti-gay marriage agenda...."The real tragedy behind these stories is that the hierarchy is using its creativity, its money and, saddest of all, its sacraments to welcome individuals that will bolster its drive to exclude many of its baptized faithful.. ..Our church was founded on Jesus' call to honor everyone's dignity as beloved children of God and to be one with the poor, the suffering and the outcast. "
..."It's remarkable how a hierarchy that routinely appeals to the unchangeable nature of its doctrine of the priesthood to defend its stance against women's ordination can become so flexible about its priesthood when reaching out to those who will help toe their misogynist line. It's extraordinary the lengths the hierarchy will take to welcome a fringe group of evangelical Episcopalians who support their anti-gay marriage agenda...."The real tragedy behind these stories is that the hierarchy is using its creativity, its money and, saddest of all, its sacraments to welcome individuals that will bolster its drive to exclude many of its baptized faithful.. ..Our church was founded on Jesus' call to honor everyone's dignity as beloved children of God and to be one with the poor, the suffering and the outcast. "
Friday, January 6, 2012
Protesters Continue Occupy 440 movement by Dale Mezzacappa on Jan 04 2012 Posted in Latest news/ Eileen DiFranco, RCWP/a Leader in the Protest Movement
http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/124393/protesters-continue-occupy-440-movement
"Who is talking about this gross misallocation of resources?" DiFranco asked. "Are we the only ones who care?"She criticized not just the mayor, but Gov. Corbett and state legislators. But she said that Nutter and the School Reform Commission are culpable because they have "settled for less" without complaint.
Corbett and the General Assembly cut state education aid by a billion dollars this year, with fully one-quarter of that total falling on Philadelphia...
"Who is talking about this gross misallocation of resources?" DiFranco asked. "Are we the only ones who care?"She criticized not just the mayor, but Gov. Corbett and state legislators. But she said that Nutter and the School Reform Commission are culpable because they have "settled for less" without complaint.
Corbett and the General Assembly cut state education aid by a billion dollars this year, with fully one-quarter of that total falling on Philadelphia...
Link to Television Coverage of Fasting Vigil To End Torture in Lexington, Kentucky/Janice Sevre Duszynska and Donna Rougeux/Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Protests-Continue-In-Downtown-Lexington/gUiEOYAo50uWmE4W2x4pow.cspx
Above is the clip of the Jan. 3rd interview with Donna Rougeux and me (Janice Serve-Duszynska) in downtown Lexington where we are from vigiling Jan. 2- Jan. 10. We are now in the fifith day of our fast.
Above is the clip of the Jan. 3rd interview with Donna Rougeux and me (Janice Serve-Duszynska) in downtown Lexington where we are from vigiling Jan. 2- Jan. 10. We are now in the fifith day of our fast.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
"Table Manners"/Christianity Today/All Belong at Christ's Banquet Table
christiancentury.org/article/2011-12/table-manners
Dec. 28,2011
by Andrew Packman
"The whole scene was awkward. With 20 or so people still in line to receive the Eucharist, this Bosnian Franciscan took a handful of the host and sought me out of the crowd. Nearly out of breath, he lifted the small plate toward me. I stood up from my pew."Will you have communion?" My heart beat faster, the way it does if you get asked to speak when you're not expecting it, or when you're breaking a rule and know you may get caught.I muttered, "Yes, I will.""Christ's body, broken for you." He placed the host in my hand. I raised it to my lips and carefully set it down on my tongue. ..I imagine this is what the prodigal son felt when he watched his aged father risk looking like a fool as he sprinted out to meet his son. Priests don't run during the mass; they certainly don't leave the 99 sheep behind to seek out the one who's lost, the one who needs to feel the warm embrace of full inclusion in a Christian community."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
This is what it means to share Eucharist with the Body of Christ. Everyone is welcome at the table.
Roman Catholic Women Priests preside at liturgies where all are invited to receive Eucharist every week. This is what the inclusive priestly ministry is all about- welcoming with open arms, like the priest in this story above- and like Jesus did when he said: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened.. Take and eat, this is my body, given for all. " All God's family -especially the broken, marginalized and needy, are embraced by God's love and belong at Christ's Banquet
Table. Eucharist is not a reward for those who keep the rules, but for nourishment for the journey.
Dec. 28,2011
by Andrew Packman
"The whole scene was awkward. With 20 or so people still in line to receive the Eucharist, this Bosnian Franciscan took a handful of the host and sought me out of the crowd. Nearly out of breath, he lifted the small plate toward me. I stood up from my pew."Will you have communion?" My heart beat faster, the way it does if you get asked to speak when you're not expecting it, or when you're breaking a rule and know you may get caught.I muttered, "Yes, I will.""Christ's body, broken for you." He placed the host in my hand. I raised it to my lips and carefully set it down on my tongue. ..I imagine this is what the prodigal son felt when he watched his aged father risk looking like a fool as he sprinted out to meet his son. Priests don't run during the mass; they certainly don't leave the 99 sheep behind to seek out the one who's lost, the one who needs to feel the warm embrace of full inclusion in a Christian community."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
This is what it means to share Eucharist with the Body of Christ. Everyone is welcome at the table.
Roman Catholic Women Priests preside at liturgies where all are invited to receive Eucharist every week. This is what the inclusive priestly ministry is all about- welcoming with open arms, like the priest in this story above- and like Jesus did when he said: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened.. Take and eat, this is my body, given for all. " All God's family -especially the broken, marginalized and needy, are embraced by God's love and belong at Christ's Banquet
Table. Eucharist is not a reward for those who keep the rules, but for nourishment for the journey.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Bishop Resigns After Disclosing he fathered Two Children
http://ncronline.org/news/people/bishop-resigns-after-disclosing-he-father-two-children
VATICAN CITY -- Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala has resigned after disclosing to superiors that he is the father of two children.The Vatican announced the bishop's resignation Jan. 4 in a one-line statement that cited church law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons.
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
More evidence that mandatory celibacy does not work and should be changed to follow Jesus' example. In the 12th century, the pope mandated celibacy for priests, and threatened to sell the priests' wives into slavery if they did not conform. Now that the Vatican is accepting Anglican married priests and their wives, it is time to affirm that marriage and ordination can go together for Catholic priests. Peter was married, so why does the Roman Catholic Church refuse to follow his example? Let us pray that for change in the institutional church's unjust treatment of its own priests
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
sofiabmm@aol.com
VATICAN CITY -- Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala has resigned after disclosing to superiors that he is the father of two children.The Vatican announced the bishop's resignation Jan. 4 in a one-line statement that cited church law on resignation for illness or other serious reasons.
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
More evidence that mandatory celibacy does not work and should be changed to follow Jesus' example. In the 12th century, the pope mandated celibacy for priests, and threatened to sell the priests' wives into slavery if they did not conform. Now that the Vatican is accepting Anglican married priests and their wives, it is time to affirm that marriage and ordination can go together for Catholic priests. Peter was married, so why does the Roman Catholic Church refuse to follow his example? Let us pray that for change in the institutional church's unjust treatment of its own priests
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
sofiabmm@aol.com
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
"Pressure on Dutch Church After Report"/ Between 10,000 and 20,000 Dutch Children Abused/Call for Resignations of Catholic Bishops in the Netherlands
http://www.ncronline.org/news/global/pressure-dutch-church-after-report
"Two leading politicians in the Netherlands, both from conservative parties, have called for the resignations of Catholic bishops in the wake of a damning report on sexual abuse in the Dutch church.The country’s prime minister, Mark Rutte, also announced that his cabinet is considering lifting a statute of limitations to allow criminal prosecutions. A complaint has already been filed with the public prosecutor’s office against a former bishop of the Rotterdam diocese, Philippe Bär. An attorney representing alleged victims has charged Bär with covering up abuse during his tenure from 1983 to 1993..."Released on Dec. 16, the report found that somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 Dutch children suffered abuse by Catholic personnel, ranging from unwanted sexual advances to rape, during the period of 1945 to 2010. A commission sponsored by the Catholic bishops and religious orders of Holland produced the report. On Dec. 17, Holland’s deputy prime minister, Maxime Verhagen, himself a Catholic, said the church has been “profoundly damaged,” and bishops should consider resigning. Verhagen is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal Party, a center-right faction seen as friendly to the church."
"Two leading politicians in the Netherlands, both from conservative parties, have called for the resignations of Catholic bishops in the wake of a damning report on sexual abuse in the Dutch church.The country’s prime minister, Mark Rutte, also announced that his cabinet is considering lifting a statute of limitations to allow criminal prosecutions. A complaint has already been filed with the public prosecutor’s office against a former bishop of the Rotterdam diocese, Philippe Bär. An attorney representing alleged victims has charged Bär with covering up abuse during his tenure from 1983 to 1993..."Released on Dec. 16, the report found that somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 Dutch children suffered abuse by Catholic personnel, ranging from unwanted sexual advances to rape, during the period of 1945 to 2010. A commission sponsored by the Catholic bishops and religious orders of Holland produced the report. On Dec. 17, Holland’s deputy prime minister, Maxime Verhagen, himself a Catholic, said the church has been “profoundly damaged,” and bishops should consider resigning. Verhagen is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal Party, a center-right faction seen as friendly to the church."
Monday, January 2, 2012
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP and Donna Rougeux, ARCWP Join Witness Against Torture Fast
Join us at Triangle Park Jan. 2-10 from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. as we fast and witness in solidarity with folks in the nation's Capitol and across the globe on the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at the U.S. controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We are demanding an end to torture and indefinite detention at Guantanamo, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and that the president reject the just-passed National Defense Authorization Act. (The Act would allow the military to detain terror suspects on U.S. soil and hold them indefinitely and without trial. It would place restrictions on resettling the 60 men in Guantanamo who have been cleared for release.)
For local information contact Janice Sevre-Duszynska, 859-684-4247.
See WitnessAgainstTorture and Amnesty International websites.
For local information contact Janice Sevre-Duszynska, 859-684-4247.
See WitnessAgainstTorture and Amnesty International websites.
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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Donna Rougeux |
Sunday, January 1, 2012
"Some Anglicans Apply to Join the Catholic Church"/Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/some-anglicans-apply-to-join-the-catholic-church/2011/12/30/gIQAQdHRTP_story.html
“It’s the largest reunification effort in 500 years,” said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the new body, called an ordinariate.The possibility of dozens of married Catholic priests could provide fodder for Catholics who want the Vatican to open up on the issue of priestly celibacy. There are about 40,000 Catholic priests in the United States.Gibbs declined to say which priests and parishes have expressed interest. But congregants at St. Luke’s, and others who call themselves Anglo-Catholics, tend to be theological and social conservatives who say they like the clear, single authority of a pope. However, they also want to hold onto aspects of Anglicanism, including retaining more authority in governing and certain music and rituals, such as kneeling for Communion..."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
In this historic structural change, the Vatican is expanding a married Catholic priesthood to include Anglcian priests in the United States as well as in England. They did so without dialogue with the Episcopal Church, a slap in the face to a Sister- Church.
It is time that the Vatican makes celibacy optional for priestly ministry. The best we can hope is that this is a first step in that direction.
“It’s the largest reunification effort in 500 years,” said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the new body, called an ordinariate.The possibility of dozens of married Catholic priests could provide fodder for Catholics who want the Vatican to open up on the issue of priestly celibacy. There are about 40,000 Catholic priests in the United States.Gibbs declined to say which priests and parishes have expressed interest. But congregants at St. Luke’s, and others who call themselves Anglo-Catholics, tend to be theological and social conservatives who say they like the clear, single authority of a pope. However, they also want to hold onto aspects of Anglicanism, including retaining more authority in governing and certain music and rituals, such as kneeling for Communion..."
Bridget Mary's Reflection:
In this historic structural change, the Vatican is expanding a married Catholic priesthood to include Anglcian priests in the United States as well as in England. They did so without dialogue with the Episcopal Church, a slap in the face to a Sister- Church.
It is time that the Vatican makes celibacy optional for priestly ministry. The best we can hope is that this is a first step in that direction.