Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP Visited 93 Year Old Jesuit Priest Bill Brennan Who Was Suspended for Co-Presiding with Her at Liturgy for Justice Advocates

http://ncronline.org/news/people/jesuit-penalizedafter-eucharistic-liturgy-woman-priest

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP visits Jesuit Bill Brennan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Max. Janice and Fr. Bill Brennan


"Jesuit, 92, penalized after eucharistic liturgy with woman priest"
Joshua J. McElwee | Dec. 3, 2012
A Catholic priest who participated in a eucharistic liturgy with a woman priest last month has been
ordered to no longer celebrate the Mass or perform any other priestly duties.
Jesuit Fr. Bill Brennan, a 92-year-old Milwaukee-area priest, said the superior of his religious
community told him of the restrictions Nov. 29, saying they came at the request of Archbishop
Jerome Listecki.
Brennan, a retired parish priest and former missionary to Belize, participated in a liturgy Nov. 17 with
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a woman ordained in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
movement.
Brennan said he was hesitant to confirm the news regarding his loss of faculties because he was also
ordered not to talk to the press.
"I'm risking my existence in the Jesuit order by talking to you," Brennan told NCR. "But if I've
committed a serious sin, [the archbishop] is supposed to be responsible for condemning me ... he's
supposed to stand up and be responsible for that."
Brennan said the restrictions include:


• Suspension of priestly faculties, prohibiting him from performing any priestly duties in public;
• Refraining from contact with media, "through phone, email, or any other means";
• Not appearing as a Jesuit at any "public gatherings, protests or rallies";
• Not leaving the Milwaukee area "for any reason" without his superior's permission.
Brennan said he hasn't had any formal communication with Listecki.
Jeremy Langford, the director of communications for the Jesuits' Chicago-Detroit province, which is
merging with the Wisconsin province, said in a statement Monday the order removed Brennan's
priestly faculties "after conversation with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee."
The Jesuits "did not approve or sanction" the November eucharistic liturgy and "regrets Fr. Brennan's
participation in it," read the statement.
"The Wisconsin province has no plans to take any further action," Langford said in an interview,
calling Brennan a "wonderful Jesuit" who has "fought for great causes his whole life."