Pope Francis Beings Reform of Vatican Curia

http://ncronline.org/node/49661

"In a signal that major reform may be on the horizon, the Vatican announced today that Pope Francis has formed a group of eight cardinals from around the world to “advise him on the government of the universal church” and “to study a project of revision” of a document from John Paul II on the Roman Curia.

At first blush, all these cardinals seem like strong personalities. Several have voiced criticisms over the years about various aspects of Vatican operations, while two, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston and Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, Germany, have played key roles in the church's response to the child sexual abuse crisis.

The group’s first meeting is set for Oct. 1-3, and meanwhile, according to the Vatican statement, the pope will be in regular contact with the cardinals individually.

The brief item in the Vatican’s daily press bulletin did not explain how these cardinals were chosen, or how long they will serve in these roles.

Strikingly, there was only one member of the Roman Curia among the eight cardinals tapped to assist the pope. The rest come from various parts of the world, with at least one representing each continent..."

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Pope Plans to Canonize Three Argentine Priests with Irish Connections

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Pope-Francis-launches-sainthood-case-for-three-Argentine-priests-with-Irish-connections-202677761.html

"Father Alfie Kelly was born in Buenos Aires to Juan Kelly and Elisa Casey, the youngest of seven children. He joined the Pallottines at a young age and studied in Buenos Aires and Rome before his ordination in 1957. At the time of his murder he was the pastor at St. Patrick’s, responsible for student formation and rector to one of the diocesan catechetical seminaries.
Notably, Kelly was the spiritual director to the young man who was to become the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis I.
Kevin O’Neill SAC, described his life and work “He specialized in spiritual direction, retreats, Catechetics and in youth work which was his principal apostolate. The best word to describe his character is ‘solid’."
Father Alfie Leaden was born in Buenos Aires but his parents, Patricio Leaden and Brigida Ussher were of Irish descent. One of eight brothers and sisters, he was educated educated by the Irish Mercy Sisters and later by the Pallottine Fathers. He went on to study philosophy at the Pallottine seminary in Thurles, County Tipperary, and continued his studies in Rome, according to Pallottines.ie. Ordained into the priesthood in 1942 he worked in many Pallottine communities in Argentina.
Father Kevin O’Neill SAC described Leaden as “amiable. In the true sense of the word it means more than being worthy of love." A student of Leaden’s, Father Rodolfo Capalozza, wrote, “Alfredo seemed to have supernatural peace, an uncommon peace. He transmitted the peace of God. To go into his room was like the psychological experience of entering a sanctuary, it was orderly, and he radiated amiability and innocence.”

John Cooney/Irish Journalist Writes about Coverage of Conclave/ Meeting with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP in Rome and Activists from WOC-Witness for Justice

Doctrine and Life
 Vol 63 No. 4 April 2013

 A Veteran Journalist’s
 First Conclave
 JOHN COONEY

" IN ALL my 43 years as a journalist, I never had the occasion to report
a papal conclave. Thankfully, this omission has been rectified with
the arrival of the 266th papacy. In spite of a harsh wet Roman evening
on Wednesday March 13, it was an unforgettable moment to witness
the election of the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario
Bergoglio, and to hear him take the name of Pope Francis. Although a
bit uncomfortable with the unbridled ultramontane enthusiasm of the
vast crowd in St Peter’s Square, I too came under Francis’s trinitarian
spell of humility, simplicity and spontaneity.
 On his awaited appearance on the loggia, my first impression was
that he looked like Pope Paul VI, then I felt he looked like Pius XI.
Certainly not a Pius XII, and not a showman like John Paul II or in the
diffident manner of Benedict XVI. The more permanent resemblance
was that of John Paul I, the smiling Pope.
 Growing up in the west of Scotland back in the 1950s as part of
 the Catholic Irish diaspora in which the Pope was our unquestioned
 spiritual leader, I remember watching the election on our recently
 acquired television set of Pope John XXIII in 1958, and that of Paul
 VI in 1963 with my late aunt Mary who was on holiday in her native
 Blantyre, having gone to Philadelphia in the depressed 1920s to earn
her way in life across the Atlantic as there was no prospect of employ
 ment in Scotland.
When John Paul I was elected in 1978, the year of the three popes,
I was in America on a travelling scholarship, and later that year when
Pope John Paul II took the Vatican by storm, I watched his bravura
balcony speech on a television set in the press room of the EU Council
of Ministers in Luxembourg.
 In 2005 when the white smoke ascended for Joseph Ratzinger, I
was involved journalistically; but my reporting was from Dublin for
 The Evening Herald and as a studio commentator with presenter Claire
 Byrne on TV3. At least I was getting closer to being a Vaticanologist, so
much so that last October I represented Doctrine & Life at the fiftieth
anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, which coincided with the
Synod of Bishops on New Evangelisation and the launch of the Year
of Faith.  1.

THE NAME FRANCIS

On my return to Dublin last autumn I was speaking to the art critic,
Kevin Ruttledge, and told him of my feeling that Pope Benedict XVI
had aged and would resign rather than die slowly and publicly as did
John Paul II. Little did I imagine, however, that five months later I
would return to St Peter’s Square following Benedict’s freely offered
resignation on February 11 to see the welcome given to the first Jesuit
Pope, the first Pope from Latin America – and, hopefully, potentially
the first truly collegial Bishop of Rome, instead of the Supreme Pontiff
 on the authoritarian model of my boyhood.
 Francis is a big name in the Cooney family. My late father was Francis
and my elder son was baptized Francis by the late Fr Austin Flannery,
O.P., and Monsignor John Greehy, the late parish priest of Terenure.
My aunt Mary was the housekeeper of the pastor of St Francis of Assisi
Church in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
 A ROOM WITH A VIEW

On a tight budget which was Franciscan in its economy I booked to
fly to Rome with Aer Lingus on Sunday March 10, returning Saturday
March 16. By Friday March 8, I was in a panic about accommodation
as hotels I knew were full.
 Then a touch of inspiration produced the solution. Bridget Mary
Meehan, who had spoken at the Humbert Summer School in County
1. John Cooney, ‘A Pilgrimage, a Council and a Synod’, Doctrine & Life, November  2012.
 Mayo in 2010,
emailed with the address in Rome of Janice Sevré-Duszynska, a minister of the
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, which counts approximately 150
 women priests in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Indeed, thanks to the
Italian police, I was able to identify Janice from the publicity she got on RTÉ television
and major world networks on Thursday March 7 when she was filmed being temporarily
detained by the Italian constabulary for demonstrating in St Peter’s Square vested
in her alb and green stole. For her trouble, Janice was released but the
police confiscated her banner proclaiming ‘Women Priests are here’.
I ascertained that Janice was staying at a Carmelite convent guest-
 house on the Via Paolo III, half an hour’s walk from the Vatican. My
email seeking accommodation for six nights was dispatched to Sister
Angela that Friday evening and to my relief by Saturday lunchtime I
had secured a room en-suite with a shower and breakfast for the bar
 gain price of 55 euro a night plus a 2 euro City of Rome tax. The downside
was that all guests had to be in the convent by 11 p.m. This convent
curfew would mean no late-night bar-stooling with other journalists
in the Piazza Navona.
Thus, on my arrival in Rome at mid-day on Sunday March 10, I was
taken straight by taxi to my humble quarters. I paid the frivolous fee
for six nights accommodation and was given the key to apartment 229.
Spartan it might be, but from my balcony when I opened the shutter,
I had a splendid view of the basilica dome, the magnificent, silver cupola
of St Peter’s. Suddenly, I was close to the action in the Apostolic
Palace, where history would unfold.
 
THE PRESS CORPS

As the sun was shining, I walked to the Vatican without my coat
and umbrella, forgetting that rain was forecast from late afternoon. I
headed to the Borgo Pio, where I was ushered to an outdoor table for
those wishing to eat al fresco. This was the same restaurant, Marcello,
where in 1971 during the Synod of Bishops which I was covering for
The Glasgow Herald, I was initiated into Vatican reportage by the Irish
press corps. I toasted my glass to the memories of Seán MacRéamoinn,
Joe Power, Kevin O’Kelly and Gary MacEoin, ecstatically in communion
with their eternal spirits in the kingdom of the saints, national union
of journalists branch.
By now, the temperature had fallen dramatically and rain was brood
 ing in the air. So I scampered to the nearby Piazza Risorgimento in
pulsating rain to meet Patsy McGarry of The Irish Times. Patsy had wisely
kept his coat on and was carrying an umbrella as his shield from the
torrential downfall. An easing of the rain led us to bolt to our separate
 destinations. To my dismay, it proved impossible to flag-down a taxi.
So I stated walking up the steep winding road bordering the walls of
 the Vatican in a merciless thunderstorm, taking a wrong turn and
 doubling the time it took to get to my casa.
After changing into dry clothing I wandered into a common room
to watch television which was already switched on by an absorbed
woman whom I recognized as Janice Sevré-Duszynska. We talked for
several hours and I took note of her planned activities. Next morning
at breakfast, I joined Janice who was in company with fellow guests
who included women canon lawyers, nuns and Catholic activists. A
yardstick for measuring the conclave proceedings was that the Church’s
foremost need was to elect a pope who was an administrator to clean
up the Curia; otherwise it was dead in the water.
 PREDICTIONS

> Monday March 11 was the last day of the pre-conclave discussions.
> Scholars and scribes flooded the Tiber with their prescriptions. I
> joined in the punditry on an RTÉ radio interview with Fergal Keane
> for Mary Wilson’s Drivetime. We did it on a street beside a restaurant
> on the Piazza Risorgimento. Asked what I wished from the conclave, I called
> for the next pope to confer an intellectual amnesty which would end the clamp
> -down on theologians and would invite all the cardinals to express their true
> thoughts rather than mouth the curial line on issues deemed to be
> closed including contraception, married male priests, women priests,
> gay marriage and same sex unions. This should be a prelude to a
> reopening of these issues in tandem with a curial reform that would
> send the old guard to Coventry. All cardinal electors should take as
> their bedtime reading Mary McAleese’s book, Quo Vadis? Collegiality in the
> Code of Canon Law.
> On the morning of Tuesday, March 12, after an early rise I was
> interviewed for the BBC World Ser vice by Nuala McGovern, an
> Irishwoman, at the Beeb’s stand on the Piazza Pio XII. Initially, I was
> booked to do one slot on the reaction of public opinion in Ireland to
> Pope Benedict’s resignation, my answer being that he had reduced
> the papacy to a job and that Ireland was on the left of the Vatican and
> wanted real change towards democratic decision-making. My stint
> expanded into three slots, the second of which was to identify three
> papal front-runners.
> I picked Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, whom I had met at a con
> ference of Christian Democrats in September 2010 in Cracow, Poland,
> where he spoke on ‘The Christians’ Contribution to the European
> Integration Process’. While he was affable and approachable, I said
> his speech was too philosophical and I predicted he would bore for
> the papacy.
> Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec was well placed as Prefect of the
> Congregation of Bishops, with an impressive presence at ceremonies
> as he demonstrated last June when he was papal legate at the World
> Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. I also contended that he took clerical
> paedophilia seriously, having held meetings in Ireland with victims
> of clerical sexual abuse which included spending an hour with Mark
> Vincent Healy, a victim of a Spiritan cleric and now a victims’ crusader.
> Thirdly, I named Cardinal Louis Antonio Taglé of Manila who impressed
> Fr Seán McDonagh recently in Dublin. But I felt he might be considered
> too young at 53. I ruled out an American pope.
> The third slot was to say when we would see white smoke. ‘On
> Wednesday or Thursday’, I forecast. That lunchtime the first ballot
> elicited black smoke and as I headed with the disappointed crowd
> towards the Borgo Santa Anna, I bumped into Mary McAleese and her
> husband Martin. This was fortuitous, as for some time I had been trying
> to track Mary down in Rome to arrange an interview for a biography
> of Cardinal Desmond Connell.
>
> AN ALTERNATIVE GATHERING
>
> That afternoon ahead of the cardinal electors entering the conclave, I taxied
> to the mountain ridge of the Piazza Garabaldi, close to the statue of the leader
> who in 1870 captured Rome and effectively ended centuries of the papacy’s
> temporal power. There Janice and women activists from the U.S., Canada, Australia
> and Europe raised pink smoke flares to promote their case for the ordination of women
> to the priesthood. This event highlighted the lack of women’s voices
> among the pope-makers and decision-makers in the Church. ‘We must
> as a matter of justice claim for women our equal rights to be ordained,’
> said Janice Sevré-Duszynska. ‘We do this by contra legem [against the
> law]. We are breaking an unjust law. Yet we remain within the Roman
> Catholic Church. The sacrament of Orders comes from our Baptism,
> not from our gender.’
> In pelting rain interspersed with thunder and lightning, Erin Salz
> Hanna, executive director of Women’s Ordination Conference, called
> for an official reopening of the discussion on women’s ordination. The
> people of the Church, she said, are desperate for a leader who will be
> open to dialogue and embrace the gifts of women’s wisdom in every
> level off church governance.
> Miriam Duignan, communications coordinator of Women Can Be
> Priests, said that the election of a new pope was a rare opportunity
> for the Church to reconsider its systems of governance, to introduce a
> more democratic system of electing leaders and to reassess the leaders’
> accountability to the faithful.
> Just five hours before Cardinal Bergolio was elected pontiff in the
> Sistine Chapel on Wednesday March 13, I was present in a downtown
> schoolroom for immigrants in the Via Ostiense where Janice Sevré-
> Duszynska intoned: ‘The Vatican gives flowers to women, but what
> women really want is full equality. Women priests are here!’ Janice’s
> ordination in 2008 was attended by Fr Roy Bourgeois who gave her a
> blessing, which led to his excommunication by the Congregation for
> the Doctrine of the Faith and his removal from the Mayknoll Order. 2
> In a statement of support for Fr Bourgeois issued in December
> 2012, the Association of Catholic Priests (Ireland) condemned this
> type of action as ‘unjust, and ultimately counter-productive’ and it
> 2. Roy Bourgeois, M.M., My Journey from Silence to Solidarity, Edited by Margaret
> Knape, fxBear, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 2012.
> called on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ‘to restore
> Fr Bourgeois to the full exercise of his ministry and to allow for open
> and honest discussion on issues that are of crucial importance for the
> future of the Church.’
>
> A POPE FOR THE POOR
>
> It was on Tuesday evening that Cardinal Bergoglio emerged as Pope
> Francis. Among his many homely gestures and bons mots my favourite
> is: ‘The Church is not just another human organisation. We can walk
> as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not profess
> Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but
> not the Church, the Bride of the Lord’.
> On a sunny Thursday morning I participated at Cardinal Seán
> Brady’s press conference at the Pontifical Irish College, where it
> emerged that the Primate of All Ireland had made a prophetic intervention
> during the pre-conclave meetings by suggesting that the new pope should be
> marked by a love of the poor. Speaking, too, about his conversation with Pope
> Francis after his election, he said he will be inviting him to Ireland when an
> appropriate occasion arises.
> At his first press conference, the Pope said he was inspired to take
> the name because Francis was ‘a man of the poor’, a ‘man of peace’
> and a man who ‘loved and cared for creation.’
> Afterwards I went to lunch with Cardinal Brady’s spokesman, Martin Long, and
> Michael Kelly, the editor of the Irish Catholic, at which we discussed what kind of pope
> Francis would be, with me stressing he be collegial and bring an end to the People of God’s
> trek in the wilderness. While we shared a mood of optimism, Martin quipped that
> he had heard my interview with Fergal Keane but did not agree with
> one word I had said!
>
> WILL WE HAVE A VATICAN III ?
>
> On a sunny Saturday March 16 at the end of my six days amongst
> women, to borrow from the title of a John McGahern novel, as the Aer
> Lingus plane crossed the Alps, I thought of Lord Acton’s dictum that
> ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’ and hoped that under Francis that
> kind of absolutism will be corrected. It was clear to me from Cardinal
> Brady’s enthusiasm that Bergoglio’s election gave him a landslide
> mandate to reform the Curia. It remains to be seen if he will translate
> his charisma into effective action and pick a team who will implement
> changes, a team which might find places for the respective talents of
> Cardinal Brady and the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin.
> However, on account of the Argentine Pope’s theological conservatism, I expect
> that there will be many disappointments for advocates of sweeping change. To avoid
> this, I would hope that Pope Francis summons a Third Vatican Council whose composition
> would extend to representatives of the clergy and laity as well as the world’s bishops. Its
> aim would be to complete the unfinished business of Vatican II. Indeed,
> perhaps the next time I travel to Rome those awesome ultramontane
> peaks will look less imperial and more collegial."
>
> (John Cooney, a historian, is also a journalist specialising in religious
> affairs.)

The Resurrection Community in Cincinnati Celebrates Easter Liturgy on April 10, 2013

Donna Rougeux, Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Rosemarie Smead,
 Roman Catholic Women Priests/ARCWP,
www.arcwp.org
 

On Wed. April 10, 2013, Resurrection Community in Cincinnati ( approximately 75-100} Catholics meet monthly)celebrated an Easter Liturgy.
Above are 2 Roman Catholic Women Priests, Donna Rougeux and Janice Sevre-Duszynska
and Deacon Rosemarie Smead who will be ordained a priest in Louisville on April 27, 2013.
This community will celebrate their 3rd year anniversary next month.

Historic First Ordination in Louisville as Dr. Rosemarie Smead will be ordained a Roman Catholic Woman Priest

 

 Release date: April 9, 2013

 

Contact:  Janice Sevre-Duszynska, D.Min. (media) 859-684-4247, rhythmsofthedance@gmail.com

 

Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan, 703-505-0004, sofiabmm@aol.com

 

Dr. Rosemarie Smead, 502-663-1237, shanti.rosemarie@gmail.com

 

See: http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

 

http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/

 

On Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 1p.m. Dr. Rosemarie Smead of Bedford, Kentucky will be ordained a priest in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. The presiding bishop will be Bridget Mary Meehan of Falls Church, Virginia and Sarasota, Florida. The ceremony will take place at St. Andrew’s Church of Christ, 2608 Browns Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40220.

 

All are welcome.

 

Media are invited to a pre-ordination conference on Saturday, April 27, at 11:30 a.m. at the church with the candidate and Bridget Mary Meehan. Call Janice (859-684-4247) to schedule an interview.  Respectful filming/photo-taking during the ceremony is acceptable.

 

The ordinand is theologically prepared and has many years of experience in ministry.

 

Dr. Rosemarie Smead  began her spiritual journey as a Discalced Carmelite nun. She later earned a BA in Theology from Marquette University, a Masters in Psychometrics, and a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology.  She worked for many years with delinquent teens and others in need of counseling. Presently, she leads a local worship community and also works as a couples and family therapist. The author of six books and videos on working with youth, Dr. Smead is retired from a teaching career of 26 years at Indiana University where she was honored for her “Distinguished Teaching and Service”.

 

“I want to bring inclusive communities to the Louisville area where all are welcome with a special outreach to young people to develop their full potential,” she said.

 

The church is at a crossroads with a new pope and women priests. This paradigm represents a holy shakeup and is pregnant with potential for renewal and change. Pope Francis’s simplicity and solidarity with the poor and marginalized is the Good News that Catholics have been waiting for. Now is the time to embrace women.

 

Since two-thirds of the world’s poor are women, justice and equality must be top priorities for our church. Our world and church can no longer function without the voices of women’s lived experience. Women priests are visible reminders that all women are images of God.

 

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests calls on Francis to embrace the full equality of women, including women priests. Women priests are now on the ground, living and serving in inclusive communities and welcoming all to receive the sacraments. On March 13, five hours before the new pope was elected, a woman priest celebrated Mass in Rome.

 

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/embrace-women-s-gifts-protesters-say

 

Women priests are answering the call and our movement is growing.  According to a recent CBS Gallup Poll, over 70% of Catholics in the U.S. support women priests. There is no shortage of vocations as women are now saying “Yes” to this call and are being ordained. Now we have the first historic ordination in Louisville as Dr. Rosemarie Smead is ordained. In May our first woman priest will be ordained in Cincinnati.

"Roman Adventures" The Inside Story of Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Woman Priest's Arrival at St. Peter's/Vatican-Close Encounter with Police!

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP, AP Photo

 

Day 1: (March 7) Upon Arrival

I moved quickly after getting through customs. A new pope would soonbe elected in an unjust and patriarchal manner, not by the people of God. Now was the time for women’s voices to be heard and our banner for women priests displayed. Now was the time for a woman priest to lead a Eucharist celebration with the people of God.  Our women priest community and supporters sent me to Rome.

 

I headed toward the baggage area with my computer bag and carry-on. As per Bridget Mary’s cautionary suggestion, which I heeded, they were filled with my old, “witnessing-to-the-bishops” alb, red cincture, pottery paten and chalice, purificator. stole and 70 copies of our “Liturgy to Celebrate Justice, Partnership and Equality for Women in Church and Society.”  If my luggage didn’t show up, I was still prepared to celebrate Mass.

 

To save time and effort, Donna had suggested that I take a taxi and not the train into the city. There were media waiting for a woman priest. I yanked my luggage from the conveyor belt and asked a police officer where I could catch a taxi. Seconds later, Giuseppe introduced himself and led the way to his car. I gave him the address of the convent guesthouse: S. Emilia de Vialar. Along the way, I noticed the cloud coverage yet also here and there a peek-a-boo sun. “Rain and cold for the next week,” he said, as he negotiated our way through the tight and boisterous Italian streets.

 

He dropped me off outside the enclosure and I arranged for him to pick me up when I would depart. When I rang the bell, the door opened into a realm as picturesque as a fairy tale, filled with huge ancient trees, chirping birds, flower gardens, a stately guesthouse and to the left, a spectacular view of the Eternal City, including the silver dome of St. Peter’s. After two trips up two flights of stairs, an English-speaking sister took my rent and explained the rules. I nodded as we made our way to the elevator and second floor. As we walked toward the room I basked in the spaciousness of the cathedral-like ceilings and the antique

cabinets and sculptures which lined the hall.

 

Once inside my room, I knew I had to hurry. I opened my carry-ons and piece of luggage and removed their contents. Then I grabbed shampoo, soap, washcloth to shower and wash my hair. Outside the bathroom, I set my hair in old-fashioned rollers and dressed in the undergarments to wear my homemade alb. In a plastic bag I would carry my stole, umbrella and our new banner: WOMEN PRIESTS ARE HERE. After I dried my hair, combed it out, prepared myself to leave, I put on the green rain and shine coat from my sister which she suggested I wear as it covered most of my alb. Before doing so, I used the red cincture from my old “bishops” alb to hold up this one, which was my ordination alb. I called the media to let them know I was on my way. Inside the office, I dropped off my key and the sisters told me that I should leave my passport in the room or it could be stolen.  Although I had a belt around my waist under my alb, I returned my passport to the room…as I tried to honor their wisdom.

 

It was raining outside as I made a right turn and followed the wall of St.  Peter’s,i-phone in hand, communicating with the press who I needed to find. I did not go in direct proximity of St. Peter’s where Roy and Erin and Miriam had been arrested in October 2011. I saw the Italian police gathered there. Instead I skirted around here and there, attempting to avoid them. Finally, I reached my destination and the AP folks were there to greet me. They whisked me up to a media loft, asked me many questions, and took photos. I must admit I felt dizzy on this soap box they had me stand on with the Vatican in the background.  I had eaten very little and had very little rest. Nevertheless, it all worked out. After the photo shoot, we walked toward the columns of St. Peter’s with my banner:  WOMEN PRIESTS ARE HERE.  I told them it was not my intention to be arrested and I would not go into St. Peter’s Square (I would be prevented from doing so as I had been dressed as a priest in November 2011 with Roy and Erin. The Vatican did not want to touch me representing women priests. Furthermore, a main focus of my Roman witness was to celebrate an inclusive Eucharist).

 

I walked with the AP folks down to the left column in my priestly garb.

Folks saw me, including a group being led by a male priest who looked at me with disdain. The press snapped pictures. In front of St. Peter’s Square I saw a woman talking to the Italian police. Perhaps she had seen my alb from beneath my sister’s rain’n’shine coat, I thought.

 

Soon an older Italian policeman walked toward me.

“Prove that you are a woman priest,” he demanded. “What gives  you the right to wear these vestments?”

I answered him. “I have been celebrating Eucharist for almost five years with inclusive communities in Cincinnati, and Lexington, with Eucharists inNew Orleans . Ft. Benning and other places. Our women priests community is growing.”

 

He was a man around my age (early 60s), dressed in his police uniform.

He immediately got on the phone with his superior. Meanwhile, as I had brought along our documentary, “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican,” people were gathering around. A Spanish radio journalist asked if he could interview me. I was happy to agree. Later, I gave him the DVD and a copy of Roy’s booklet and our ARCWP brochure

 

Other folks snapped photos and I talked with them about our movement for Gospel equality for women in our Church. They were on board. A Spanish radio reporter asked if he could interview me . I said, “yes.” Right there he happily asked me questions about our movement. After, I gave him a copy of the “Pink Smoke” dvd  which was in Spanish, too, Roy’s booklet and our ARCWP brochure as well as my card. Weeks later I saw that his interview had played on Spanish radio.

 

Then the Roman policeman returned with his plainclothes policeman who knew more English than he did. I was to produce my passport.

Did I have one?

 

“Of course, I do. The sisters insisted that I keep it at the convent.”

 

“Where are you staying?” the policeman asked. I reached into by bag and gave him the address of our S. Emilia de Vialar convent guesthouse.

 

Now, I must stay that as an activist in the peace movement as well as for women priests, I thought quickly of my options. What is best here? Should I do a sit-in as I’ve done before? Maybe I could go limp and refuse to go into the police squad.

All of these questions presented themselves to me. However, I thought, let them take me and reveal the shallowness of their faith, behavior and trust in the Spirit. So, I got into the squad car not knowing where they would take me.

 

As it turned out, they drove to the convent, S. Emilia Vialar. In front of the steps, I told the older Italian officer, “I want you to stay here. I’ll go inside and get my passport. I don’t want you upsetting the sisters. This is where I’m staying. I’ll go inside and bring back my passport. I don’t want to be walking through the streets of Rome looking for another place to stay.”

 

He acquiesced and I went inside.

 

Of course, there were guests at the convent-guesthouse who were peaking outside at the ruckus. Inside my room, I grabbed my passport,

carefully moved down the steps and gave the document to the Italian police officer. Then he demanded, “Prove you’re a priest!”

I looked into his eyes which had softness at their base but were following orders.

 

“Here’s my card,” I answered, as I handed him the simple white and black card with the angel and her trumpet announcing my long-awaited priesthood. Then I gave him our ARCWP brochure. He skimmed over it quickly and reported back to his source on the phone.

 

“Are you going to be here for a month?” he asked. “How many other women priests will be joining you?” 

 

I answered him. “I’m the only woman priest here and I’ll be staying a week.” It appeared a great relief to his soul as he communicated my message to the Captain by phone.

 

When I produced my passport, he was on the phone again with a Captain, going over my passport, etc.

 

I saw that his helper, who was dressed in plain clothes and who could speak English, was smoking a cigarette. We shot the breeze and he told me he had no objections to women priests. It was just two people of God trying to communicate and find common ground. I liked him. Finally, when the older officer got the “okay” from his superior, I thanked him for being kind to me, shook his hand, and gently kissed him on the cheek. He dropped all pretenses and was his natural and God-given kind and gentle self. We shook hands. I thanked the younger officer who spoke English and they drove away.

 

I returned to the convent and was not thrown out even though there were plenty of windows open while the squad car was outside. I spent my time organizing the contents of my luggage, calling Bridget Mary and quietly, reflectively praying.

 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Inclusive Community with RCWP Pastor Ree Hudson

Liturgy in Sedona, AZ, Sunday, naming the Inclusive Catholic Community pastored by RCWP Ree Hudson, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
The liturgy is available for your use at
http://www.sacredtorch.com/index.php/small-faith-groups/.

"Pope Francis Gets His Oxygen from Slums"/NCR article

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-gets-his-oxygen-slums

Fr. Gabriele, Vatican Chief Exorcist, States that He Expels 300 Demons a Year from the Vatican- No Kidding!/ Secrets of the Vatican Exposes!

".... Regular exorcise!
Baudelaire once said that "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist." But in modern-day Vatican City, the devil is considered alive and well. The late Pope John Paul II personally performed three exorcisms during his reign, and Pope Benedict XVI expanded the ranks of Catholic-sponsored exorcists throughout the world. In fact, Father Gabriele Amorth, the Church's chief exorcist, claims to expel more than 300 demons a year from the confines of his Vatican office, and there are some 350 exorcists operating on behalf of the Catholic Church in Italy alone. Amorth also teaches bishops how to tell the difference between satanic possession and psychiatric illness, noting that those who suffer from the former seem to be particularly repulsed by the sight of holy water and the cross."
http://theweek.com/article/index/241233/10-secrets-of-the-vatican-exposed

"Embrace Women's Gifts ..." by John Cooney/ Article in NCR/ Roman Catholic Woman Priest Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Presided at Mass on Day of Pope Francis' Election

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/embrace-women-s-gifts-protesters-say



Kate Conmy,WOC, Miriam Duignan,WCBP, Erin Hanna WOC,
 Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP
Photos Courtesy of Rebecca Parrish, Interchange Productions



Erin Hanna WOC and Janice Sevre Duszynska, ARCWP celebrate liturgy with
community in Rome.
Photos by Rebecca Parrish, Interchange Productions

"As observers throughout the church wait to see how Pope Francis will handle issues of substance, some are looking particularly at what openness he’ll show to the participation of women in church leadership.

Yes, even for women as deacons and priests.

left to right, Miriam Duignan, Erin Hanna and Janice Sevre-Duszynska, and justice activists celebrate liturgy
Photos courtesy of Rebecca Parrish, Interchange Productions

Just five hours before Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s election to the papacy March 13, women from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe gathered in a downtown Roman schoolroom for the celebration of Mass by the Rev. Janice Sevre-Duszynska, an ordained minister of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.

A day earlier, dozens of women had raised flares of pink smoke at a piazza about a 10-minute drive away from the Vatican to promote their case for the ordination of women to the priesthood.

Both demonstrations were small in numbers compared to the hundreds of thousands who thronged St. Peter’s Square to welcome the newly elected 76-year-old Francis. But the demonstrations drew considerable media attention from a number of international news agencies.

Sevre-Duszynska’s Mass was held at the headquarters of the Comunità Cristiana di Base di San Paolo, a spartan facility that has long been the home of a Roman Christian base community first housed at the ornate Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The liturgy focused on gender justice in the Catholic church with a theme of “Let Justice Rise Up.”

Using a school desk as an altar, Sevre-Duszynska gave voice to her belief that women will be given official sanction to preside at altars worldwide, including those at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

“The Vatican gives flowers to women, but what women really want is full equality,” Sevre-Duszynska said, referring to Vatican officials giving flowers to women staff members on March 8, International Women’s Day.

“Women priests are here,” she said, presiding in a white chasuble and multicolored stole.

“Are the men of the Vatican so un-free that they choose to ignore the movement of the spirit of the people of God?” she asked. “How can the church speak about justice when the hierarchy does not practice what it preaches?

“We say to our brothers, ‘Open not only the windows … as in Vatican II, open the doors of the conclave. Let the people of God in.’ ”

The March 12 vigil at Rome’s Piazza Garibaldi was held in pelting rain interspersed with thunder and lightning. Between the rain showers, the women lit large road flares and held them aloft, the color of the emission a light pink instead of the normal red.



Miriam Duignan, Therese Koturbush, Erin Hanna, Marilyn Collins, Katy Conmy,
Janice Sevre-Duszynska

Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, a U.S.-based organization that has been working for the ordination of women since 1975, said she would like an official reopening of the discussion on women’s ordination.

“During his papacy, Pope Benedict [XVI] used his power to take significant steps backward for women,” Saiz Hanna said. “The current old boys’ club has left our church reeling from scandal, abuse, sexism and oppression. The newly elected pope will have a profound opportunity to offer healing to our broken church.”