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Saturday, September 6, 2014

Vatican Cardinal Mueller claims he is not a misogynist, but the excommunication of women priests is proof that he is!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/vatican-nuns_n_5754746.html
If Cardinal Mueller wants to turn away from the Vatican's misogyny, (he recently stated that "we don't  want to gobble up a woman a day!" he could begin by lifting the excommunication against women priest and open a dialogue empowering women as equals in our church!
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org



Irish Mystical Journey: Rock of Cashel in Tipperary, Ireland

Did you know that an image of St. Brigit of Kildare stands beside the apostles on an altar at this ancient heritage site at the Rock of Cashel? Did you know that there is an sheel-na-gig, an ancient fertility figure on the outside wall of the Rock of Cashel? It is more evidence of the influence of and partnership of women in early Celtic Christian history.

Rock of Cashel in Tipperary, Ireland






St. Brigit of Kildare stands beside apostles around altar at Rock of Cashel



Sheel-na-gig, ancient image of goddess of fertility on side wall
of Rock of Cashel







 

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

ARCWP Celebrate God's Love in Ministry Encounters, Summer 2014


Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests- Some of our 
Ministry Encounters in  Summer 2014 




Ann Harrington ARCWP officiates at wedding of Sean, her son and
Liz, her daughter-in-law
ARCWP Priest Rosemarie Smead right, Pat and Buddy Steiner
 pray and bless one another
Martha Soto, ARCWP Priest from Colombia visits USA,
presents Bridget Mary with beautiful stole of Mary, Mother of Jesus
 made by women in Latin America
 


Lee and Carol Ann Breyer preside at 
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy
Sept. 2014

Clare Julian ARCWP Deacon, center with women from Jewish and Muslim faiths co-leads Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Peace in Utah


Mary Weber , ARCWP Priest with husband Gary Meister at 
Demonstration for Marriage Equality in Indiana
 Janice Sevre-Duszynska,ARCWP on a delegation  
in Montevideo, Uruguay in August 2014 
marching in solidarity with the people of Palestine

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

One Woman’s Lessons From Living on the Street and Other NPR Links and Reflections on Homeless Women by Judy Lee, RCWP

http://judyabl.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/one-womans-lessons-from-living-on-the-street-and-other-npr-links-and-reflections-on-homeless-women/

In the NPR Article below by Gabrielle Emanuel we learn about how very difficult it is to be a homeless woman living on the streets. This and the links throughout the article are important to reflect on as we consider how we can be there for homeless women, men, youth and families.  In my experience in working with homeless women since 1982 in three cities, reaching out does matter  and more often than not makes a big difference. It is when we turn away and say “they want to live this way” that the tragedy of homelessness continues. This link was sent to me by Rev.Debbie Little, founder of Ecclesia Street Ministries and mentor to many street ministers. Ecclesia  and Street Ministries make a difference and we at Good Shepherd Ministries of Southwest Florida are honored to be associated with them. You know from former blogs that we were able to house five women who have been homeless this summer. This was a major blessing and the culmination of lots of groundwork, relationship building and prayer. Now some of these women are ministering to others who face homelessness and that is the greatest blessing.  100_4122 This is Rose getting the key to her new apartment. It does help to be able to intervene before chronic homelessness spans years as in the NPR article.

But even when women experience chronic homelessness, loving, accepting, patient relationships and skills in leaving no stone leading to health and housing unturned pays off. IMG_0083

On the right is Lauretta who had been chronically homeless over many years,disruptive and not welcome in any church or service agency in Fort Myers until she responded to the love and acceptance of our Good Shepherd ministry. Her story under her “pen name” Marietta for she wrote a part of the story herself is in my bookCome By Here: Church with the Poor, 2010,Publish America now America Star Books.com.  But the best part of the story is that it continues to be a story of a woman who is housed since 2009, happy and reaching out to family and others who are homeless to offer hope and help.  Today we had our Tuesday Ministry and Lauretta shared with us how she is helping a relative who has cancer and is homeless with a child. She knew that we would help her to help this woman.  One of the women,Diane, whom we housed this summer was  brought to us by Lauretta who found her  in the same park where we offered meals on Friday nights in 2007-2009 and where we met Lauretta. We also celebrated her birthday today, along with Betty’s and Louie’s both of whom we housed this summer. What a joyful celebration we had! But at the same time we had two men with us who were still homeless and whom we promised to continue to help toward housing. Yet they are hopeful because they know that if Lauretta and Louie who were chronically homeless can be housed, they can too.  For us, it is not fast enough and the road is hard for all who live outside, but when we walk it together as a church community, with Jesus who brought good news to the poor and asked us to follow, it is easier.   

This is Daine on the left and her new friend and neighbor, Bev in front of Diane’s door. Lauretta, once chronically homeless, was the one who brought Diane to us . Diane loves her new home. We pray for outreach to “Susan” and to all who are homeless and for the multiplication of housing resources. No One should have to live outside.100_4017

 

One Woman’s Lessons From Living On The Street

August 30, 2014 5:19 PM ET
Susan sits on a park bench in Washington, D.C. She has struggled with homelessness for nearly two decades.
Susan sits on a park bench in Washington, D.C. She has struggled with homelessness for nearly two decades.
Gabrielle Emanuel/NPR
The grass is fraying around the edges in Washington, D.C.’s Franklin Square Park, but the trees are more important. They offer much-appreciated shade to the homeless people who sit below.
Many of the park benches are occupied by homeless men — but there are a few women too. Susan, sitting amid her bags in the park’s northwest corner, is one of them. She’s been on and off the streets of Washington since 1995 and asked that her last name not be used because she was in an abusive relationship and doesn’t want her whereabouts known.
Susan says life on the streets is a constant battle for all homeless people, but for women it’s particularly hard. On top of the everyday challenges of finding food and a safe place to sleep, she says, women face the threat of sexual violence and cruelty.
In nearly two decades on the streets, Susan, with graying hair and bright eyes, has learned some tough lessons.
Lesson One: Don’t Look Like A Woman
“It’s not easy to be a woman on the streets, OK?” Susan says. “We tend to hide our features. In other words, we will wear more than one sweatshirt to look more like a man than a woman.”
When darkness falls, Susan pulls out her dark and bulky clothes.
A slight Boston accent betrays her childhood origins, and it’s particularly strong when she speaks of her children and grandchildren. But Susan says those relationships are complicated.
Susan is what experts call a rough sleeper; it’s a small and hard-core subset of the homeless population. Research suggests this group often struggles with mental health issues and substance abuse, but their defining feature is that they choose not to go into shelters.
Susan sometimes stays in shelters but she doesn’t like them. There is no place for her bags and she finds them rigid, with strict curfews and rules.
She says she prefers the freedom of the outdoors, where “I can go and I can come.”
After decades as a rough sleeper coming and going, Susan’s confident about her strategies.
Lesson Two: ‘Act Crazy’
“On the street we tend to carry a real nasty personality,” Susan says. “If you act crazy, they’ll leave you alone.”
That means screaming, cursing and acting wild.
She says the reaction she’s looking for is, ” ‘Oh, she’s crazy, leave her alone. We don’t want to be bothered with her.’ And walk away. OK? You can only act kind and sweet to so many people.”
Dr. Jim O’Connell, president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and a physician who has been caring for the homeless population for almost three decades, confirms that Susan’s hard-learned lessons hold up more broadly.
O’Connell says that on the streets of Boston, homeless men outnumber women 3 to 1. And those women are “among the most vulnerable” members of the homeless population. Thus, he says, disguising yourself as a man can be a good strategy.
“Many of the women like to get clothes that are much bigger than usual,” O’Connell says. “They like to get clothes that have dark colors and no colors. They like to dress essentially as the men on the street would dress.”
But O’Connell points out that while most female rough sleepers “masculinize” themselves, “they will be quick to say that’s not who they are or how they feel. It’s a protective mechanism.”
How about what Susan calls acting crazy?
“It’s a strategy we have seen many, many times,” O’Connell says. “We will frequently see, as anyone goes near any of those women, they will start screaming at the top of their lungs.”
Both strategies, O’Connell says, are safety strategies.
“Where they are probably going to be the victim of some kind of violence, they don’t want it to be sexual violence,” he says.
Lesson Three: Pick Your Spot Carefully
For a rough sleeper, much of the day can be spent planning where to sleep.
One of Susan’s caseworkers, Paula Dyan, works the night shift for the Salvation Army. She says “the normal standard operating procedure [is] you don’t bed down until 10 p.m., up by 5 a.m.”
The most important factor, Dyan says, is to avoid anyone who is “really psychotic or really drunk.”
Susan explains that the worry is they’ll “try to do something to a female.”
So, Susan spends time planning in the hopes of ensuring safety. “You walk around and you scope the area out, OK? To find out what’s going on.”
She checks out who is in the area, but she also takes a look at the nearby buildings.
That way when dusk starts to wipe away the trees’ shadows, Susan knows where to go. She gravitates toward big public buildings. They represent one thing to her: safety.
“[If] somebody [is] chasing me and trying to cause me problem, then I look at the closest place that I can go and what its affiliation is — the United States Capitol, the White House, the Senate Buildings, an embassy,” Susan says.
Crossing onto their property is like calling 911, for someone who doesn’t have a cellphone.
Lesson Four: Partner With A Man
More than dressing like a man or seeing the protection of public buildings, Susan says she’s learned the importance of being associated with a man — ideally he’s ex-military, trained in survival.
“If you befriend a veteran, then you won’t die on the street,” Susan says, “because they will treat you as part of their unit and part of their family. OK? You just have to learn their little ticks, their little moments when — they kinda just have their moments.”
Jim O’Connell, the expert on homelessness, has seen this dynamic many times.
“The underbelly of that protection, though, is it’s frequently someone who has a streak of violence,” he says.
This can be physical and sexual. “And then the issue of domestic violence becomes a really paramount issue,” O’Connell explains.
He says it’s nearly impossible to pull homeless women away from abusive relationships. The women prefer the predictability of one man’s violence to the unpredictability of street violence.
Susan says protection and the never-ending need for money require sacrifices. In her experience, “the main thing is sexual favors.”
And over the years she’s had to make some tough choices. But she is adamant that “everybody walking down the street is not a prostitute.”
As Susan gathers her things and prepares to head into the night’s darkness, she says, “the men have it a little easier most of the time.”
She says decades of rough sleeping have taught her that women on the streets can be as tough as men — but they have to be smarter.

Homily at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, 23rd Sunday of Ordination, Sept. 7, 2014 by Rev. Beverly Bingle, RCWP


Today’s Gospel is full of rules and lessons
that don’t seem connected
to the messages of Ezekiel and Paul,
and the reason may be that,
according to the scholars of the Jesus Seminar,
these words that Matthew puts in Jesus’ mouth
are not Jesus’ words.
Instead, the rules about how to handle wrongdoing
reflect the attempts of the early Christian community
to deal with problems among their own members.
On top of that, shunning Gentiles and tax collectors
goes against Jesus’ practice of welcoming them,
as well as others who were considered outsiders in his culture.
Also in today’s Gospel, Matthew makes an attempt
to solidify Peter’s leadership position
by having Jesus repeat the saying about binding and loosing
from two chapters earlier.
Finally, the statement about “two or three gathered in my name”
was a standard feature of Jewish piety,
part of the common lore and not original with Jesus.
__________________________________________
With all of Jesus’ words in this Gospel passage relating
to the specific needs of the community of Matthew
a half century after Jesus,
how are we to understand it?
The key, I think, is in one thing that we know Jesus stood for: love.
Even though we know this passage does not come from Jesus,
we can take from it the need to find ways to do justice,
to make peace,
and to love our family, friends, neighbors… and enemies.
This passage reflects
the principles of Catholic Social Teaching
known as “solidarity” and “subsidiarity,”
which respect personal dignity
by recognizing the human person
as one who is always capable of giving something to others.
Subsidiarity requires that issues be handled
at the lowest level that will be effective.
Matthew’s community seems to be applying that principle,
and it’s generally a good one.
Yet we know today
that there are times when it does not work
to talk with the person who has done the wrong,
and clergy sex abuse is an obvious example.
Had Matthew’s community been confronted with that horrific issue,
the Gospel might have guided the Christian community
toward a different, perhaps less hierarchical, structure.
______________________________________
Our first reading takes place on the lowest level of subsidiarity:
the individual person, the “mere mortal.”
It gives a warning to those of us
who shy away from our call to be prophets.
Ezekiel tells us that, if we don’t speak out about injustice,
we are the ones who will suffer.
I’ve been on both ends of that stick.
I’ve been the one who should have been called to task
for what I was doing or not doing,
and I’ve been the one who kept silent,
telling myself that it was none of my business,
or that my objection wouldn’t make any difference.
One of the great blessings of getting older, I’ve discovered,
is the ability to look back and see what I should have done
and then resolve to do the right thing in the future.
__________________________________
Many times over the years I heard racist and sexist jokes,
and I would sit quietly and say nothing.
It’s taken me a long time to develop the immediate response
that’s only now becoming a habit:
to close my eyes and shake my head sadly,
and say, I don’t find that funny at all.
When I was in college in the 60s,
I did what a great number of students did:
I marched, and protested, and sat in.
Bit by the political bug, I began volunteering in political campaigns.
Young and naïve, I followed the directions of the campaign staffers
and did some of those pre-Watergate dirty tricks.
My conscience took four or five years to kick in,
so that by the time I was 25 or so
I finally began to connect what I was doing
with what I had been taught through family and faith.
Then, for several years
I allowed myself to be a victim of wage theft,
signing a blank time sheet for 24 hours a week
when I was actually working 60 or 70.
I didn’t speak up because I thought I was doing meaningful work
and was afraid I’d lose the job if I said anything.
Lilly Ledbetter I wasn’t.
Ezekiel was right: I suffered for it then,
and I continue to suffer for it
through my poverty-level retirement income.
__________________________________________
Like Jesus, Paul tells us outright what’s needed: love.
Love never does wrongs to anyone,
never hurts a neighbor, he writes.
And who is our neighbor?
• Politicians we disagree with, of course.
• Children crossing our border to escape death threats.
• Trafficked youngsters picking the beans to make the chocolate we buy.
• Miners inhaling coal dust so we can waste electricity.
• Refugees everywhere fleeing the disasters caused by our mindless
destruction of the ecosystems of our planet.
• The grouchy neighbor on the other side of the fence.
• The child who abuses alcohol.
Neighbors all.
__________________________________________
Learning how to live, how to love, and how to forgive
is a lifelong task.
Before we can speak out for justice,
before we can speak truth to power,
before we can recognize our neighbor,
before we can love one another,
we need to pray….
or meditate, or reflect, or be mindful.
Whatever we call it, Jesus gave us the example.
The Gospels show him praying 37 times,
often going off by himself.
We need to follow him.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
at 3535 Executive Parkway (Unity of Toledo)
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
419-727-1774

Homily by Ann Harrington, ARCWP for Wedding of Liz and Sean

Sean-Liz Wedding Homily
Like Liz and Sean this is my first wedding too.  (Pause)

Life is wrapped in mystery and I wonder how it is that, Sean and  Liz, born and raised 800 miles apart, found one another?  I don't know how that happened, but I do know, we your parents are very happy that you did. 

            I have just spent two years studying the sacraments and I am here to tell you this is a day of tremendous sacramentality.  My favorite definition of sacrament is, "Door to the Sacred".  The Sacred is here with us now.  How do I know this?  Because we were made for love and we are gathered to celebrate this love dimension of life, called marriage.  In a time in history when most marriages fail one might see this as foolishness and it is.  Who in their right mind would promise to be true to a one and only lover?  But we are not in our "right' minds as the world defines right mind.  We are fools, fools to believe that love is the greatest meaning of life, love that means we lay down our life for the good of the other.  Marriage is a great vehicle for learning that one.   We all of us know that life requires us to sometimes put other people's needs ahead of our own.  I am sure Liz and Sean had a great deal of practice with that as Outward Bound counselors.  But this is a new and deeper experience of that call and all of us here wish you well for this next phase of your life's journey.  Look around at all these loving faces. Nancy and Rick how long have you been married?  Mark, how long have we been married?  See Liz and Sean, longevity for marriage is in your DNA.

 We are here because we need you and you need us.  One of the great gifts of the Christian religious tradition is the understanding that "God is with us" and we experience that God in community.  Liz and Sean, we are delighted to be with you here today in this time of light and joy.  By being here we promise to also be with you when the journey gets hard.  When it seems that you've come to the end of your rope, call one of us.  We will be with you and encourage you and be a shoulder to lean on.  Some how that works miracles. 

          When someone asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is, he said love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.  I also imagine Jesus giving the following advice.  Sometimes love means you have to tell the person you love they are acting like an ass.  Sometimes it means you have to tell them to take better care of themselves, sometimes it means telling them they are not treating you the way you deserve, sometimes it means telling them they are shimmering with the light and life of God.  Love unfolds daily in what we think, say and do.   So, Liz and Sean, here is some advice:

Give life to your love,
Through small acts of kindness and caring.

Communicate clearly.
Learn how to tell one another what is on your minds.

Listen to each other.
Truly hear what your partner has to say.

Have a shared mission.
Know what you want your marriage to be.

Follow dreams together.
Decide on worthy goals that you can pursue together.

Support each other's dreams.
Be the wind beneath one another's wings.

Be there in tough times.
Discover how to be strong for each other in sorrow and disappointment.

Cherish what you have.
Always treasure your relationship and the one you love

Hold on to each other.
Remember how valuable it is to love and be loved

Make this marriage be the foundation of your lives.
Strive to make it be the home you return to,
and the safe haven that the outside world cannot disturb.


-Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

New Documentary: "God's Daughters"

There is a new documentary out: GOD's DAUGHTERS, which features Diane Whalen and Kathleen Bellefeuille Rice, both of Olympia, WA.  The documentary follows both of them in their daily ministry.  

You can download it or buy the dvd through the links below:


Purchase DVD and watch Trailer:  www.godsdaughtersfilm.com



-- 

Women Priests on Agenda of Humbert International Summer School on Sunday, September 7th in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

By Gregory Dillon

The ordination of women may not be on the agenda for either Pope Francis or the October Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in Rome, but the need for women clergy in a reformed Catholic Church will be strongly supported at an international forum being held this week in the West of Ireland market town of Ballina, in County Mayo.
Allowing women to be ordained in a Church where the traditional male, celibate authoritarian priesthood is literally dying out as elderly male clerics depart to their eternal reward, will be a major topic for debate at the Humbert International Summer School, one of Ireland’s premier not-for-profit voluntary organisations.
Established in 1987 the Humbert School is named after the French Revolutionary General Jean Humbert, who invaded Ireland in 1798 to liberate the Irish from British rule, but was defeated in County Longford on September 8 by Lord Cornwallis and his superior English and Scottish forces. Humbert later migrated to America and was commended by General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.
The School’s Patron, is Mr John Hume, the Nobel Peace Laureate.  Its Founder-Director is Mr John Cooney, an author and journalist specialising in politics and religion. 
The 28th annual School, which opens in Ballina’s  Merry Monk will be addressed by Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, Joan Burton. Ms Burton, who is  Minister for Social Protection in the Government led by Enda Kenny, will speak on the subject of “Accountability in Public Life.”
Other major debates will cover the World War One’s enduring legacy, the EU as a force for peace in a troubled globe, the implications of Scottish Independence, climate change and Catholic Church Reform under Pope Francis.
On Sunday September 7  Frenchwoman Soline Humbert, a well-known Spiritual Guide and Advocate of the Ordination of Women in the Roman Catholic Church, will address the School on the Church’s urgent need to ordain women to the ministry.    
Her call will be supported by Brendan Butler, Chairman of the Irish branch of the international We Are Church  Movement. Mr Butler will also make the case for married male clergy and the adaptation of church teaching on sexual morality to modern insights of human psychology.
An appraisal of Pope Francis’s pontificate to-date will be deliberated by the influential  Michael Kelly, Editor of The Irish Catholic. .
  An innovative feature of this year’s four day School will be sessions devoted to “Conversations with Authors.”
One of these authors will Canon Virginia Kennerley, who was the first woman to be ordained a priest in the Anglican Church of Ireland.  The Church of Ireland, ahead of its sister Church in England, elected its first woman bishop last year.
Canon Ginnie, who is a former journalist, is Editor of Search, the Church of Ireland Theological Journal.  She is also author of Embracing Women which tells of her path to the priesthood, and is co-editor of Homosexuality and the Church of Ireland. 
Meanwhile, the Vatican Two veteran reporter of Time fame, Robert Kaiser, has sent his colleague and fellow Vaticanologist, John Cooney,  a complimentary digital copy of his just published book, What makes Francis tick. Mr Kaiser addressed the Humbert School in 2010 as did Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan of the Roman Catholic Women Priests Association.
Ahead of the School, Mr Cooney said he will circulate Mr Kaiser’s book among the Humbert Club readers.
A special extra session will be held on Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to Albert Reynolds, the former Irish Prime Minister who along with John Hume negotiated the historic Provisional IRA ceasefire rwenty years ago.
On Sunday the “Remembering Albert Reynolds” will be chaired by John Cooney, who covered the peace process as a journalist.
Also to be remembering will be John Moran, Humbert School Photographer by Sean Garland, the retired President of the Workers Party of Ireland, which before taking the democratic route was the Official IRA.
For details of the programme  see the website  humbertsummer school.com
Contact is John Cooney 00 353 87 2418461.
Here below also the Programme: 
  The 28th Annual Humbert School
  Venue: The Merry Monk, Killala Road, Ballina.
Thursday September 4 – Sunday September 7, 2014

   Honorary President, John Hume, Nobel Peace Laureate.
   Co-Directors John Cooney and Noel Coghlan
                                                                          Themes
          Accountability in Public Life  
          World War One’s enduring legacy.
          Humbert Foreign Policy Forum: Is the EU a
          force for peace in a troubled globe?
          Humbert Book Club Conversations with Authors.
          Climate change
          Catholic Church Reform under Pope Francis
          Bishop Stock Peace Debate.

Thursday September 4
7 p.m. The Merry Monk. Opening of 28th Humbert School
Welcome – John Cooney, Founder-Director of the Humbert International Summer School.
The Second Tony Gilroy Memorial Address: Accountability in Public Life.
Guest speaker
Tanaiste Joan Burton T.D, Minister for Social Protection and Leader of the Labour Party.  
Chair John Cooney.
Followed by Humbert Annual Dinner

Friday, September 5.
Session 2.     10a.m. The First World War: The Home Front: Mayo’s Own: The Connaught Rangers. 
– Speaker, Noel Coghlan, Co-Director of the Humbert International Summer School and former British Army Officer.
11 a.m. Coffee break

Session 3. 11 a.m. John Healy Memorial Address:
Conflict and Division in Ireland at the Outbreak off the Great War. 
Speaker: Ken Kinsella, author of Out of the Dark, 1914-1918. South Dubliners who fell in the Great War, (Merrion Publishers)
Chair:  John Cooney.

Session 4 Remembering the Dead - The Act of Remembrance – read by Noel Coghlan. 

Lunch break

Session 5  Merry Monk 3 pm.  ‘Its been a rough winter’. Lords of creation – An ethical response to climate change
Guest Speakers
– Fr Sean McDonagh, theologian and anthropologist. 
- Pat Boyle, Journalist. 
– Chair, Raymond O’Baoil, Humbert School Committee.
Session 6. 8 p.m.  Humbert Book Club
Canon Virginia Kennerley,Editor of Search, the Church of Ireland Journal. Author of Embracing Women and co-editor of Homosexuality and the Church of Ireland. 
Luke Waldron, author of A Dawn Unforeseen, Journey from the West of Ireland to the Barrios of Peru, Liffey Press.   
Donal Flynn, author of The Future of the Irish Language, speaking on “The Political Future of the Irish Language”.    
Chair Stephen Stokes, Antiquarian Bookseller, Stokes Books, Dublin.  

Saturday September 6
Session 7 The Merry Monk, Ballina. 10am.
Humbert Foreign Policy Forum: Is the EU a force for peace in a troubled globe?

Speakers
Dara Calleary T.D., Fianna Fail Frontbencherand former Government Minister of State at the Dept. of the Taoiseach. 
Dr Paul Gillespie, Irish Times columnist.
Ed Kelly, Former director, Irish Studies Programme, University of Szeged, Hungary, speaking on Continental Drift: Syria, Egypt and the Ukraine in the Age of Obama, Putin, Hollande and Cameron.
Giovanni Molinari, Italian journalist living in Sligo.  
Coffee Break    11 30 a.m.
Session 8 Implications of Scottish Independence Referendum.
Dr Dennis Kennedy, former Head of the EU Commission Office in Belfast and Deputy Editor of The Irish Times, – Ulster Says No.
John Cooney, Dr Livingstone’s Blantyre Says Yes.
Lunch break 

Session 9.  3. p.m. Visit to Kilcummin, site of Humbert’s landing in 1798.
Speaker Dr Dennis Kennedy, author of Dublin’s Fallen Hero. The Long Life and Sudden Death of Nelson’s Pillar, 1809-1966.
Session 10 Maughan’s, Lacken, 4 p.m.
Humbert as Hollywood Movie - John Cooney, author, historian and founder of the Humbert International Summer School.
Daniel Rooney, Graduate student on Film, - Humbert Outside Hollywood.
5.30 p.m.         Return to Ballina.

Session 11 8 p.m.
Humbert Book Club 

Sean Boyne, Journalist, author and biographer of Emmet Dalton, Somme Hero, Civil War General, Film Producer.
Pat Quigley, Author The Polish Irishman. The Life and Times of Count Casimir Markievicz, Liffey Press, speaking on “Casimir Markievicz and the Great War in the East.” 
Sean Boyd, Author Behind the Horseshoe Bar, At Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel.
– Dr John Kearns, General Editor of Translation Ireland, presenting a special issue on Polish/Irish Issues in Translation.
Chair Raymond O’Baoill, Communications Consultant and former Forfas na Gaelige.  
Sunday, September 7.
Session 12. Merry Monk, Killala Road, Ballina. 10am.  
Catholic Church Reform under Pope Francis.  
Mark Vincent Healy, abuse survivor and campaigner who met Pope Francis in July.
Session 14 Humbert Luncheon   
Remembering Albert Reynolds by Dara Calleary T.D.
Remembering John Moran, Humbert School Photographer by Sean Garland, Retired President of the Workers Party of Ireland.
Chair John Cooney.  
ENDS

Violence perpetrates suffering and is against the will of our Loving God.


 Media Release date: September 1, 2014

From: Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests

Everyday millions of people endure threats of terror, violence and war -- which leads to poverty, hunger, homelessness, starvation and death.

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests reaffirm -- to our sisters and brothers of all faiths and nations -- that acts of violence are against the will of our Loving God. They must stop immediately.

We are all connected. We are all One. We all belong to the family of God.

We ask for compassion for those who are traumatized and suffering. We call on those who perpetrate violence to recognize that they are acting against their own souls, which come from the Source of Life.  Violence – which is against The Good -- manifests more violence, more suffering. Our ARCWP community holds in Holy Light and Love those who suffer and those who perpetrate suffering. May Solidarity and Healing embrace all Earth’s people. Let us choose what is Life-giving. Let us build community. May we come to know inner and outer peace.


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





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Monday, September 1, 2014

Article on the Future of Priesthood and Vision of ARCWP as a Discipleship of Equals

http://partenia-au-dela-des-frontieres.over-blog.com/article-les-femmes-ne-seront-jamais-pretres-le-sacerdoce-ordonne-va-disparaitre-112276236.html
Monsignor Leonard says:

women will never be priests

because

the ordained priesthood will disappear

Because there are fewer and fewer vocations.  Sign of the Times, or not??
Because the ordained priesthood sets up second class Christians.
Because ministry will be less and less priestly and more and more pastoral.
Because a power monopoly and hierarchical system smell too much like “Ancien Regime.”
Because systematically appointing right-wing bishops in dioceses which were functionally well with “liberals” is neither pastoral nor theological but ideological.
Because the “hierarchical system is anti-Gospel,” according to Francoise Dolto.
Because Christ used all his efforts to oppose the forces of the Temple and the Jewish priestly caste, which we have reproduced.

Because democracy, participation and coresponsibility are highly human values giving access to the Kingdom.
Because the Gospel is fundamentally egalitarian: “No longer Jew nor pagan…”
Because there is only one priest, Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.
Because the Spirit continues to speak to all the “Churches;”  and there are structures which render it superfluous.

Because baptism does not make us altar boys.
Because baptism makes us a People entirely priestly.
Because by baptism we become children of God, “because that is what we are” 1 Jn 3,1.
Because “I no longer call you servants…I call you friends.” Jn 15,15
Because by baptism  “ we have become the same being with Christ.” Rm 6,5.
Because baptism makes us share in Christ’s saving action at work today.
Because it is not by the sacrament of ordination but by baptism 
that we become other Christs capable of acting “in persona Christi.”
Because we are all called, all sent, all priests. 
 “Behold I do new things. Indeed you shall see them.”  Is 43,19.

                                                              Jo Bock  7,11, 2012.

Bridget Mary's Response:
I agree with Monsignor Leonard that the clerical model of priestly ministry is dysfunctional and dying. The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is not interested in hierarchy, prestige or power over others . We are  following Jesus' example of Gospel equality. 
At Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community, we gather weekly around the table in a large circle. In this community we have women priests, married priests and community members lead liturgy. Each week we have dialogue homilies in which all are welcome to participate and the Eucharistic Prayer is recited by the community. 
Bridget Mary Meehan and Carol Ann Breyer at Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive
Catholic Liturgy in Florida

We are one with our Sisters and brothers in the communities of faith where we are located. ARCWP does not make decisions for our communities. All our grassroots communities are independent and inclusive.  In my community, Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community in Florida, everyone is invited to meet, discuss and to make decisions together on ministry priorities, budget, planning, social events etc. Like Monsignor Leonard, we believe that all are called, all are chosen by their Baptism to serve and use their gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ. 
left to right,  Diane Dougherty ARCWP, Kay Akers, ARCWP Support Member,
Katy Zatsick, ARCWP with hat on, Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP
at SOA Vigil demonstrating for the Closing the School of the Americas
 Our ARCWP mission is to promote a discipleship of equals among ourselves and with all those with whom we serve.
ARCWP Priest Janice Sevre-Duszynska and Jesuit Bill Brennan
at SOA Vigil
 Ordaining women is not about stepping  into clericalism but rather is an initiative to reflect the feminine face of God, the face of compassion and justice for those who are excluded and rejected by the institutional  church.
 Women Priests are reclaiming our baptismal equality and affirming that everyone is chosen by God, everyone is the beloved of God. We share our giftedness, brokeness and belovedness in mutual service of the kindom where all are one in the community of creation. 
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org