St. Joan of Arc, Feast Day, May 31, Champion of Conscience, Patron Saint of Heretics by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

As the saint of ""heretics,  Joan of Arc reminds us not to lose heart when religious or political leaders condemn us. Joan of Arc inspires us, rather,  to listen to the "voice" of  God deep within our beings, our consciences, and to follow its directives.  If our conscience is in conflict with Church teaching, we must always follow our conscience. If we are condemned for doing so, truth will prevail in the end.  The Spirit will guide the Church on the path of wisdom, and one day, as with Joan of Arc, the Church will call us "saints" for our faithful witness to the Gospel.  Bridget Mary Meehan, Praying with Visionary Women,  1999.

So, all the members of the international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement should rejoice because our excommunications by the hierarchy and local bishops (some of us- like me- have more than one excommunication!) are a prophetic witness to Gospel  equality. We are disobeying an unjust law that discriminates against women and leading the Church into a new era of justice and equality for women. Like Joan of Arc, we were born to do this!