St. Brigit: Reflecton of Divine Feminine, Advocate for Justice, Peace and Equality/ Like her, may we "turn back the streams of war"

Today, Feb. 1st is the feast day of St. Brigit of Kildare.

Brigit was the most prominent leader of the Celtic Church. Her symbol was perpetual fire, representing wisdom, healing, poetry, metal working and the hearth. The force of her Celtic soul is a rich lodestone of the Celtic feminine which continues to challenge each generation. The stories and legends about her are a blend of Christian beliefs and pagan elements, a mixture of the all encompassing Druidic mother goddess with the dynamic post pagan woman of compassion, generous hospitality and charity to all. She lived the spirit of Jesus who hung out with the poor and outcasts, who challenged authorities in the synagogue, and who dined with the lowly. On one occasion, Brigit gave away apples to a beggar. When challenged by her benefactor, she said: "what is mine is theirs." Even in her early days, she would give away valuable items belonging to her chieften father. Brigit's strong sense of justice was evident during her life. She is known for her advocacy for justice and protection of animals, home and hearth. (Praying with Celtic Holy Women, available at amazon.com and other online retailers.)

Brigit's previous authority as a high priestess may explain why Sant Mel, bishop of Ardagh, is said to have ordained her a bishop. The Irish Life of Brigit describes it this way: "When the hour of consecration had arrived, the veil was raised by angels from the hand of Mac Caille, the minister and was placed on Sant Brigit's head. Bishop Mel who presided at the ceremony said: "Come, O holy Brigit, that a veil may be placed on your head before the other virgins." Then, being filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Mel read the form of ordaining a bishop over Brigit. While she was being consecrated, a brilliant fiery flame ascended from her head. MacCaille, Bishop Mel's assistant, complained that a bishop's rank was bestowed on a woman. Bishop Mel argued. "But I do not have any power in this matter, this dignity has been given by God to Brigit beyond every other woman. Only this virgin in the whole of Ireland will hold the episcopal ordination."

Bishop Brigit co-administered a double monastery of women and men with Bishop Conleth in Kildare, Ireland. On one occasion, when there was not enough beer for her seventeen churches during the Easter season, she changed water into beer to make sure her churches were well-supplied. Talking about abundance and hospitality! Slainte!

Another wonderful story about Brigit that speaks to our contemporary war-plagued world is recounted by Mary Condren, a prominent Irish theologian in an article in the Irish Times.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0131/1224288598865.html

"Brigit was also a “peace weaver”, the name given to distinguished women in Old European times. Peaceweavers sometimes married into their enemy’s tribe, and their daughters carried gifts to weave peace. Such women had great negotiating skills and authority. As with such peaceweavers, St Brigit caused mists to appear between opposing sides in order to prevent bloodshed. With her nuns she accompanied protesting warriors to the battlefield, rendering them unable to fight.In historical times, the Abbesses of Kildare, who succeeded the historical 5th century Brigit, could pardon criminals encountered on their way to execution. They were revered figures of authority who were known as “Those Who Turned Back the Streams of War”.

Today, more than ever, we need the spirit of inclusion, partnership and hospitality of St. Brigit of Kildare in our world. Like her, may we work with our sisters and brothers to turn back the "streams of war" and to achieve peace, justice and equality for all.

St. Brigit, pray for us and bless us on this your feast day!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

A "Grandmother" of the Women Priests Movement Dies/ A Tribute by Sister Maureen Fiedler

A “Grandmother” of the Women Priests Movement Dies

By Maureen Fiedler

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/iris-muller-grandmother-women-priest-movement-dies

I met Iris Muller in Europe for the first time in the 1990’s. She was elderly and physically frail, but emotionally and theologically like steel. Even when struggling with her English, heavily accented by German, she came across as a Catholic “Susan B. Anthony” struggling for women’s rights in the church.

Born in East Germany in 1930, she ultimately studied theology with the aim of becoming a Protestant minister. In her personal search for a deeper and more spiritual path, she converted to Catholicism, but confronted the fact that she could not be ordained a priest. Still, she voiced disagreement with that policy, and hoped to convince Catholic authorities that they were wrong on the issue of women’s ordination.

She spent her life trying to do just that. She and her lifelong friend, Dr. Ida Raming, petitioned the Second Vatican Council in 1963 to call for women’s ordination. Iris worked at the University of Munster, where she developed a library on the status of women in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Together, she and Ida spearheaded many church reform efforts in Germany and Western Europe to move the issue of women priests forward.

Finally, after years and years of the Vatican’s “no,” she and Ida decided to take action. They were among seven women ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on a boat in the Danube River on June 29, 2002. I was on the boat that day, covering the story, and I remember the joy and radiance on the faces of all the women ordained that day. The ordinations took place just before the boat made a 180-degree turn to head back toward its original dock, and someone noted that the ordination of these women had just “turned around the bark of Peter.” And in some sense, it had.

This was the birthplace of the Roman Catholic Women Priests movement, a movement that is growing today by leaps and bounds, with more than 100 ordained women and many more “in the pipeline.”

The hierarchical church dismissed these ordinations as illicit, and excommunicated the women. But the women rejected their ouster and moved forward with a variety of ministries. Iris and Ida ministered as best they could in Germany, despite their advancing years, and despite a debilitating stroke that Iris suffered.

Iris Muller, RCWP, died on January 30, 2011 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Iris Muller, Presente!

Roberta Meehan RCWP: Homily for the 4th Sunday

Homily for the 4th Sunday

– Cycle A –

30 January 2011

Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13

Micah 6:1-8

Psalm 146:6-10

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Matthew 5:1-12a

Did you ever notice that sometimes a series of Scripture readings just does not say what you want it to say? Sometimes the words seem to speak to us – to you and to me – in different and distant languages. Sometimes we know there is another message hidden beneath the words but we just don’t seem to be able to find it. That is how it is with today’s readings. Oh, most of us are quite familiar with Matthew’s beatitudes. Most of us even know the corollaries found in other parts of Scripture. Hidden behind the Christian (or human!) mandates of the gospel we also see the second reading, the reading from 1 Corinthians. This is an extremely powerful passage! This is a reading about our callings – the callings that each of us has in Christ Jesus. “Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” The way this is worded we know that if we do happen to be wise or powerful or noble, we are not excluded. That is a good thing. But, most of us simply do not fit that description. As a matter of fact, most of us would not really fit our own description of what a follower of Christ should be. Imagine that! We would not meet our own standards! Have you ever thought about the criteria that you personally would set down if you were looking for someone to be called to follow Christ? Would you be chosen – based on your own expectations? Most of us would not! We have an idealized concept of what our call to follow Jesus is all about. But, somehow that does not matter to our God! Our foolishness, weakness, and ignobility are not important. As a matter of fact, that seems to be why so many of us are chosen. God chooses the foolish to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong. In other words, God chooses us with all of our warts and weaknesses to do what we are called to do. That call does not depend on us. And the qualifications for the job do not have to meet our standards. They only have to meet God’s standards, those standards that do not meet our guidelines. It is not our doing that gives us this strength in our calling. As the reading tells us, “It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption….” And what is it we can do if we accept that calling? Well, for one thing, we can live out the beatitudes, as listed in the gospel. We can be poor in spirit. In other words, we will not be attached to our worldly goods. We will use our goods properly. We will not deny our goods – regardless of how many or how few we have – but we will use them for the betterment of the world. We can mourn. In other words, we can feel. We can experience the feelings of the children of God everywhere. We can be one with them in what we do and in what we say. And this goes along with hungering and thirsting for righteousness. If we feel for our neighbor, whether near or far, we will work to satisfy our hunger and thirst for righteousness. That is feeling and that is a beatitude toward our neighbor. We can be merciful to all. We do not have the right to judge the hearts of others. But, we can be clean of heart. We can be peacemakers. We may be persecuted for doing right. But that is a part of our calling. It is our calling because God has called us – despite our foolishness, despite our foibles. We have been called to do God’s will. And in doing God’s will with our neighbor in mind, we are living the beatitudes. It is interesting that the Revised Common Lectionary used by most mainline Protestant churches has, instead of the reading from Zephaniah, the reading from Malachi 6:1-8. This reading ends with the beautiful line, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Is it not true that to walk humbly with our God is following our call – whatever that call might be – and at the same time, living the beatitudes? Answering our call is not always easy! As a matter of fact, answering our call is rarely easy. Often it is difficult to determine how the beatitudes should be followed. We may not all agree on how to be peacemakers; we may not all agree on what constitutes mercy; we may not all agree on how to be poor in spirit. None of that matters. Our individual discernments become irrelevant. All that matters is that we are following the call of God and we are doing so with an open mind and an open heart. And somehow all of this comes down to the basic message of the gospel – Love! God’s love for us – despite our weaknesses and shortcomings, despite our failure to meet our own expectations – and our love for God and our love for the rest of humanity. If we only understood love, our call would be clear. And our beatitude answer would also be clear! And this message of love is that message so powerfully spoken but written in other words and other languages. The message of love permeates 1 Corinthians and ties it to the love story told in the beatitudes. It is not the message we start out looking for – but it is the eternal message hidden in the bold face type of the Good News.

-- Roberta M. Meehan RCWP

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Vatican Rejects Lawsuit Service/ Vatican "Above the Law"?

SNAP Press Release

Vatican sends back Fr. Murphy lawsuit (he abused 200+ deaf kids)

Deaf victims of St. John's appealing to Listecki to intervene with Pope in Federal lawsuit

Vatican refusing to cooperate with Federal court in Milwaukee in Murphy case

Judge's summons to Pope and two top Vatican officials sent back as "unwanted and undesirable"

WHAT
In a stunning move, Vatican officials are refusing to be served with a child sex abuse lawsuit, returning it with the words "unwanted and undesired."

In response, at a news conference clergy child sex abuse victims, including victims of Fr. Lawrence Murphy while at St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wis., will blast the Catholic hierarchy for:
· rebuffing the US justice system,
· continuing to ignore the appeal for healing from 200+ deaf victims sexually molested at a Milwaukee school, and
· delaying the "long overdue disclosure" of secret church records about the cover up of clergy sex crimes by a long-time Wisconsin predator priest

In addition, they will attempt to hand deliver a letter to Milwaukee's archbishop Jerome Listecki urging him to "show courage, challenge the Vatican, and advocate for these still-suffering Wisconsin crime victims."

WHEN
Monday, January 31, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE
Outside the Cousins Center, which is the headquarters of the Milwaukee archdiocese, 3501 South Lake Drive

WHO
Several victims of clergy child sex crimes, including deaf victims of Fr. Lawrence Murphy, who belong to the international support group called SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAPnetwork.org.

WHY
After initially accepting a summons from the US federal court in Milwaukee concerning a civil suit involving top Vatican officials, including Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy See returned it late Friday by FEDEX to the United States, with the marking: "Undesirable and Unwanted". The lawsuit concerns the decades long cover up of serial child molester Fr. Lawrence Murphy from the archdiocese of Milwaukee.

The federal lawsuit, which was filed last March, and was the first of its kind, directly names Cardinal Ratzinger and two Vatican secretaries of state, in covering up the child sex crimes against hundreds of deaf children by Murphy as director of St. John's School for the Deaf in Franklin, Wisconsin. Murphy died in 1998.

Previously secret church records from Milwaukee show that every Milwaukee archbishop since at least 1958 knew Murphy was sexually assaulting children at the boarding school.

By 1976, according to the records, Vatican officials became involved in the Murphy case. At that time, Murphy was transferred from Milwaukee to a parish in northern Wisconsin, where he remained for several decades, unreported and unsupervised, working with children and families, as well as with the deaf community. At least one lawsuit has been filed by a victim of Murphy in his assignments after Milwaukee.

In the mid 1990's the Vatican again became involved with Murphy, this time through the office of the powerful Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), at that time headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. In 1997, Ratzinger's office ruled that Murphy would not have to face a church trial in Milwaukee and could remain a priest in good standing until his death. He was never turned over to civil authorities.

Two recently released letters show Vatican officials instructing local bishops against providing records about pedophile priests to judicial authorities in Ireland in the 1990's and the United States in the 1980's. Last year, a letter surfaced from the Vatican secretary of state to a French bishop congratulating him on behalf of Pope John Paul II for not turning a pedophile priest over to police. John Paul, who died in 2005, is being presented for official sainthood by Pope Benedict in May.

Although Vatican officials say they now cooperate with criminal and civil laws around the globe, Friday's rejection of the summons by the Federal Court in Milwaukee demonstrates that they still consider themselves "above the law" and is reminiscent of its response to formal inquiries in 2006 from Irish government authorities that were investigating widespread child abuse by clerics in Ireland.

NB: Attorneys for the victim in the Milwaukee federal suit, along with the nation's leading constitutional expert on these cases, Professor Marcie Hamilton, will hold an 11:00 a.m. CST press conference in St. Paul, MN and streamed live at www.AndersonAdvocates.com. Questions can be submitted one hour in advance. Contact Atty. Jeff Anderson at 612.817.866 (mobile) 651.297.6543 (office).

John Doe 16 v. Holy See, Joseph Ratzinger, Tarcisio Bertone and Angelo Sodano is available at:http://andersonadvocates.com/Files/54/Complaint-against-the-Holy-See-Ratzinger-Bertone-and-Sodano

CONTACT
Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director, 414.429.7259
John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director, 414.336.8575
Mike Sneesby, SNAP Milwaukee Co-Director, 414.915.4374

• FedExlettertoMilwaukeecourt.pdf

Bridget Mary's Reflection

Once again, the Vatican is placing the institutional church "above the law". Clearly, the Vatican's response is unacceptable, and their attitude that the church is not subject to civil law is stunning. In a top down hierarchy, accountability goes to the top. What other religious institution or church would get away with a cover-up of criminal behavior and refusal to cooperate with civil authority? The Vatican could begin by telling the truth and turning over the records so that we can begin the journey to forgiveness, reconciliation and healing.

How can the church heal, if the Vatican keeps stonewalling? It is time to tell the truth, seek forgiveness, and begin the journey toward systemic change that will truly transform our church. This will mean an end to the secretive clerical system that got us into this mess. It will mean a more open, accountable, democratic church where the people of God take their rightful place as a gifted and empowered community. It will mean married priests and women priests in an renewed priestly ministry. It will demand genuine reforms and soul-stirring renewal. We need the breath of the Holy Spirit to blow through the Roman Catholic Church so that we will be a church worthy of our children.

So what should Catholics do get the Vatican's attention? A first step -stop giving money- until the Vatican gets it! Let us never forget the survivors who have suffered so much. Speak up for justice for them. Support priests of integrity. Work for reform of the church in your local community. Join organizations like Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful. Be informed about Bishops' Accountability locally and globally. You can find out lots of information on the internet. Pray daily for reform and renewal. We are the church. Let us be the change that we desire- remembering always that we are wounded healers, God's earthen vessels. We can go forward together to a whole new day of love, justice with integrity-- walking with Jesus who promised to be with us always.

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Dr. Iris Muller, RCWP, a "Grandmother" of the Women Priests Movement Died on Jan. 30, 2011

Iris Müller, A Roman Catholic Woman Priest , and Theologian, known as one of the “Grandmothers” of the Women Priests Movement died on January 30, 2011.

Long time advocate of women’s equality and women’s ordination in the Roman Catholic Church, Iris Müller died peacefully on January 30, 2011 in Stuttgart, Germany after suffering from a long illness related to a previous stroke. Her lifetime friend, Bishop Dr. Ida Raming was at her side. Both women were part of the original seven women ordained in 2002 on the Danube River and were the foremothers of the womens ordination movement in the Catholic Church. In 1963, they were the first to write a petition to the Vatican Council II calling for the ordination of women.

Iris was the first woman to speak out openly in favour of women’s ordination in the Roman Catholic Church, despite the fact that she had no existential security whatever at the time. The consequences of her courageous stance on this issue were serious: she was threatened that even the small stipend she received and so desperately needed because she was a refugee would be withdrawn and there was, of course, no possibility of any official appointment within the official church. On the other hand, she was able to influence other Catholic women who, because of their upbringing, were conformed in their thinking and also timid. Through Iris’ guidance, some of them ‘woke up’ to the reality of discrimination against women in the R.C. church and in this way, Iris Müller fulfilled a real prophetic role and became known as one of the “grandmothers” of the Roman Catholic Women Priest Movement.

Iris Müller: Her Story

Iris Müller was born in 1930 in Magdeburg (mid-eastern part of Germany). After her final high school examination in 1950 she studied Protestant theology in Naumburg/Halle. In 1955 she continued her theological studies at the Martin Luther-University in Halle/Saale and received a diploma in theology from this university in 1958. After this examination which qualified her to serve as a pastor in the Protestant church, she converted to the Roman Catholic Church – a church, which she found, expressed its "following of Christ not just in words but in full sacramental reality." The consequences of this religious decision were extremely hard for Iris and as a woman she now came under the restrictions of Catholic Canon law.

Iris said, "I had become a creature incapable of receiving Holy Orders (cf. c. 1024 CIC). As a Catholic woman I was expected to accept the status of women in the Catholic Church. A further consequence of my conversion to this Church was that there was no prospect of any employment for me as a Catholic theologian in the communist regime of the DDR (East German Republic), since I refused to become a member of the communist party SED. My situation became so critical that I had to leave the DDR illegally and found refuge in the Western part of Germany (BRD)in 1959.

After many problems I succeeded in continuing my theological studies at the faculty of Catholic theology in Münster. As in the DDR my Catholic surroundings, the professors and most of the students, expected of me that I should accept the position of women in the Catholic Church without further question. But I decided to be faithful to my conviction and to my call to priesthood. So (as a former Protestant theologian) I was the first woman in the Catholic faculty to give witness that women are discriminated against in the Catholic Church and that their inferior status had to be reformed. On my path as a pioneer for women’s equality and women’s ordination at the Catholic faculty in Münster, I found solidarity and support from Ida Raming. In 1963, during Vatican Council II, we together wrote a petition to the Council, calling for women’s ordination. In 1970 I completed my doctorate in theology.During the following years I remained a member of the faculty in Münster, as a scientific assistant. I was involved in building up a special library on the status of women in the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), entitled “Women in Religion”.After a lifelong struggle for women’s equality and women’s ordination in the Catholic Church I decided to follow my call to priesthood. Together with my friend and colleague, Ida Raming, I was ordained a priest in 2002 as one of the original seven women on the Danube River." Iris resided in Stuttgart since her ordination.”

Second Obituary:

DR IRIS MÜLLER(born 11 September 1930)„God chose those who by human standards count for nothing, to reduce to nothing all those that do count for something, so that no human being may be boastful before God”(1 Cor. 1, 28).Iris Müller has now “fought the good fight to the end, run the race to the finish …” (cf. 2 Tim 4,7)She had great ideals from an early age, which she strove to fulfil with great commitment. All her life, Iris knew struggle and effort in achieving the goals she set herself and often had to contend with setbacks, humiliation and illness.When she left school, Iris decided to study theology with the aim of becoming a Protestant minister. She began her religious studies at the Catechetical Institute in Naumburg/Saule. This was a Centre of Studies for those who were in opposition to the oppressive communist regime in the German Democratic Republic (Eastern Germany). Even as a student at school, Iris Müller dared to speak out against injustice and oppression. She completed a degree in theology in Halle/Saale in 1958.

Iris then converted to Catholicism. Her reasons included the search for a deeper, more spiritual path. But this step had serious consequences for her: there was, of course, no possibility of being ordained as a woman in the Catholic church. Even before her conversion she said clearly that she did not agree with this rule but she nevertheless hoped that it would be possible to convince those in authority in the R.C. church that the exclusion of women from Orders was based on unacceptable and unjust theological arguments. This hope was, as we know with hindsight, very much in vain. Nevertheless, Iris continued to follow her calling with great determination. On existential grounds, Iris was then forced to flee from the GDR because there was no possibility of any kind of job for a dissident Catholic theologian in that part of Germany at the time. The year was 1959, two years before the Berlin Wall was built. Having got to West-Germany - after a risky and troublesome flight, Iris was eventually able, despite the many difficulties and setbacks, she encountered as refugee, to continue her studies as a doctoral student in the theology department at the University of Münster. She completed her doctorate there.

During her doctoral studies at the university, Iris was the first woman to speak out openly in favour of women’s ordination in the R.C. church, despite the fact that she had no existential security whatever at the time. The consequences of her courageous stance on this issue were serious: she was threatened that even the small stipend she received and so desperately needed because she was a refugee would be withdrawn and there was, of course, no possibility of any official appointment within the official church.

On the other hand, she was able to influence other Catholic women who, because of their upbringing, were conformed in their thinking and also timid. Through Iris’ guidance, some of them ‘woke up’ to the reality of discrimination against women in the R.C. church and in this way, Iris Müller fulfilled a real prophetic role.

After her doctoral examination she continued the struggle for the freedom of Catholic women from unjust discrimination by means of publications, talks and correspondence and above all by building up a library on the theme of “Women in Religion, especially Judaism, Christianity and Islam” in the theological faculty of the University of Münster. The overcoming of discrimination against women in all the major religions was always close to Iris’ heart.

As the years went by and the Vatican “NO” to women’s ordination became ever stronger and louder, and as it became clear that there was no hope of achieving any change within the ecclesial system itself, Iris Müller, together with six other women, decided to take public action against the official law of the church, which excludes women from ordination (CIC can. 1024).

On June 29th 2002, Iris Müller was ordained a Catholic priest. Thus she had finally achieved her goal - though not recognized and acknowledged by the official church, but as a woman who opened up for her sisters a way of liberation.In this way, Iris Müller “fought the good fight”, so that Catholic women would, in the future, be able to rejoice in their freedom as ‘daughters of God’.

Meditation and spirituality were very necessary to Iris. It was from these that she drew the strength to overcome the challenges and difficulties that she faced in her life. Her confirmation bible text was: When Yahweh is pleased with someone’s way of life,He makes that person’s very enemies into friends”. (Prov. 16,7)She often reflected on this text: it was both mysterious and deep for her and at the same time frightening, because there is the mention of ‘enemies’.

In Iris’ prayer journal, I found the following words which she herself wrote:“So in death, what happens is the miracle of transformation. Over death, there lies the invincible promise of salvation and resurrection. This means that I surrender to God everything that I am and have - and God gives it back to me, transformed.Life triumphs over death.”This is also our faith and our hope for the deceased.A truly noble, generous person has gone before us, having been called into the peace of God.Let us keep Iris Müller in faithful remembrance!

(Ida Raming, Winter 2011 – English translation: Dr. Patricia Fresen)

Bridget Mary's Reflection:

We give thanks for Dr. Iris Muller's prophetic witness for women's equality and for women priests as an issue of gender justice in the Roman Catholic Church. She is one of the beloved "grandmothers" of our Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement whom we will miss, and whose memory will continue to inspire us in our labor for justice for women in church and society. May Iris' vision of the full equality of women in the Roman Catholic Church become a reality in our time. Let us pray for comfort for all who will miss Iris especially her dear friend, and care-giver during the last years of her life, Dr. Ida Raming, who like Iris, is a brilliant theologian and "grandmother" of the RCWP Movement. We owe these women, visionary theologians, a debt of gratitude.

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Pope Benedict Cites St. Joan of Arc as Model for Political Leaders/ Admits Hierarchy Mistaken in Condemnation of Prophetic Witness of Conscience

Pope cites St. Joan of Arc as model for political leaders
January 26, 2011
At his weekly public audience on January 26, Pope Benedict spoke about “one of those strong women who brought the light of the Gospel in history at the end of the Middle Ages”—St. Joan of Arc.
Speaking to about 3,000 people in the Paul VI auditorium, the Pope recounted the story of St. Joan’s short life: her mystical visions, her military career, her trial and martyrdom. The entirety of her life, he said, forms “a beautiful example of holiness for lay people involved in politics.”
The trial of St. Joan for heresy was “a shocking page in the history of the saints and also an illuminating page on the mystery of Church—which, in the words of Vatican II is at once holy and always in need of purification,” the Pope said. Her judges, he observed, were "theologians who lacked the charity and humility to see the action of God in this young woman." Her condemnation was unjust, and was formally overturned 25 years after her death.

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
It sure does take a long time ( around 600 years in this case) for the institutional church leadership to admit that it was wrong. I applaud Pope Benedict for his humble admission that St. Joan's trial for heresy was " a shocking page" in the history of the church, both unjust and wrong. When Joan was asked if she was bound to obey church leaders. Her response was yes, but God must be obeyed first!. (See my book, Praying with Visionary Women, for story of Joan's heroic witness in the midst of church authorities persecution.) St. Joan of Arc is not only an appropriate patron for political leaders, but also for church leaders, who at the moment are in the midst of "nunquisition", a contemporary witch hunt directed by the Vatican that is aimed at U.S. women religious because, among other things, (gasp!!!) they support women priests. What nunsense!
In addition, the Vatican, in July of 2010, placed women priests in the same despicable category of serious crimes against the church as pedophile priests!
Let us hope that Pope Benedict and the Vatican realize their error in this unjust decision. Roman Catholic Women Priests are leading the church into a new era of justice and equality for women in the church.
I pray that one day that a woman pope will apologize for the many ways the institutional church has discriminated against women in church and in society and affirm the people of God as a vibrant community of equals.
Let's keep dreaming the dream of justice and equality for women in church and society. Let us act as if the vision of partnership, equality and inclusion is a reality now in our grassroots communities now. St. Joan of Arc, courageous role model of the primacy of conscience, pray for women priests, for our supporters and for our opponents! May we follow our consciences and live with integrity Jesus' vision of Gospel equality in our time.
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org
sofiabmm@aol.com

"Tussling Over Jesus" Nicholas Kristof/New York Times/ Many Catholics Support Excommunicated Nun and Hospital that Saved Pregnant Woman's Life

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/opinion/27kristof.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

"The National Catholic Reporter newspaper put it best: “Just days before Christians celebrated Christmas, Jesus got evicted.”
"The thought that keeps nagging at me is this: If you look at Bishop Olmsted and Sister Margaret as the protagonists in this battle, one of them truly seems to me to have emulated the life of Jesus. And it’s not the bishop, who has spent much of his adult life as a Vatican bureaucrat climbing the career ladder. It’s Sister Margaret, who like so many nuns has toiled for decades on behalf of the neediest and sickest among us...."
"Then along comes Bishop Olmsted to excommunicate the Christ-like figure in our story. If Jesus were around today, he might sue the bishop for defamation."....
...."Yet in this battle, it’s fascinating how much support St. Joseph’s Hospital has had and how firmly it has pushed back — in effect, pounding 95 theses on the bishop’s door. The hospital backed up Sister Margaret, and it rejected the bishop’s demand that it never again terminate a pregnancy to save the life of a mother.
Anne Rice, the author and a commentator on Catholicism, sees a potential turning point. “St. Joseph’s refusal to knuckle under to the bishop is huge,” she told me, adding: “Maybe rank-and-file Catholics are finally talking back to a hierarchy that long ago deserted them.”

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Amen to Sister Margaret and St. Joseph's Hospital for their compassionate stance that saved the life of a pregnant woman. The -take away- message for Bishop Olmsted and the hierarchy is -- if your moral theology does not reflect the compassion of Jesus Christ and you persist in employing excommunication against nuns like Sr. Margaret and institutions like St. Joseph's Hospital, you will further alienate Catholics who follow their consciences in their moral decision-making . The male hierarchy are simply undermining their own authority.
The bottom line is what would Jesus do? I believe he would stand with Sr. Margaret and St. Joseph's team in opting to save the life they could save- the pregnant woman's. All of us need to ask ourselves if bishops intervene in such cases in Catholic hospitals in the future, will pregnant women feel safe? Will Catholic hospitals disobey a bishop who mandates that no life-saving procedure is allowed for pregnant women in similar situations? Will Catholics support hospitals like St. Joseph? Will they refuse to support hospitals that are under the control of a male hierarchy? This is another reason we need women priests and women bishops!
Looks like Catholics may have made up their minds with the outpouring of support that St. Joseph has received from the public including prominent Catholic commentators. I wonder if the Vatican will speak up next!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP, Shares Good News Story: A Couple's Journey from Homelessnes to a Home in Ft. Myers, Florida

left to right:
Robert, Pastor Judy, and Beverly
(seated)

Our people love to sing “This Little Light of Mine”, a simple song about letting your light shine. We sing it in our Tuesday prayer and Bible Study time before the meal, and we sing it on Sunday in church with the poor who have a hot meal and Sunday School afterward. But, it is not so easy to be the light when it means sharing your bread, and spending your very selves with the poor as Isaiah says. Often we are truly spent. It is, however, far more difficult to be homeless and to be poor and hungry. And so I begin with a story we have duplicated in some version at least thirty times this year.

It is a story of a couple who moved from homelessness, hunger and poverty to having a home and an income. Beverly and Robert Kolhoff are a married couple in their fifties who have been sporadically homeless for several years depending on Ron’s employment. They have asked me to share their story using their own names as they hope that the story may help someone they know or a stranger. Robert is a good worker who has been clean and sober for five years (since they were married) but his age (59) and the economy are powerful factors in his unemployment. Beverly, despite arthritis, held a supervisory level clerical job but she lost it as she suffers from major depression exacerbated by the tragic death of her son. When we first met them in Lion’s Park in 2008, they lived in the woods in a small tent that we gave them and her mental and physical health worsened as she tried to cope with the harsh conditions of living outside. Robert found a job in his home state of Ohio and we paid for their tickets. He worked there for several months and they lived modestly well but when the job was over they were homeless again.

They returned to Florida and sporadic employment. They shuttled from the woods to a motel as they could. Finally he worked enough to get unemployment insurance when the job stopped. They were then able to afford a small room in a very crowded and run down house. This was a step up and was minimally acceptable until unemployment benefits were cut in July of 2010.

Now they faced living outside again and Beverly fell apart. They turned to us in desperation. We gave them enough money to hold their room for a while and had Robert work for us on occasion to make ends barely meet. We helped Beverly to receive mental health treatment and apply for Social Security Disability Insurance. They also applied for public housing for the disabled over 55. All resources were now gone and Beverly, terrified of returning to the woods, had new profound mental health symptoms. She was voluntarily hospitalized. She was barely coping and Robert was distraught at seeing this happen and her difficult adjustment to the medications. He accompanied her weekly to see me. She began to feel better and wrote two poems and did art work reflecting her thankfulness to God for a return of hope. She is phobic of crowds but came one Tuesday to our worship to ask for prayer, give us her poetry and tell the group gathered that the ministry was saving her life.

This opened the door for several others to say the same thing in a moment of pure light and grace. We were so moved by this, especially as it was a major effort on her part. The core group was wonderful in reaching out to her and offering prayer and support. But, had there not been a few miracles they may have had to return to the woods as they waited for a reinstatement of unemployment insurance and what is usually a long wait for housing. Miracle number one was receiving news from the housing supervisor that they had several unexpected openings and Robert and Beverly were in the next cohort of those called for an interview. If they had all of their papers ready they could probably get in soon. Beverly then realized that she had lost her Birth Certificate. We immediately applied for it from Ohio and, miracle two, got it quickly. They were ready and within three weeks got their own little apartment with an awesome river view, their first real home. They had no furniture and, lo and behold, someone called up and offered a queen size bed and delivered it! The Lamb of God Thrift store then cut prices to a bare minimum and the apartment was thereby furnished.

Beverly was so happy that she returned to her crafting and took a bed sheet with a dolphin print on it and made curtains, lamp shades, covered shelves and a wall covering. She then fashioned jigsaw puzzles of sea and land creatures into three dimension masterpieces in an old fish tank, and their home was truly beautiful for our first visit and home blessing.

When we visited again with a Christmas dinner, they had already invited Mario, another formerly homeless man who lived by himself upstairs to share dinner with them, saying that they were now “family” through the Ministry. The final miracle happened about three weeks later. Beverly was approved for SSI and the first check arrived to her utter amazement. Now the family has a home and an income, but most of all, says Beverly, she has her mental health back as she lives with some basic security and diligently follows up on her treatment plan.

As we begin our fourth year of service as Good Shepherd Ministries of SWFL, Inc., and look back on 2010, there is so much to be thankful for that it is difficult to pull it all together so the light can shine. We are especially glad for the thirty plus volunteers (Roman Catholic and Lutheran-Episcopal and other backgrounds) that help us with cooking and regularly donating other items. An additional six people ( five are Roman Catholic from this diocese ) have become regular members of our Good Shepherd church, worshipping with us regularly and sharing the work of the church. We are glad for many stories like Beverly and Robert's, though not all have such wonderful “endings”.

It often takes years to get housing or benefits. Many cannot access health services without incomes, and many are sick and too afraid of physical or mental health services to use them, and alcohol and drug addiction and troubled relationships may cause setbacks and bumpy and painful rolls down hill. But with tiny steps each one can and does move forward toward the light. In 2010 we helped 30 people to move from homelessness into housing making our total 48 individuals, including two families with five children, housed. For all of these miracles we join our people in saying "Thanks be to God!"The attached are pictures of Robert and Beverly who are very happy to share their success story here.

Pastor Judy Lee is a Roman Catholic Women Priest
who ministers to and with the homeless in Ft. Myers, Florida
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Sister Theresa Kane, RSM: A Vision for the Catholic Community in the 21st Century

"I want to identify what I listed as four qualities. There are many more; and I encourage you to think about qualities that will bring about this Church as community in the 21st century. "

"The ones that I listed were:
A passion for social justice;
A gospel mandate for solidarity with economically poor people;
A discipleship of equals; and
A zeal, and I say a passion, and a thirst, for peace and non-violence."

"I think we also have a Gospel mandate for solidarity with the economically poor people. The essence of the Gospel is a challenge of justice; and it’s also the works of mercy. I mean, we know what Jesus did. He went around. He fed the poor people. He raised the dead. He comforted people. He was doing the works of mercy all the time. He did justice. He did social justice. "

,,, "We need to be extremely conscious to say, “Are we indeed a discipleship of equals?” We have to look at our habits and our customs. And many of our customs have been institutionalized into mindsets, structures and systems. So when I again refer to sexist language people will say, “Well, it’s really not a problem for me, because I know it doesn’t mean men. I know it means women as well as men,” you see. But it’s part of our customs. In a sense we’ve been propagandized to think that that’s all right. We even hear it very often on our television programs, where we use the male language, and we don’t do the inclusive language, we don’t use the female. So we won’t have a discipleship of equals if we don’t become conscious that we are women and men forming this community. I believe a discipleship of equals means the absence of chauvinism, machoism, imperialism, subjugation, inferiority and superiority. ..".


From: ELEPHANTS IN THE LIVING ROOM
Website: elephantsinthelivingroom.com
sr. theresa kane, rsm
a vision for the catholic community
in the 21st century
mercy center
farmington hills, mi
january 6, 2011

Equally Blessed Coalition Accuse Diocese of Colorado Springs of "Bad Theology"/Need Equally Blessed InclusiveTheology Worthy of God and our Church

contact: Jim Naughton, 202-288-5125,

jim@canticlecommunications.com


"Coalition urges Catholics to recognize fruits of lifelong, committed relationships"

January 20, 2011—
Equally Blessed, a coalition of four Roman Catholic organizations that support full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families both in the church and in civil society, today called upon the Diocese of Colorado Springs to reconsider its decision to offer a 12-step program for LGBT Catholics in which participants are asked to state that they are “defective.”
“We are all sinners, but in this instance, the sin lies not in gay and lesbian Catholics, but in those who describe children of God in such demeaning language,” said Frank DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, an Equally Blessed partner.
“The notion that homosexuality is an illness similar to alcoholism or addiction to narcotics finds no support in psychological literature,” DeBernardo added. “But you don’t need an advanced degree to understand that the fruits of lifelong, committed, monogamous relationships are quite different than the damage and heartache done by chemical dependencies.”
Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan has said that the diocesan program is different than the widely discredited “reparative therapy” programs favored by organizations such as Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, and seeks only to support participants in living a chaste life.
“We appreciate the bishop’s pastoral intentions and his rejection of reparative therapy, but this 12-step initiative points out a contradiction at the core of church teaching,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, an Equally Blessed partner.

“Catholics are taught that heterosexual celibacy is an act of heroic sacrifice accomplished through special grace, while homosexual celibacy is simply mandatory—part of the hand thatGod dealt you. Perhaps unwittingly, the church has made God the author of human prejudice. And that’s not very good theology.

“There are many community programs and churches in Colorado Springs that can provide support for LGBT people and families seeking to live with integrity and joy,” said Duddy-Burke.“We encourage people who are interested to find places that will offer affirmation and positive guidance.”

Equally Blessed suggests that Catholics who support equality for lesbian, gay bisexual and transgendered people share their views with Bishop Sheridan by writing him at the DiocesanPastoral Center, 228 N. Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

Equally Blessed is a coalition of Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, and New Ways Ministry. We are faithful Catholics who have worked more than a combined 112 years to support full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families both in the church and in civil society.

http://www.fortunatefamilies.com/docs/statement12step.pdf

Casey Lopata, Fortunate Families, Inc. PO Box 18082 Rochester, NY 14618-0082585-698-6100 www.fortunatefamilies.orginfo@fortunatefamilies.com



Bridget Mary's Reflection: "Reject Defective Theology, Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered are Equally Blessed/ Need Inclusive Theology Worthy of God and our Church"

How long, O God, how long will it take for the institutional Roman Catholic Church to affirm gays, lesbians and the transgendered as beloved sisters and brothers, equally blessed and not "defective." It is ironic that the hierarchy continue to push the "bad theology" that LGBT Catholics are "defective ", when according to experts, like Father Donald Cozzens, 50% of Roman Catholic clergy are gay!

"Father Donald Cozzens, an author, psychologist, and Catholic seminary president says that there is such a high percentage of gay priests in the church that he is concerned that 'the priesthood is or is becoming a gay profession.' In his book, "The Changing Face of the Priesthood," -- published in the year 2000 -- he estimates that 50% of Roman Catholic priests have a homosexual orientation."

"Richard Sipe, a psychotherapist and former priest, has studied celibacy, chastity, and sexuality in the priesthood for four decades. He has authored three books on the topic. He is quoted as estimating that between 25% and 45% of American priests are homosexual in orientation. Dr. Richard Sipe told the Boston Globe: "If they were to eliminate all those who were homosexually oriented, the number would be so staggering that it would be like an atomic bomb; it would do the same damage to the church's operation...It would mean the resignation of at least a third of the bishops of the world. And it's very much against the tradition of the church; many saints had a gay orientation, and many popes had gay orientations. Discriminating against orientation is not going to solve the problem." See article for more statistics and analysis by church experts: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_rcc.htm

It is time for the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to step out of the closet of fear and denial and acknowledge the reality that no one, including priests and bishops with a homosexual orientation are defective. Imagine what a change that would bring in the Catholic Church! Imagine Pope Benedict affirming an "equally blessed" theology in a new pastoral letter!
We believe God does not make junk, and all persons are created in God's image. Therefore, all are equals in God's family. Our gay, lesbian and transgendered sisters and brothers have suffered too long in our homophobic institutional Roman Catholic Church. Let us profess and live the acceptance, gratitude and love that is in the heart of God for all. Now, this is an inclusive "equally blessed"theology that is worthy of our God, our LGBT sisters and brothers and the Roman Catholic Church.
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
http://www.assocationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Courageous Priest Robert Marrone Threatened by Bishop for Celebrating Masses with Congregation after Cleveland Diocese Closed Parish

http://connect.cleveland.com/user/momalle/index.html>

by Michael O Malley, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "Bishop Richard Lennon of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese has threatened the Rev. Robert Marrone with punishment through church law for celebrating unauthorized Masses in a breakaway church. "
"Marrone and his congregation set up worship space in a commercial building in August, four months after Lennon closed their parish, St. Peter's near downtown Cleveland. "
"On Wednesday, Lennon handed Marrone a letter saying the priest was engaged in "scandal" and "corruption" by saying Masses in a space not sanctioned by the diocese. "
"Today, 48 hours past the deadline, Marrone read to his congregation a letter he had sent to the bishop in response to the threat: "It is my decision to remain in my present position with the Community of St. Peter."
The congregation of about 300 people jumped to its feet in applause and shouts of "Bravo!"
..."In his sermon, before he announced the bishop's threat, he talked about visiting Ireland and seeing myriad shades of green across the landscape. He compared the shades to different groups of Christianity, yet they are all of the same color. "
"The church of Jesus Christ is wide and open," he said. "The church is like the Irish landscape. Differences are not unhealthy. The wonder of our faith is our ability to embrace them."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Bravo, Fr. Robert Marrone and the Community of St. Peter, for your courage and prophetic obedience to the Spirit of God as you witness your fidelity to the Gospel and love for your beloved faith community! Indeed, the church is " "like the Irish landscape, wide and open" and able to embrace differences with respect and loving acceptance. Do not be afraid of excommunication or any other ecclesial punishment. Pope Benedict canonized two excommunicated nuns so far! So , like Roman Catholic Women Priests and others who have been condemned by the hierarchy, you too could be on the fast track to canonization, role models for a future generation of Catholics!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

"Women in the Sacramental Priesthood" by Bernard Cooke and Pauline Turner/ Roman Catholic Women Priests Renewing Eucharistic Celebrations

"Women In the Sacramental Priesthood"
by Bernard Cooke and Pauline Turner

http://www.womenpriests.org/classic/cooke.asp

from Women Priests, Arlene Swidler & Leonard Swidler (eds.), Paulist Press 1977, pp. 249-250.
..."Early Christianity avoids applying to any individual in the Church the term “priest.” Only Jesus himself is designated this way, and the term is extended to the community (1Pet 2:4-6) because it is the body of the risen Christ. Christian priesthood is, therefore, a power and a function that Christians bear corporately, which they exercise corporately in the sacramental liturgies, and to which they give expression in the intrinsic sacramentality of their entire life as a community of faith (Vatican II, “Church,” 31, 34)... "
"Given the fact that the entire Christian community does the eucharistic action, that the entire community professes its faith prophetically in the eucharistic proclamation, that the entire community shares the eucharistic sacrifcial meal, there is a special role played by the celebrant (Vatican II, “Liturgy,” 7, 10, 14). Obviously, this is a complex role, a highly specialized instance of leadership; but the heart of this role—as the Declaration accurately indicates—consists in the celebrant’s being a sacrament within a sacrament..."

Bridget Mary's Reflection:

According to Cooke in The Future of Eucharist, while individuals may have specific functions within the gathered assembly, the entire community performs the Eucharistic action. (p. 32.) Therefore the gathered assembly is the celebrant of Eucharist. It is the community that "does" the Eucharist, not the Presider alone.

Historical scholarship supports this conclusion and goes even further. Dr. Gary Macy concludes that from his research that in the Middle Ages manuscripts, regardless of who spoke the words of consecration, man or woman, ordained or community, the Christ Presence became a reality among the assembly.

This is the reason in our liturgies that the entire community recites the words of consecration. At our Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Communty liturgies, we invite members of the assembly to recite sections of the Eucharistic Prayer as they gather around the altar. Roman Catholic Women Priests are reclaiming the early Christian tradition that the community is the celebrant of liturgy. We are offering the gift of a renewed priestly ministry in partnership with the people we serve in a community of equals. This gift, although not appreciated by the Vatican at the moment, is a genuine gift to the Catholic community that is bringing new life, inclusiveness and creativity to the church and beyond.

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

"God is not 3 guys: Martin Luther King and Catholics"

http://godisnot3guyscom-jeanette.blogspot.com/2011/01/king-catholics.html


"Another center is Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), and a third is the Catholic press, publications such as National Catholic Reporter and America. ""Here are quotations from King’s Letter and their relevance to the conflict in the Catholic Church. "
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

"Church rulings with unjust effects for some threaten unjust effects for everyone. The whole institution is undermined by these:• excluding women from ordination and governance, • punishing persons who demonstrate exceptional moral courage (Roy Bourgeois and others for supporting women priests),• punishing Catholic health care institutions for disobeying bishops whose decisions ethicists disagree with"•...

German Catholic Politicians Call for Married Priests

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-54322320110122

German Catholic politicians call for married priests
BERLIN Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:46am IST
(Reuters) - "Several prominent Roman Catholic politicians have urged German bishops to lobby their countryman Pope Benedict for a change in Church policy to ordain married men in response to a worsening shortage of priests."
"The group, including the speaker of parliament and a cabinet member, backed up its call by quoting a 1970 essay by the present pope where he predicts the Church "will know new forms of ministry and ordain upstanding (lay) Christians as priests."
"The German bishops estimate that two-thirds of all Catholic parishes in the country will not have their own priest by 2020. .."
"German Catholicism was shaken by the sexual abuse scandals that swept through Europe last year. Some critics blame clerical abuse of minors on celibacy, a link the Church denies."
"In the wake of the scandals, polls have found that about a quarter of German Catholics are considering leaving the Church."

Are Catholic Bishops Losing Authority or Have Catholics Evolved in Moral Decisions?

NCR: Are strong declarations of doctrine the right answer to contemporary culture?


http://ncronline.org/

"What does it mean, then, when a bishop (or bishops) draws a line in the sand, only to have it washed away beneath a tide of Catholic expert analysis or the consciences of faithful Catholics or other recognized Catholic leaders who come to different conclusions?"

“Once upon a time nuns, no matter what they thought of their bishops, would probably be willing to go along” with pronouncements even if they disagreed with them, said Margaret Steinfels, codirector of the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York. At least, she said, “they would not go public on these matters. And now, they’re willing to.”

Keehan, on the health care debate, “is absolutely right, and I suspect she has a vast number of Catholics agreeing with her,” Steinfels told NCR in an interview.

Different kinds of authority
That debate and the one surrounding the hospital controversy in Phoenix demonstrate “the fact that there are many different kinds of authority or credibility,” she said. “If the bishop is merely asserting a juridical authority here, claiming that church teaching has been violated, Sr. McBride has all sorts of other kinds of authority” validating her view, said Steinfels. “She has the opinion of the medical professionals who say this was necessary to save the life of the mother.”

The pregnant mother of four who was dying also brought an authority to the situation, she said. “A lot of people,” said Steinfels, “think that bishops haven’t the foggiest idea of what it means to be pregnant, or to be pregnant and sick, or to be pregnant and dying. I’m not opposed to juridical authority. After all, we depend on it in many ways, either in the state or in the church.” But, she said, people today weigh against juridical authority “many other types of authority or ideas about what should have happened, and the bishop’s authority has been found wanting.”

Such open debates and disagreements, she said, might signal a crisis of authority, “but I think what we’re seeing is the evolution of an adult church.”

Bridget Mary's Reflection:

Yes, I do believe that Margaret Steinfels has it right. Nuns, like Sister Carol Keehan of Catholic Health Care West, speak up for patient's rights, including pregnant women's rights to life in situations when that life is threatened and can be saved. Nuns are no longer afraid of incurring the wrath of the bishops or the Vatican for that matter. (Read about the backfire of Vatican's investigations of nuns. Hint, U.S. Catholics supported the good Sisters and stopped writing checks.)

As the article states bishops have no idea what it means to be pregnant and sick or pregnant and dying. Neither does anyone who has not been pregnant. In the Phoenix case where a pregnant woman was facing death, the ethics board made a decision to save her life. The Bishop of Phoenix excommunicated Sr. McBride, the nun who was on this ethics board, for participating in this decision . Later, he removed St. Joseph's official status as a "Catholic" hospital. In the battle of "authorities", the bishop represents one authority, but there are other authorities that must be heard- in this case the medical professionals and the pregnant woman. I agree that we are witnessing a transformation of consciousness that points to adults making moral decisions according to the principles of the Gospel and the wisdom of the lived experience of their faith. It appears that the majority of Catholics agreed with the ethics board and not the Bishop of Phoenix in this tragic case. St. Joseph's Hospital continues to receive public support from the people for their decision not to cede to the authority of the bishop. The irony is that now St. Joseph's Hospital, although no longer officially recognized as a "Catholic" hospital has become truly "catholic" because the community of faith has affirmed its compassionate care and courageous stance to speak truth to power and protect life, including pregnant women's lives. This is a victory for the common sense branch of the Roman Catholic Church-- the people of God, who make ethical decisions all the time that reflect Jesus' vision in the Gospels in their daily lives. (See link to article below)

"Earth to male Roman Catholic bishops", listen to the voice of God speaking through the people of God including women! We are witnessing the full equality of women in our times and it is about time!

Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP

sofiabmm@aol.com

www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

http://ncronline.org/news/withdrawal-catholic-status-impacted-hospitals-operations-little

Vatican: 1997 Irish Abuse Letter 'Misunderstood'/ Will Irish Bishops Push Vatican Toward Reform?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_IRELAND_CATHOLIC_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Vatican: 1997 Irish abuse letter 'misunderstood'
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press


VATICAN CITY (AP) --" In a new round of damage control, the Vatican insisted Wednesday that a 1997 letter warning Irish bishops against reporting priests suspected of sex abuse to police had been "deeply misunderstood."
"The Associated Press on Tuesday reported the contents of the letter, in which the Vatican's top diplomat in Ireland told bishops that their policy of mandatory reporting such cases to police "gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical nature."



"The letter confirms that the cover-up goes as far as the Vatican, that Vatican officials knew exactly what was going on, and that they proactively sought to deter Irish bishops from cooperating with civil authorities in Ireland," said Andrew Madden, a former Dublin altar boy who was raped repeatedly by a priest, Ivan Payne, in the 1980s.
"This letter also documents how the church remained of the view that it is a law unto itself, how its rules and regulations regarding the handling of a criminal offense take precedence over civil society's laws," said Madden, who in 1995" became the first victim in Ireland to go public with a lawsuit against the church.
..."Yet as a result of the 1997 letter, most Irish dioceses never implemented the 1996 commitment to report all suspected abuse cases to police, according to the conclusions of the government-mandated investigation into the Dublin Archdiocese published in 2009."
"This in fact never took place because of the response of Rome," the commission said in its report, although it quoted Dublin Archdiocese officials as saying it was implemented there."
"That eight-year inquiry interviewed two senior Dublin Archdiocese canon lawyers involved in handling abuse complaints. They were quoted as saying the letter discouraged bishops from pursuing their 1996 initiative for fear of being overruled by Rome, as had already happened in one notorious case of a serial pedophile."


Bridget Mary's Reflection:
No amount of spin by the Vatican will justify their refusal to "defrock" serial pedophile priests who raped Catholic children. How could Vatican policy NOT demand mandatory reporting to civil officials of clergy crimes everywhere in the world? How could the Vatican return these pedophiles to ministry and risk more attacks on innocent children? In some instances, the Vatican explained,that the reason they did not defrock priests was to avoid scandal. What? The real scandal here is the crimes against thousands of children and youth, and the hierarchy's efforts to cover up such hideous acts. And now, this letter provides evidence, that the blame for the sexual abuse scandal belongs at the Vatican's doorsteps.

It was reported in the RTE Special television report that the bishops in Ireland and the United States appealed to the Vatican to get rid of serial pedophiles, and were rebuffed.

So now it appears the Vatican is denying that it is responsible.
I honestly hope that the Irish bishops challenge the Vatican and inform the Pope that they will not be part of a global cover-up any longer or take the blame for the Vatican's failure to tell the truth about its role in this tragic debacle! This summer the Pope refused to accept the resignation of two of these bishops involved in the sex abuse crisis in Ireland. Why? Did the Irish bishops complain about the lack of pastoral response on the part of the Vatican? Now the ball appears to be in the Irish bishops' court with the release of this letter. The question is will the Irish bishops have the courage to confront the Vatican and demand systemic change? Or will they close ranks and protect their own and keep the clerical system intact?

The Catholic Church is at a crossroads. Will we continue to support a corrupt hierarchical, clerical system, turn a blind eye to its failures that are tearing the Body of Christ apart or will the people of God, in genuine faithfulness to the Gospel, demand a reformation and renewal of our church?

Let us pray that the Catholc community in Ireland and around the world will move forward and support genuine structural reforms in our church. It is time for a renewed priestly ministry that will transform clericalism and will include women priests, and married priests in Spirit-led, Christ-centered, people empowered, inclusive grassroots communities of equals.
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/

Judge Anne Burke Challenges Hierarchy to be Truth Tellers in Global Sex Abuse Scandal

Justice Anne M. Burke , Supreme Court Justice, State of Illinois ,was the second president of the National Review Board appointed by the US bishops. The following is a guest blog by Judge Burke published in from Father Lasch's Blog:

"Instead of ejecting women from the sanctuary, silencing discussion among the baptized, or blurring the lines between the earthly Vatican City-State and the Body of Christ, let’s tell the truth. Let’s focus on not fibbing for the sake of the Kingdom of God and not lying for the sake of the One who died and now is Risen. Let’s leave the clerical theocracy behind and trade it for the Kingdom of God; let the grace of our sacramental life carry us further than we can see. A good dose of dignity and truth would do us all good. "

Irish Television Program Reveals Shocking Role of Vatican in Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal

http://www.rte.ie/tv/wouldyoubelieve/av_index.html



January 17, 2011
The Pope has blamed Irish bishops for their mishandling of "unspeakable crimes" by priests, but reporter Mick Peelo reveals how not only did the Vatican secretly block the bishop's efforts to improve child protection and bring abuser priests to justice, but were every bit as inept in their own handling of abuse.

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Excellent program by Irish Television revealing the Vatican's Policy of Protecting Abuser Priests When the Irish bishops tried to get the Vatican to remove priests abusers, the Vatican opposed them- citing it was not the role of the bishop to be a cop but a father to his priests.
If trust is to be restored and justice is to be done for the survivors of abuse, the Vatican must admit its role in this grave scandal. A major part of the problem is clericalism, the system of power and priviledge at the heart of this scandal that protected priests, and failed to protect the victims of abuser priests. As I have said many times, we need major reform in our church, and that reform must include systems of accountability, the empowerment of the community of faith and a renewed priestly ministry of women and men called by God and their communities to serve as sacramental ministers, spiritual leaders and prophetic witnesses to justice and equality for all our sisters and brothers.
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

Vatican Edict n 1997: "A Mandate... to conceal the Reported Crimes of a Priest"/Irish Times/Time for Boycott of Vatican

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0117/1224287680501.html

by Patsy McGarry/Irish Times/RTE Special Report

Vatican edict in 1997 rejected calls to report priests who abused

A 1997 VATICAN directive rejected a recommendation by the Irish Catholic Church that priests who abused children should be reported tothe civil authorities, it has emerged.

..." an Irish bishop described the Vatican directive as “a mandate . . . to conceal the reported crimes of a priest”.

.... "at a 1998 meeting with Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy (1996 until 2006), then archbishop of Dublin Desmond Connell thumped a table in frustration as the cardinal insisted it was Vatican policy to defend the rights of an accused priest above all."
Last month, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said that, in the past “most of the Irish bishops felt that dealing with the Congregation for Clergy was disastrous”.

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
More proof that the Vatican behaved like a crime family in the sexual abuse crisis. Finally, an Irish bishop has told the sad tale of the Vatican's "mandate to conceal the reported crimes" of priests.

What other church would get away with hiding criminals? What other church would get away with promoting bishops to prestigious positions in the Vatican, like Cardinal Law, who was at the epic center of the U.S. scandal?
This occured under Pope John Paul II's watch, and now church authorities appear to be in a rush to canonize him in May. Something is wrong here!

Clericalism is at the heart of this terrible sexual abuse scandal that has devastated the lives of thousands of sexual abuse victims. When protecting the accused cleric, trumps the rights of the alleged sexual abuse victim to an open and fair investigation by civil authorities, the Vatican 1997 mandate smacks of clericalism run amock in the Catholic Church! It is unjust and unbecoming to a church, whose role model is Jesus Christ.

It is time for the people of God, the church, to demand that the Vatican to initiate reforms of the clericalism that is at the heart of this sexual abuse crisis in the church. How about a world-wide boycott of money to the Vatican until this happens! It is time to open up to a renewed priestly ministry that includes Roman Catholic Women Priests serving in a people-empowered, community of equals where all are accountable to the standards of the Gospel and all are equal.

We Are Church:" Beatification of a Controversial, Contradictory Pope"

International Movement
We Are Church
Media Contact:Christian WeisnerTel.: +49-172 518 40 82
Email: media@we-are-church.org
Web: www.we-are-church.org
See below for U.S. media contacts and other international contacts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rome / Lisbon, January 16, 2011

We Are Church: Beatification of a controversial, contradictory Pope

Pope John Paul II, whose beatification on 1 May 2011 was announced earlier this week, was a pope of great contradiction. His tragedy lies in the discrepancy between his commitment to reform and dialogue in the world and his return to authoritarianism within the church.

It was his penchant for spiritual authoritarianism that contributed to the greatest tragedy of his tenure as pope: the sexual abuse of thousands of children globally. By holding church hierarchy paramount above the needs of the people, John Paul II perpetuated a toxic environment in which priests were permitted, often repeatedly, to sexually abuse children as long as the criminal behaviour was kept secret, preserving the public image of untarnished leadership.

Perhaps one of the best reflections of this is seen in John Paul II's strong relationship with the Legion of Christ and its founder Marcial Maciel. Maciel is accused of decades of serious abuse against women and youth, much of which was allowed to percolate due in part to the 1983 bylaws John Paul II approved for Maciel's religious order that demanded secrecy and prohibited criticism of its founder.

It was John Paul II's same need for hierarchical control that also lead to the constriction of theology with scarring impact on people's lives. His attempt to discredit liberation theology left thousands working for liberation without the full theological and ecclesial support they deserved while suffering under brutal political regimes.

Spiritual authoritarianism was also seen in John Paul II's attempt to suppress discourse on gender equality which, in turn, deprived the Catholic world of the gifts women would bring to church leadership. His stance against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people places him in complicity with local churches and governments who continue to deny the civil and moral equality of LGBT persons. Additionally, his repeated denouncements of condom use complicated the moral choice of millions around the world attempting to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and promote sexual health.

The International Movement We Are Church believes that beatification and ultimately sainthood should not be measured by whether a "miracle" can be attributed to a particular person, but rather, whether someone's life truly embodies the values of Christ who sought, not power, but the well being of God's people.

Please contact / Póngase en contacto con / Contatti / Contacter /Kontakt/ Por favor entre em contato:
Austria:
Hans Peter Hurka
+43-650-315 42 00
hans_peter.hurka@gmx.at
Belgium:
Edith Kuropatwa-Fèvre
+32-(0)-2-567-09-64
ekf.paves@happymany.net
Brazil:
Irene Cacais
+55-61 3223 4599
luisirenecacais@solar.com.br
Canada:
Jean Trudeau
+1-613)745-2170
trudeau.jean@videotron.ca
Cataluña:
Francesc Bragulat

somescat@somesglesia-cat.org
Chile:
Enrique Orellana
+56-696 4491
lapazesobradelajusticia@yahoo.com
Denmark:
Kaare Rübner Jorgensen
+45-367 81 804
ruebnerjo@webspeed.dk
Finland:
Giovanni Politi

giovanni.politi@kolumbus.fi
France:
Hubert Tournès
+33-240119873
hubertournes@orange.fr
Germany:
Christian Weisner
+49-172-518 40 82
media@we-are-church.org
Hungary:
Dr. Marcell Mártonffy
+36-1 2190621
martonffy@pantelweb.hu
Ireland:
Helen McCarthy
+353-61-310562
wearechurchireland@eircom.net
Italy:
Vittorio Bellavite
+39-02-70602370
vi.bel@IOL.IT
Netherlands:
Henk Baars
+31-6-41170229
hbaars@steknet.nl
Norway:
Aasmund Vik
+47-47269148
aasmund.vik@nationaltheatret.no
Peru:
Franz Wieser
+51-1-4492716
fwieser@speedy.com.pe
Portugal:
Maria Joao Sande Lemos
+351-91 460 2336
mjoaosandel@gmail.com
South Africa:
Brian Robertson
+27-21-7945527
brian.r@mweb.co.za
Spain:
Raquel Mallavibarrena
+34-649332654
rmal@telefonica.net
Sweden:
Krister Janzon
+46-86620802
krister.janzon@comhem.se
Switzerland:
Brigitte Durrer
+41-819212725
bridu@gmx.ch
United Kingdom:
Valerie Stroud
+44-(0)7904 332201
valeriejstroud@we-are-church.org
United States:
Anthony Padovano
+1-973-539-8732
tpadovan@optonline.net
United States:
Nicole Sotelo
+1-773.404.0004 x285
nicole@cta-usa.org