Living Gospel Inclusivity and Empowerment Now- https://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2025/10/rev-dr-bridget-mary-meehan-arcwp-chat.html
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| Bridget Mary Meehan - Address on Women Priests foot Spirit Unbounded in Rome on October 13,2023 |
| December 4,2023
My Response: I am hopeful that real change can take place because the Spirit is moving among us creating something new as we listen deeply to all voices with loving hearts and share our stories of living the Gospel of peace, justice and inclusion.
Pope Francis said that in the Synod on Synodality all voices must be heard. In the spirit of creating a Church for everyone, Pope Francis could invite ordained Roman Catholic Women and members of our inclusive communities to share their stories of loving service and mutual partnership.
The international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is providing a bridge that joins the institutional Church on a path to the emerging Church in which mutual partnership In ecclesial communities is a reality now.
Bridget Mary
Blanca Azucena Caicedo, ARCWP Presbytera
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| Blanca Azucena Caicedo ARCWP ( with microphone- leading Prayer Service) |
I share with you the message that I gave at the vigil within the framework of 25N, international day for the elimination of violence against women, making visible the religious violence against women that has been carried out systematically for centuries.
On one occasion a child wanted to test the wisdom of a wise man, asking:
“If you are so wise, tell me, is what I have behind me in my hand alive or dead?”
Well... that boy had a bird in his hands and thought: if the wise man says that it is alive, I squeeze my hand and grab it, but, if the wise man says that it is dead, I let it fly.
It is up to you to BE HAPPY and seek help,
It is up to you to BE FREE and stay away from those who want to tie up your dreams,
It's up to you to SPEAK and report in time...
It depends on you,
It is recognizing that the life of that other person is also in our hands, and there is the wisdom to make decisions at the right time.
You are the tenderness of someone who caresses other people's wounds,
You are the sweet fragrance of those who sense the need of others,
You are that bouquet of roses that is delivered without conditions...
Because if you look in the mirror you will find a gift of love,
You are the mischievous smile when it flirts with life, with time,
You are the melodious word to the ears of your loved ones...
Because you can't lose the gift of being in the here and now,
because you can't let the dreams that you build to get ahead fly away,
because you can't expect things to change if you leave everything for later...
Because first you must recognize yourself as a treasure, as a diamond, which is only acquired to the extent that you decide to give it.
Today say, Lord, here I am like the woman of the Gospel who says: “Behold the servant of the Lord, but not the servant who kneels to humiliate herself but the one who knows what is best, who respects the steps of others, who knows how to walk.” in the midst of obstacles... “They don't have wine”, he senses the needs of others, he anticipates events, he feels pain for which he cries and anguishes and above all he has a solution to other people's problems, he knows how to respond , how to act at the right moment, knows that you are hungry, that you need shoes, that you do not understand the task, that you fight with true and wise arguments... “they don't have wine” and you need your distance to be respected and you need to be heard or heard.
Here we are, Lord, with the firm position of standing, even though we have had to fight for the position that rightfully belongs to us...
– fight against social discrimination, where jobs are exclusive, believing that decent work is one that does not need preparation, because according to the imagination of sexist society, men are more capable than women and therefore earn more, and In response to this, only laws are created and nothing happens.
– fight against sexual violence, because dignity has been reified, and even selling a pencil requires her to bare her body, and they are hired depending on their figure and body for the sole fact of selling products, women who are raped, groped, touched without not knowing that on many occasions the main executioners are in their homes, and sometimes we see those in the park who undress our girls with vulgar looks and words... and nothing happens.
- fight against verbal, emotional, psychological violence, where grotesque words seem to be the daily bread in many families, in thousands of relationships that nullify dignity and degrade the condition of being a woman, and in the face of it, nothing happens. ..
- fight against workplace violence, just look at the positions in our competent entities, men are entrusted with positions of power and women with positions of service, and nothing happens.
- fight against the violence of “NO”… you cannot, you should not, you are not capable, it is not enough,
- fight against gender violence... where some believe they limit the freedom of their sexual condition, for the simple fact of having a different orientation to traditions, because to wear someone else's shoe you have to feel the skin of the person It demands and demands respect from those who raise their voices even if they go against the supposed hypocritical principles of those who believe themselves to be pure from their convictions, and in the face of this, nothing happens.
In addition to these results, it stands out that the maximum level of education of 80% of the aggressors is primary and/or secondary, with men being the main aggressors in cases of physical violence (72.3%), psychological violence (74, 7%) and sexual abuse (97.3%); while women were mainly responsible in cases of deprivation and neglect (80%).
Likewise, in Santander for every male victim there are two women attacked, and 33.0% of the cases occur in children under 6 years of age.
Alarming figures, even more so knowing that Santander occupies 2nd place in domestic violence and the first places in sexual violence in children and adolescents --- and Lebrija, where are we?...
The cases that are reported are not always resolved cases, and there is no guarantee of being protected by the State. We see years-old cases that remained on paper and the route was activated... and they end up archived as paper stories. , but still, many girls continue to live with the executioner, in the same places where for years and years they have suffered violence and the abuser continues to walk through our streets with the freedom of not having been touched.
It is time for us to wake up, to know that we are not alone, that the State must guarantee our rights, that we are the voice of those who have remained silent, that our flag joins the flag of all those who follow seeking justice and truth.
The December 1st issue of Roman Catholic Women Priests Canada's online magazine, The Review, at
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By Miriam Duignan published in the Tablet
“We are still hopeful, but not particularly optimistic.” This was the response of the campaign group, Catholic Women’s Ordination, to the first synodal meeting in Rome.
During the synodal process, Church leadership heard Catholics everywhere express a strong desire to see women recognised for their vocations to ministry and for the priestly work they do in parishes everywhere. In so many of our churches, it is women preparing families for baptisms, marriages and funerals and, in the absence of a male priest, they conduct Communion services on a Sunday. Women are chaplains in hospitals where they care for the sick and the dying, but must call for a male priest to administer the last rites or hear confession. This glaring and illogical injustice can no longer be ignored.
And yet, the topic of women priests was banned at the Synod. Instead, after one month of discussions and constant edits, the summary document’s paragraph on the female diaconate (a question that was allowed) was a watered down, vague statement about the need for further study. If yet another study were to be taken up, this would be the third go-around in seven years to examine the case to restore the women’s diaconate. We have to ask, how much longer can this possibly take?
The vocation to be a deacon is undoubtedly a valid calling for those who do not want the responsibility of running a parish or holding other roles of responsibility in the leadership of the Church. CWO is hopeful that this ministry will soon be opened up for women who feel called to serve as a deacon, the way Catholic men can now. But a Deacon cannot celebrate mass or consecrate the Eucharist, the central sacrament of Catholicism, the heart of church life and of which parishes are in desperate need. The lack of priests has reached a critical stage and most clergy are now exhausted and overworked. The Church hierarchy is excluding a group of willing and able women workers who have the skills and experience to officiate today.
Our ambivalence about the possibility of women deacons also stems from the fear it would entail “bolting us on” to current hierarchical structures in a way that limits the vocations of women and continues to render them as inferior to men. The post-synodal signs point to the desire of the Church hierarchy to create a lay ministry of women deacons that strictly rules out ordination. This would mean women won’t be sacramentally recognised as having a commitment to a life of ministry. CWO is concerned women would therefore not qualify to receive the same training as male deacons and would lack formal confirmation of a permanent role within parishes. We suspect that female lay deacons’ ability to preside at baptisms, weddings and funerals would always be subject to the goodwill and whims of local priests and bishops.
This continued restriction of the Sacrament of Holy Orders to men only (“permanent” deacons included) is a blatant discrimination that has no basis in tradition or theology. There is overwhelming evidence that women were sacramentally ordained as deacons in the early church. To allow this tradition to be denied would be to pander to the prejudicial desire to ensure that no woman will ever be recognised as the peer of a man.
We often hear that the body of evidence proving women were deacons means this is the only ministry women can claim to hold. But this is mistaken. Christ instituted an equal baptism for women and men, indicating openness to all sacraments including ordination. And at the Last Supper, women were present when Jesus said: “Do this in memory of me.” When Jesus sent out his apostles and disciples, he blessed them – men and women – with his authority for their mission. Whatever men did in the early Church, women did too, as equals and not subordinates. It was only in the fourth century that we first see a separate hierarchical rank of ordained male priests when the Roman culture of excluding women from leadership roles took hold. And so, for as long as priesthood exists as a role and a requirement to run parishes, administer all sacraments and participate in decision-making about how the Catholic Church is run and what it teaches, women can and must be among their number.
We welcome Synod discussions about tackling what Pope Francis calls “the scourge of clericalism”. But those opposed to any ministry for women are increasingly using this term to position women’s vocations in a negative light. To associate women’s genuine call to ministry with abuse of power and suggest that their ministry would be corrupt before it even starts, is a judgment never levelled at men who claim a vocation to priesthood. Those who claim concern about clericalism should note that this affliction often arises when priests believe they are a superior caste of men, because no woman can ever be their peer. And so, the most effective way to diminish clericalism and start to reform the priesthood would be to restore women to ministry alongside men as their equals.
CWO envisages flourishing, inclusive, active Eucharistic communities, where women will be ordained to sacramental and pastoral care. We are confident that the Synod’s lack of meaningful commitments to act on equality will galvanise Catholics to demand their local dioceses have further listening sessions. This would increase the pressure on the Vatican to not only give the illusion of inclusion with vague references to study women but actively to include women in the leadership structure of the church. Our hierarchy needs to act now because the very future of our church is at stake. Any further delay only exacerbates the pastoral crises that leave the dying neglected, the vulnerable with no support, and parishes adrift. These communities are desperate for priestly service and leadership – the very care that women are already offering and are ready to give more fully.
Miriam Duignan is Executive Director of the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Researchwhich is dedicated to bringing about reform in the Catholic Church via educational websites as well as multi-disciplinary reports by academics on the most disputed areas of church teaching. Miriam was born in England to Irish parents, educated by Dominican nuns and completed post graduate studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.
