Our growing communion of Priestly pioneers. ARCWP June 20, 2013
Friday, November 2, 2012
Who "Owns" the Catholic Church?
University withdraws theologian's invitation after pressure from financial contributors
http://ncronline.org/news/theology/university-withdraws-theologians-invitation-after-pressure-financial-contributors
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
NPR Interview with Denis O'Hayer
Newnan Woman Defies Catholic Ban on Female Priests: A Talk with Diane Dougherty
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Other sites that picked up this news
http://blog.beliefnet.com/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners/2012/10/georgias-first-female-catholic-priest-to-be-ordained-today.html posted byKristina Robb-Dover
http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/home/Atlanta-Woman-to-be-Ordained-Catholic-Priest-Excommunicated-from-the-Church-174968881.html Duluth Minn.
http://www.wsfa.com/story/19857481/former-nun-faces-excommunication Montgomery, Alabama
Bangor Maine Portland, Maine
http://www.wlbt.com/story/19857481/former-nun-faces-excommunication Jackson, Miss
http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/home/Atlanta-Woman-to-be-Ordained-Catholic-Priest-Excommunicated-from-the-Church-174968881.html Duluth Minn.
http://www.wsfa.com/story/19857481/former-nun-faces-excommunication Montgomery, Alabama
Bangor Maine Portland, Maine
http://www.wlbt.com/story/19857481/former-nun-faces-excommunication Jackson, Miss
Monday, October 29, 2012
Australian Bishops are the Voice of Reason inthe "Year of Faith"
http://ncronline.org//news/global/austrian-bishops-call-church-unity-bust-stalemate
The synod coincides with the opening of a special "Year of Faith," which runs from Oct. 11, 2012, to Nov. 24, 2013, which also has focus on "the new evangelization."
"The pastoral letter, titled Jahr des Glaubens or "Year of Faith," has a special chapter on the ongoing deadlock in the Austrian church since the Austrian Priests' Initiative, which has more than 400 members, published its "Appeal to Disobedience" in June 2011. The initiative, which has the support of a large number of Austrian lay Catholics, calls for radical church reforms, including the ordination of married men and women."
The synod coincides with the opening of a special "Year of Faith," which runs from Oct. 11, 2012, to Nov. 24, 2013, which also has focus on "the new evangelization."
"The pastoral letter, titled Jahr des Glaubens or "Year of Faith," has a special chapter on the ongoing deadlock in the Austrian church since the Austrian Priests' Initiative, which has more than 400 members, published its "Appeal to Disobedience" in June 2011. The initiative, which has the support of a large number of Austrian lay Catholics, calls for radical church reforms, including the ordination of married men and women."
Saturday, October 27, 2012
For some journalists the only good and interesting nun is a former and dissenting one....
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/1696/for_some_journalists_the_only_good_and_interesting_nun.aspx
Bridget Mary's Response: Carl E. Olson's attack on the media for its comprehensive coverage of the ordination of Diane Dougherty of Atlanta, a former nun, exhibits the hubris of male chauvinist misogyny. It is wonderful that both print and television media covered it as one the top stories on Oct. 20th, 2012.. The media gets it that the the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is leading the church in the footsteps of Jesus who called both women and men as disciples and equals. (Luke 6) The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala, and called her to proclaim the central dogma of Christianity, the Resurrection. Jesus did not ordain anyone, male or female. Journalists are covering this spiritual revolution because women's ordination is a core issue of human rights and gender justice that is good news not only to Catholics but to millions of people worldwide. Yes, Carl E. Olson, the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a "holy shakeup" whose time has come! Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
"For some journalists, the only good and interesting nun...."
http://
"Finally, something that strikes me as quite interesting is how journalists who normally wouldn't bother with anyone claiming to have a direct line to God's heart and mind, will soak it up when it comes to women seeking "ordination":
Diane Dougherty's Response:
Mr. Olson clearly pointed to the exact issues I wanted to raise in the many interviews I had:
First, he addressed the five personal references I experienced that helped me come to terms with the heinious evil of "clericalism.
He rightly noted that I came to the conclusion that, "from generation to generation clericalism’s all-male-elite hierarchy dominates Catholicism. It acts as a virus, spreading through healthy people and communities, dividing them, setting one person or group against another..."
But he wrongly concluded I believed that "Jesus was all about "clericalism". On the contrary.....every gospel reference exposes Jesus disgust for those who supposedly speak for God and promote inequality in relationship.
I was glad he showed an understanding of the evil of clericalism when he wrote, "This is not to deny that actual clericalism is not a problem; it is, and it probably always will be." But when he went into what the church teaches....I would like to clarify it is not "the Church" that teaches this-rather the hierarchy.....there is a huge distinction today between the "sensus fidelium" , the voice of the faithful.....and what the hierarchy is teaching....The exodus of 33 million Catholics from the American church gives witness to this grave reality.....And during these political times, the "Catholic" vote sheds a bright light on "Catholic" thought and the divergent thinking of its faithful....
He addressed the hierarchy's teaching saying women and men are "distinct but equal" The argument is similar to the argument given in the south when blacks were housed in separate schools, lived in separate neighborhoods and ofered low paying jobs. They were "separate, but equal" -same construct that created the same false framework....today this is seen for the false notion it was in that time. I can only hope the hierarchy's notion that women are "distinct and equal..." will be seen by the next generation for the false notion it is today.
In healthy marriages, women stand on equal footing with their partners....together they define their roles after marriage-society and culture no longer have a say....So it will be in the church, women will stand on equal footing with their male counterparts. We are equally called and structures need to change to honor this call. Empowered women ARE truly feminine and unique...what needs to erode are all frameworks that allow anyone to buy into false notions that allow one gender to define the framework for the other gender......We are seeking out counterparts that want to reframe false notions of "Catholic" projected by an inequality that disrupts and corrupts our church. Hopefully those called to renew the priesthood based in gender equality will step forward and work with us.
Bridget Mary's Response: Carl E. Olson's attack on the media for its comprehensive coverage of the ordination of Diane Dougherty of Atlanta, a former nun, exhibits the hubris of male chauvinist misogyny. It is wonderful that both print and television media covered it as one the top stories on Oct. 20th, 2012.. The media gets it that the the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is leading the church in the footsteps of Jesus who called both women and men as disciples and equals. (Luke 6) The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala, and called her to proclaim the central dogma of Christianity, the Resurrection. Jesus did not ordain anyone, male or female. Journalists are covering this spiritual revolution because women's ordination is a core issue of human rights and gender justice that is good news not only to Catholics but to millions of people worldwide. Yes, Carl E. Olson, the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a "holy shakeup" whose time has come! Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
"For some journalists, the only good and interesting nun...."
http://
"Finally, something that strikes me as quite interesting is how journalists who normally wouldn't bother with anyone claiming to have a direct line to God's heart and mind, will soak it up when it comes to women seeking "ordination":
Diane Dougherty's Response:
Mr. Olson clearly pointed to the exact issues I wanted to raise in the many interviews I had:
First, he addressed the five personal references I experienced that helped me come to terms with the heinious evil of "clericalism.
He rightly noted that I came to the conclusion that, "from generation to generation clericalism’s all-male-elite hierarchy dominates Catholicism. It acts as a virus, spreading through healthy people and communities, dividing them, setting one person or group against another..."
But he wrongly concluded I believed that "Jesus was all about "clericalism". On the contrary.....every gospel reference exposes Jesus disgust for those who supposedly speak for God and promote inequality in relationship.
I was glad he showed an understanding of the evil of clericalism when he wrote, "This is not to deny that actual clericalism is not a problem; it is, and it probably always will be." But when he went into what the church teaches....I would like to clarify it is not "the Church" that teaches this-rather the hierarchy.....there is a huge distinction today between the "sensus fidelium" , the voice of the faithful.....and what the hierarchy is teaching....The exodus of 33 million Catholics from the American church gives witness to this grave reality.....And during these political times, the "Catholic" vote sheds a bright light on "Catholic" thought and the divergent thinking of its faithful....
He addressed the hierarchy's teaching saying women and men are "distinct but equal" The argument is similar to the argument given in the south when blacks were housed in separate schools, lived in separate neighborhoods and ofered low paying jobs. They were "separate, but equal" -same construct that created the same false framework....today this is seen for the false notion it was in that time. I can only hope the hierarchy's notion that women are "distinct and equal..." will be seen by the next generation for the false notion it is today.
In healthy marriages, women stand on equal footing with their partners....together they define their roles after marriage-society and culture no longer have a say....So it will be in the church, women will stand on equal footing with their male counterparts. We are equally called and structures need to change to honor this call. Empowered women ARE truly feminine and unique...what needs to erode are all frameworks that allow anyone to buy into false notions that allow one gender to define the framework for the other gender......We are seeking out counterparts that want to reframe false notions of "Catholic" projected by an inequality that disrupts and corrupts our church. Hopefully those called to renew the priesthood based in gender equality will step forward and work with us.
Fr Brian D’Arcy: ‘Why I’d have been a better priest if I’d married’
Comment: This is a good example of how many who have a vocation are unnecessarily put in a double bind.....the decrees on priestly celebacy as well as ban on woman priets can end tomorrow.... oh yes-for me they ended 10/20/12....
Fr Brian D’Arcy: ‘Why I’d have been a better priest if I’d married’
3 1 9
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Fr Brian D'Arcy has spoken about how celibacy has impacted on his life
In a fascinating documentary to be shown next week, Fr Brian D’Arcy opens his heart as never before. Stephanie Bell reports
A lonely man whose heart ached for a wife and a home of his own while remaining true to his calling is the tragic portrait which Fr Brian D’Arcy reveals of himself in a powerful new documentary.
The controversial Catholic cleric has laid bare his soul in what is a deeply personal and at times highly emotive film charting the extent of his torment in the wake of the Vatican’s move to censor him.
The Fermanagh priest opened his heart to the BBC, who followed him during a six month journey when he questioned whether or not he could remain a priest and be true to himself.
The broadcaster, who is known for his liberal stance on issues such as mandatory celibacy, the ban on women priests and contraception, goes further than he ever has before in revealing his true thoughts in the film The Turbulent Priest. But despite his controversial views on the church, the 67-year-old member of the Passionist Order comes across as a man deeply devoted to his parishioners.
Earlier this year it was reported that Fr D’Arcy had been censured by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, and that his weekly newspaper columns were being run past a church censor. The step was taken following an anonymous complaint to the CDF. The film starts on the day that news of his censorship breaks just as Fr D’Arcy is due to take Mass. The first of many emotive scenes is filmed as Aideen McGinley approaches the priest to reassure him in front of the church that he has the support of his congregation.
Her kind words prove too much for Fr D’Arcy who struggles to control his emotions and openly weeps.
Tears also flow when he talks about the impact of his own childhood abuse by two members of the church.
He said: “You’re afraid the secret will destroy you until you realise, hey, I’ve nothing to be afraid of. I’ve nothing to be ashamed of and I can say that clearly now, and it’s the same thing when the Vatican came after me, I could say, ‘I’ve nothing to be ashamed of. I didn’t do anything wrong.’”
Fr D’Arcy lets his guard down again when he talks about how celibacy has impacted on his life. He reveals that he was once in love and wanted to marry although he never broke his vows: “I have been in love and I did think I would get married once.
“Both of us were aware it was not just a sexual attraction and both of us felt that we could be holy and good people and be married. I would have been a much better priest had I married. I think it would have been the whole thing of sharing your life with somebody else and the whole thing of making sacrifices for somebody else and also that idea of a companion, a closeness, a friend, someone to call home.”
Another emotive scene comes when he visits the home in England of his good friend Michael Carroll, who was ordained on the same day as him but left the priesthood after 10 years.
Seeing his friend happy in his own home with his wife evoked a strong reaction from Fr D’Arcy who spoke about the incredible loneliness which celibacy forces on priests: “This is what I miss, having a home of my own. Ask any single person who doesn’t want to be single what it’s like. You’re a nobody in the world for a start. You have no place really you can call your own. You have no friendship you can call your own. You have given your life to everybody else and find that you have no life at all at the end of it. Where is home? At the end of my life I don’t have a home. Ideally religious life is supposed to be a type of home. It isn’t, not now anyway.”
In the hour long programme, the BBC’s Natalie Maynes follows Fr D’Arcy as he journeys across Europe in search of answers as to whether he can continue to be a priest. He travels to Austria to speak to Helmut Schuller, a priest who is actively lobbying for reform of some of the church’s teachings. He also visits Father Brian McKevitt, editor of a conservative Catholic newspaper, who has a much more traditional viewpoint and says of Brian’s Sunday World column: “A lot of what you write is a kind of a candy floss spirituality. It looks attractive but when you actually bite into it there’s an absence of substance, an absence of nourishment.”
And he calls with his friend, actor Frank Kelly, who played the infamous Father Jack from the popular comedy series Father Ted. Narrator and producer Natalie Maynes said: “Making this film has been a unique opportunity to document an insider’s take on the Irish Catholic Church, at a time when it is under particular scrutiny.
“Father Brian D’Arcy has been in religious life for 50 years and that half century of experience has convinced him the Church should be taking its lead from the ordinary ‘grass roots’ Catholics he helps on a daily basis.
“But Brian worries the Vatican is returning to the conservative church of his youth which he believes will alienate Catholics struggling with core teachings like clerical celibacy, second relationships, homosexuality, and contraception. The worst case scenario, says Brian, is that ‘we allow them to impose this legalistic church again. Look what happened — that’s what led to the abuse of children, abuse of power, the abuse of the church itself’.”
Throughout the programme, the church comes in for strong criticism from Fr D’Arcy, who concludes of his own situation that he is a priest trying to be authentic in an organisation that is dysfunctional. He is philosophical about how the church might react to him, once again questioning its authority and values.
“I’m a bit nervous about it,” he said. “I’ve no idea at all what the reaction will be. I ended by telling my congregation that I do still want to be a priest but whether or not I will still be a priest on Tuesday (after the programme is screened) is beyond my control.”
The Turbulent Priest, Monday, October 29, BBC One NI, 10.35pm
A lonely man whose heart ached for a wife and a home of his own while remaining true to his calling is the tragic portrait which Fr Brian D’Arcy reveals of himself in a powerful new documentary.
The controversial Catholic cleric has laid bare his soul in what is a deeply personal and at times highly emotive film charting the extent of his torment in the wake of the Vatican’s move to censor him.
The Fermanagh priest opened his heart to the BBC, who followed him during a six month journey when he questioned whether or not he could remain a priest and be true to himself.
The broadcaster, who is known for his liberal stance on issues such as mandatory celibacy, the ban on women priests and contraception, goes further than he ever has before in revealing his true thoughts in the film The Turbulent Priest. But despite his controversial views on the church, the 67-year-old member of the Passionist Order comes across as a man deeply devoted to his parishioners.
Earlier this year it was reported that Fr D’Arcy had been censured by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, and that his weekly newspaper columns were being run past a church censor. The step was taken following an anonymous complaint to the CDF. The film starts on the day that news of his censorship breaks just as Fr D’Arcy is due to take Mass. The first of many emotive scenes is filmed as Aideen McGinley approaches the priest to reassure him in front of the church that he has the support of his congregation.
Her kind words prove too much for Fr D’Arcy who struggles to control his emotions and openly weeps.
Tears also flow when he talks about the impact of his own childhood abuse by two members of the church.
He said: “You’re afraid the secret will destroy you until you realise, hey, I’ve nothing to be afraid of. I’ve nothing to be ashamed of and I can say that clearly now, and it’s the same thing when the Vatican came after me, I could say, ‘I’ve nothing to be ashamed of. I didn’t do anything wrong.’”
Fr D’Arcy lets his guard down again when he talks about how celibacy has impacted on his life. He reveals that he was once in love and wanted to marry although he never broke his vows: “I have been in love and I did think I would get married once.
“Both of us were aware it was not just a sexual attraction and both of us felt that we could be holy and good people and be married. I would have been a much better priest had I married. I think it would have been the whole thing of sharing your life with somebody else and the whole thing of making sacrifices for somebody else and also that idea of a companion, a closeness, a friend, someone to call home.”
Another emotive scene comes when he visits the home in England of his good friend Michael Carroll, who was ordained on the same day as him but left the priesthood after 10 years.
Seeing his friend happy in his own home with his wife evoked a strong reaction from Fr D’Arcy who spoke about the incredible loneliness which celibacy forces on priests: “This is what I miss, having a home of my own. Ask any single person who doesn’t want to be single what it’s like. You’re a nobody in the world for a start. You have no place really you can call your own. You have no friendship you can call your own. You have given your life to everybody else and find that you have no life at all at the end of it. Where is home? At the end of my life I don’t have a home. Ideally religious life is supposed to be a type of home. It isn’t, not now anyway.”
In the hour long programme, the BBC’s Natalie Maynes follows Fr D’Arcy as he journeys across Europe in search of answers as to whether he can continue to be a priest. He travels to Austria to speak to Helmut Schuller, a priest who is actively lobbying for reform of some of the church’s teachings. He also visits Father Brian McKevitt, editor of a conservative Catholic newspaper, who has a much more traditional viewpoint and says of Brian’s Sunday World column: “A lot of what you write is a kind of a candy floss spirituality. It looks attractive but when you actually bite into it there’s an absence of substance, an absence of nourishment.”
And he calls with his friend, actor Frank Kelly, who played the infamous Father Jack from the popular comedy series Father Ted. Narrator and producer Natalie Maynes said: “Making this film has been a unique opportunity to document an insider’s take on the Irish Catholic Church, at a time when it is under particular scrutiny.
“Father Brian D’Arcy has been in religious life for 50 years and that half century of experience has convinced him the Church should be taking its lead from the ordinary ‘grass roots’ Catholics he helps on a daily basis.
“But Brian worries the Vatican is returning to the conservative church of his youth which he believes will alienate Catholics struggling with core teachings like clerical celibacy, second relationships, homosexuality, and contraception. The worst case scenario, says Brian, is that ‘we allow them to impose this legalistic church again. Look what happened — that’s what led to the abuse of children, abuse of power, the abuse of the church itself’.”
Throughout the programme, the church comes in for strong criticism from Fr D’Arcy, who concludes of his own situation that he is a priest trying to be authentic in an organisation that is dysfunctional. He is philosophical about how the church might react to him, once again questioning its authority and values.
“I’m a bit nervous about it,” he said. “I’ve no idea at all what the reaction will be. I ended by telling my congregation that I do still want to be a priest but whether or not I will still be a priest on Tuesday (after the programme is screened) is beyond my control.”
The Turbulent Priest, Monday, October 29, BBC One NI, 10.35pm
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/fr-brian-drsquoarcy-lsquowhy-irsquod-have-been-a-better-priest-if-irsquod-marriedrsquo-16230220.html#ixzz2AWOdzjl5
Video piece with this article
Fr Brian D’Arcy: ‘Why I’d have been a better priest if I’d married’
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Outspoken-Irish-cleric-says-marriage-would-have-made-him-a-better-priest---VIDEO-176091221.html
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan's Homily/Bob Watkins Pictures
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Bishop
Bridget Mary Meehan Ordination Homily: Oct. 20, 2012/Atlanta
This
is the day God has made, let us rejoice and
be glad in it. Today we are making
history
in Atlanta because the Association
of Roman Catholic Women
Priests
is ordaining six women.
 |
Diane Dougherty will be ordained a priest.(center with red stole)
Barbara Duff, (left, bottom row)
Debra Meyers, (second row, right)
Joleane Presley,(bottom row, right)
Irene Scaramazza, (center, back row)
and Rosemarie Smead (left second row)
will be ordained deacons.
These six courageous women stand on the margins with us to serve God’s people in an inclusive Catholic Church where all are welcome to receive sacraments.
As we gather around Holy Wisdom’s Banquet Table to feast on the Bread of Life and to savor the Wine of Abundant Love, we are blessed to be in this sacred space, the First Metropolitan Community Church.
Like Deacon Phoebe, an influential leader in the early church, and St. Mary of Magdala, the apostle to the apostles, and apostle Junia, a co-worker and partner with Paul in preaching the Gospel, these women have been called by the Risen Christ to “go and tell” the good news of Gospel equality. For some, like the hierarchy, women priests are a revolution, for millions of Catholics, we are a holy shakeup whose time has come.
The Catholic Church should follow the example of Jesus who called both men and
women as disciples and treated them as equals and partners in the Gospel.In
Luke 8:1-3, we learn that among his disciples were: Mary of Magdala, Joanna,
Suzanna, and many more who supported Jesus with their own funds. How many
sermons have you heard about the women who bankrolled Jesus’ministry.
Now, however, change is in the air and
all over the airwaves!
On Sept. 18th at the
International Congress of Coptic Studies, Professor Karen King, a historian at
Harvard Divinity School , reported that a fourth century datedpapyrusrefers to
Jesus’ wife and states that “she will be able to be my disciple.” (Laurie
Goodstein, “A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus’s Wife, “New York Times, September 18, 2012)
According to all four Gospels, Mary of
Magdala is the only person described as present at both the cross and the tomb.
The Gospel of John portrays a close relationship between Mary of Magdala and
Jesus. When the other disciples come and go, Mary stays nearby, weeping. In an
age where a woman’s word was suspect, the Risen Christ appears first to Mary,
not Peter, and calls her to be the apostle to the apostles to proclaim the good
news of the Resurrection, the central belief of Christianity. Like Mary, women
today, are being called to preach the good news that Christ is risen and
continues to rise up in God’s people for justice, liberation, and new life! We
are silent and subordinate no more!
In an ancient Coptic Christian
Scripture, “Pistis Sophia”, written in the Second Century, Jesus chooses Mary
of Magdala and John to “be on my right and on my left.” Mary’s prominence is
reflected throughout the document. She asks 39 out of 46 questions and
participates in providing interpretation of this document. Peter expresses
resentment toward her throughout the work: “My Lord we shall not be able to
endure this woman, for she takes our opportunity and she has not let any of us
speak and takes all the time herself.” Mary objects to Peter’s efforts to
intimidate her and charges that “he hates the female race.”
History is repeating itself today! On
Holy Thursday, April 5th , Pope Benedict chastised the growing number of male
priests who support women priests. 400 Austrian priests and 300 German
theologians and 800 Irish priests have endorsed women’s ordination publically.
According to the Irish Independent,
the Association of Irish priests called the pope’s criticism “unfair,
unwarranted and unwise.”
In Romans 16, St. Paul acknowledges
Deacon Phoebe’s leadership in the early Christian movement. Phoebe was
entrusted with the mission to proclaim Paul’s letter to the house churches in Rome.
She was an influential leader whose authority and credentials were accepted by
the local church. Contemporary scholars like Dr. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza
believe that women leaders like Phoebe were not assistants to the apostles, but
rather were apostles, missionaries, and leaders of communities equal to and
independent of Paul. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her , p.
179, 48. )
In Romans 16:7 St. Paul commended Junia
and Andronicus, as “outstanding apostles” who were in Christ before he was. It
is the only time that Paul refers to someone other than the Twelve or himself
as apostles. Some biblical translators changed Junia, a female
name, to the male name Junias, and up until recent years the male name appeared
in most bibles. Patristic sources, including St. John Chrsysostom and St.
Jerome acknowledged Junia as an apostle.
Somehow, I think Junia might be missing
from the contemporary curriculum in Catholic Schools and seminaries. It is time
for a revision!
Since Paul, Junia and Andronicus were
apostles, there were more than 12 apostles. The “twelve” was a symbolic number
referring to the twelve tribes of Israel. And, of course, in spite of what the
hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church states, Jesus did not ordain anyone at
the last supper.
Scholars, like Gary Macy, in The
Hidden History of Women's Ordination , present scholarly evidence of women
in Holy Orders during the first twelve hundred years of the church's history.
(One could say that is the church's best kept secret, but NO MORE!!)
Roman Catholic Women Priests are
ordained in apostolic succession because a male bishop with apostolic
succession and in communion with the pope ordained our first bishops!Therefore,
our ordinations are valid.
Our liberation movement is living
prophetic obedience to the Spirit by disobeying an unjust, man-made, canon law
that discriminates against women in our church. Sexism, like racism, is a sin.
Women in the Roman Catholic Church are treated like second class citizens. The
Catholic Church cannot continue to discriminate against women and blame God for
it. Like Rosa Parks, whose refusal to sit in the back of the bus helped to
ignite the civil rights movement, the Association of Roman Catholic Women
Priests is not leaving the church, but leading the church into a new era of
gender justice.
In 2002, 7 women were ordained on the
Danube, in 2006, 12 women were ordained in the first U.S. Ordination in
Pittsburgh. Now there are approximately 150. Women Priests are in Europe, U.S.,
Canada, and Latin America.
As part of an international initiative of the Roman
Catholic Women Priests Movement, the Association of Roman Catholic Women
Priests claims equality as a human right.Our vision is justice for all, justice
for the poor, justice for women, and justice for women in the church including
ordination. We speak out for women’s rights and non-violence. We speak truth to
power and the ministry of irritation is our forte! The Association of Roman
Catholic Women Priests challenges church teachings that negate women’s
experiences such as contraception. We support marriage equality and nunjustice
for women religious in the recent Vatican take -over of their organization, the
Leadership Conference of Women Religious. We foster ecumenism and interfaith
relations. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers from all faiths
and no faith who work for justice for all who are oppressed and marginalized in
our world.
Now we ordain our beloved Sisters, Diane, Barbara, Debra,
Joleane, Irene and Rosemarie. Wouldn’t Deacon Phoebe and apostles Mary of
Magdala and Junia be proud of them? … and of us?!! Alleluia
Bridget
Mary Meehan, D.Min., a Sister for Christian Community, was ordained a Roman
Catholic priest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 31, 2006. She was ordained a
bishop on April 19, 2009. Dr. Meehan is
currently Dean of the Doctor of Ministry Program for Global Ministries
University, and is the author of 20 books, including Living Gospel Equality Now: Loving in the
Heart of God, The Healing Power of Prayer and Praying with Women of the
Bible. She presides at liturgies in Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic
Community in Sarasota, Florida and celebrates liturgies with groups in
N.VA. Dr. Meehan can be reached at
sofiabmm@aol.com
and www.arcwp.org
Link to ARCWP Ordination of Six Women Pictures from Atlanta/Oct. 20,2012/Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests/ Photos Courtesy of Bob Watkins
Newly
Ordained:left to right:
Barbara
Duff, Bridget Mary Meehan, Diane Dougherty, Jolean
Presley,
back
row left ot right: Rosemarie Smead, Irene Scaramazza, and Debra
Meyers
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