Friday, May 17, 2013
"Pope Francis:Twenty Things You Didn't Know"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9931413/Pope-Francis-20-things-you-didnt-know.html
"He's had a girlfriend, he loves the tango, and at one point he worked as a bouncer. Here's 20 things you didn't know about this most humble of Popes."
"He's had a girlfriend, he loves the tango, and at one point he worked as a bouncer. Here's 20 things you didn't know about this most humble of Popes."
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests/WWW.ARCWP.ORG/Update 2013/NEW VIDEO on YOUTUBE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBrJSZk5t0
Watch new youtube video with update 2013 on the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Visit us at www.arcwp.org
Watch new youtube video with update 2013 on the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Visit us at www.arcwp.org
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
A Male Priest's Support of Woman Who Will be Ordained by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests in June
http://www.phrogge.com/
"What can I possibly say to her in the face of her profound personal courage? I feel humbled even to be in her presence. I have been a priest for a few years, but, then, I am of the accepted gender, while she is not. The accepted gender has been determined solely by others of the same gender, who claim to be acting “after the example of Christ, and at his command”*. Other than the minions of the accepted gender’s managers, few folks these days believe the institution’s stated excuses for not allowing women to be ordained. Yet, with the emotional investment of the institution and its religious police, taking such a step is an act of courageous faith....
I think she is following Jesus’ words to us that, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross every day and follow me”. She, and other such priests before her, display courage, no doubt of that. She will be subject to threats, name-calling, vitriol, and undoubtedly “christ-like paternal concern” from management. She has a tough road ahead of her, made even more difficult by those claiming to be acting in Jesus’ name, doing things and having attitudes that Jesus didn’t have or do. The “Catholic Taliban” is alive and well.
She has a solid prayer life, no doubt of that. She will need it on her journey. She will have the support of a Eucharistic Community, even though institutional management will vehemently deny folks who support and agree with her the right to use these words. But the Eucharistic Reality will still surround them. When Jesus said “wherever two or more gather in my name I am with them” he didn’t say anything about getting anybody’s permission or authorization, what words to use or clothes to wear.
I wish her courageous firmness, and perhaps a bit humility, on her journey. She will need it. Jesus’ followers are not always the kindest or most charitable folks. She will learn as she celebrates Eucharist the power and reality of Jesus’ words – all of them. Hopefully she will come to “recognize and know what she does, and imitate what she handles”**. Perhaps she will come to recognize Jesus present in the most unexpected folks, relationships, and situations, and realize that grace has brought her to where she is needed, and grace is always powerfully real...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
Thank you, dear Brother, for your open, loving support of a future woman priest. Your words are a source of inspiration to many.
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
"What can I possibly say to her in the face of her profound personal courage? I feel humbled even to be in her presence. I have been a priest for a few years, but, then, I am of the accepted gender, while she is not. The accepted gender has been determined solely by others of the same gender, who claim to be acting “after the example of Christ, and at his command”*. Other than the minions of the accepted gender’s managers, few folks these days believe the institution’s stated excuses for not allowing women to be ordained. Yet, with the emotional investment of the institution and its religious police, taking such a step is an act of courageous faith....
I think she is following Jesus’ words to us that, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross every day and follow me”. She, and other such priests before her, display courage, no doubt of that. She will be subject to threats, name-calling, vitriol, and undoubtedly “christ-like paternal concern” from management. She has a tough road ahead of her, made even more difficult by those claiming to be acting in Jesus’ name, doing things and having attitudes that Jesus didn’t have or do. The “Catholic Taliban” is alive and well.
She has a solid prayer life, no doubt of that. She will need it on her journey. She will have the support of a Eucharistic Community, even though institutional management will vehemently deny folks who support and agree with her the right to use these words. But the Eucharistic Reality will still surround them. When Jesus said “wherever two or more gather in my name I am with them” he didn’t say anything about getting anybody’s permission or authorization, what words to use or clothes to wear.
I wish her courageous firmness, and perhaps a bit humility, on her journey. She will need it. Jesus’ followers are not always the kindest or most charitable folks. She will learn as she celebrates Eucharist the power and reality of Jesus’ words – all of them. Hopefully she will come to “recognize and know what she does, and imitate what she handles”**. Perhaps she will come to recognize Jesus present in the most unexpected folks, relationships, and situations, and realize that grace has brought her to where she is needed, and grace is always powerfully real...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
Thank you, dear Brother, for your open, loving support of a future woman priest. Your words are a source of inspiration to many.
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Rosemarie Smead, ARCWP, Newly Ordained Priest- First Liturgy in Louisville, Kentucky, May 11, 2013
"God of amazing surprises, Creator of tiny bugs and awesome plants. Designer of earth's wonders, Giver of life and laughter, we praise your passionate love hidden, yet revealed, everywhere in the cosmos."
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| Rosemarie Smead, arcwp, in stole seated at table with Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community |
So began the Eucharistic Prayer of newly ordained priest Rosemarie Smead's 1st Liturgy in Louisville Saturday evening, May 11th. More than 50 gathered in the children's chapel of St. Andrew United Church of Christ. Fittingly, she chose Bridget Mary's wondrous and awe-inspiring "Liturgy to Celebrate New Life, Creation, and New Beginnings."
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| Donna Rougeux, arcwp with yellow stole, shared homily with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp |
We were at five tables with Eucharist bread and wine at each for the Body of Christ to consecrate, belonging to the Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community. A family therapist who has worked with teenagers for many years, Rosemarie wore the "children of the world" stole with a tablecloth of the same design. After housekeeping, (email sign-up list, our brochure, and a brief summary of our ARCWP community), we stilled ourselves with the chant, "Seek the Face of God" by Susan Butler. Our Gospel reading was from John 14: 11-20.
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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp, in white stole shared homily with Donna Rougeux, arcwp |
..."I will ask the One who sent me to give you another Paraclete, another Helper to be with you always -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept since the world neither sees Her nor recognizes Her; but you can recognize the Spirit, because She remains with you and will be within you. I won't leave you orphaned; I will come back to you."
We priests from Lexington, Donna Rougeux and I, were invited to give the homily. Donna focused on the letting go and coming into new life of the spirit. I spoke about my week with the prophetic Transform Now Plowshares activists who obeyed the promptings of the Spirit of Truth and entered the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Knoxville, Tennessee: Sr. Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli.
"You are the Body of Christ" we said to each other around the tables. This was a first experience for some who later articulated how moving and renewing an experience it was for them. In the hush of our Communion joy, we chanted "Do Not Be Afraid" and "Whichever Way You Turn" (there is the face of God) also by Susan Butler.
After we sang four stanzas of "All Are Welcome" Rosemarie outlined the needs and responsibilities of the community and gave a schedule for Liturgies which will be held there the first and third Saturday of each month at 5 p.m. "Thank you for your courage to support a renewed priestly ministry," Rosemarie said. We shared each other's company and some of us went for supper at Kingfish on the Ohio River.
article by Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp
For more information on women priests or the Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community, contact our website at www.arcwp.org
"Invisible War Exposes Pervasiveness of Sexual Assault in U.S. Military"/ The Rape of Military Women Should NOT Be an "Occupational Hazard" that Merits "No Redress"
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/invisible-war-exposes-pervasiveness-sexual-assault-us-military
"According to the victims and their advocates in the film, the crux of the problem seems to lie with unit commanders who have no legal training, and sometimes no higher education. It is up to them to adjudicate cases, whether or not accusations move through the military justice system. Often, they are the assailants or their buddies are; meanwhile, victims can be prosecuted for various reasons: giving a false report (even if they didn’t) and committing adultery (even if they were raped and are not even married.)
Almost all of the victims have attempted suicide at least once. One of the saddest moments in the film is when Cioca finds and reads the suicide note she wrote for her mother. After one attempt, Cioca said she decided to live once she learned she was pregnant, hoping the life within her would not have to live through what she had.
Equally sad is the story of one Navy recruit who joined the military because her father, still in the Army, encouraged her. He breaks down when he recalls the phone call that told him she was no longer a virgin because she was raped.
Almost all of these young women joined the military out of idealism and the desire to serve their country. The reports of rapes and assaults at the prestigious Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., are stunning.
Two days after seeing the film in April 2012, Secretary for Defense Leon Panetta took away the right to adjudicate rape cases from commanders.
The film does not tell us what the military, overall, is doing to make rapists and assailants accountable. A pitiable percentage of these sexual predators are prosecuted; there are virtually no consequences for rapists in the military, nor is there a database for offenders. They only make it to the national database if they receive more than one year’s punishment for a crime (that the military then deems equal to a felony).
The lawsuit filed by the former servicewomen, many of whom are interviewed in the film, was thrown out. The Department of Defense deemed that their rapes and injuries were the result of an “occupational hazard” and therefore merited no redress...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
The Obama administration needs to take action immediately to punish the crime of rape in the military with serious jail time. No more denials or hand-slapping or looking the other way by the brass can be tolerated. The culture must be changed in this case from the top down. It is time for Obama to hold the military accountable. A database for offenders must be established for all of these assults, and all assults prosecuted. No more punish the victim policies! The rape of courageous women serving our country should not be an "occupational hazard" that merits "no redress!" Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
"According to the victims and their advocates in the film, the crux of the problem seems to lie with unit commanders who have no legal training, and sometimes no higher education. It is up to them to adjudicate cases, whether or not accusations move through the military justice system. Often, they are the assailants or their buddies are; meanwhile, victims can be prosecuted for various reasons: giving a false report (even if they didn’t) and committing adultery (even if they were raped and are not even married.)
Almost all of the victims have attempted suicide at least once. One of the saddest moments in the film is when Cioca finds and reads the suicide note she wrote for her mother. After one attempt, Cioca said she decided to live once she learned she was pregnant, hoping the life within her would not have to live through what she had.
Equally sad is the story of one Navy recruit who joined the military because her father, still in the Army, encouraged her. He breaks down when he recalls the phone call that told him she was no longer a virgin because she was raped.
Almost all of these young women joined the military out of idealism and the desire to serve their country. The reports of rapes and assaults at the prestigious Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., are stunning.
Two days after seeing the film in April 2012, Secretary for Defense Leon Panetta took away the right to adjudicate rape cases from commanders.
The film does not tell us what the military, overall, is doing to make rapists and assailants accountable. A pitiable percentage of these sexual predators are prosecuted; there are virtually no consequences for rapists in the military, nor is there a database for offenders. They only make it to the national database if they receive more than one year’s punishment for a crime (that the military then deems equal to a felony).
The lawsuit filed by the former servicewomen, many of whom are interviewed in the film, was thrown out. The Department of Defense deemed that their rapes and injuries were the result of an “occupational hazard” and therefore merited no redress...."
Bridget Mary's Response:
The Obama administration needs to take action immediately to punish the crime of rape in the military with serious jail time. No more denials or hand-slapping or looking the other way by the brass can be tolerated. The culture must be changed in this case from the top down. It is time for Obama to hold the military accountable. A database for offenders must be established for all of these assults, and all assults prosecuted. No more punish the victim policies! The rape of courageous women serving our country should not be an "occupational hazard" that merits "no redress!" Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
Monday, May 13, 2013
First Disciples Create Model for Dealing with Contention in the Church by Bishop Tom Gumbleton
http://ncronline.org/blogs/peace-pulpit/first-disciples-create-model-dealing-contention-church
..."God is present for everyone, but we have to be alert to God. In the Catholic catechism, there's a definition of what our conscience is, and it's actually taken from the Second Vatican Council: the divine voice echoing in the depths of our heart as a law written by God in human hearts.
The divine voice of God echoing in the heart of each one of us, but we have to be quiet at times. We have to separate ourselves from all the things going on in the world around us in what people call now "centering yourself" -- going into the depths of your heart and hearing God speaking to you. God is there, but we have to take the time to listen. As we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles and elders together with the whole church decided what to do; they listened to the whole church.
There's a great teaching in our church called the sensus fidelium, the sense of the believing people. God speaks not just through the pope or to the bishops, the hierarchy. God speaks in the depth of the heart of each of us. The church has to enter into dialogue as that first community of disciples did to listen to one another, draw from the depths of the Spirit speaking to all of us, and then come to our conclusions. Now you might say, "That's impossible; that will never happen."
I just discovered yesterday or the day before that actually something very similar to this has just happened in a church in Germany. The bishops there gathered together 300 people for a four-day period to discuss what changes, what reforms needed to be developed within the church. Afterward, the president of the German Bishops' Conference spoke, and he said that one of the things that he, the bishops, and the church now were going to call for would be the ordination of women to the diaconate.
That's something we've been told you can't even talk about. Now the German church is saying, "Yes, we're calling for that." We're in a new time. We need more ministers in our church. There are women who claim and hear God speaking within them, calling them to minister. Now the German church having gathered together, listened to one another, and listened to the Spirit speaking to them are saying, "We need this reform now." And we do, I think.
It seems very obvious that we have just an extraordinary lack of ministers in our church. Why else are we closing all of our churches? We don't have enough ministers. Basically, that's the real reason. Now the church is listening in Germany, at least. That means, though, the church can do the same thing everywhere. We need to do that in our church. It starts with each one of us.
Try to listen deeply to what God is telling us about these things that are going on in the world around us, about the whole issue of homosexuality, about the issue of ordination of women, about the issue of how we bring peace into our world, about giving up violence, listening to God, bringing about change in ourselves and then trying to be bringing about this change in our church as we enter into deep dialogue with one another."
..."God is present for everyone, but we have to be alert to God. In the Catholic catechism, there's a definition of what our conscience is, and it's actually taken from the Second Vatican Council: the divine voice echoing in the depths of our heart as a law written by God in human hearts.
The divine voice of God echoing in the heart of each one of us, but we have to be quiet at times. We have to separate ourselves from all the things going on in the world around us in what people call now "centering yourself" -- going into the depths of your heart and hearing God speaking to you. God is there, but we have to take the time to listen. As we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles and elders together with the whole church decided what to do; they listened to the whole church.
There's a great teaching in our church called the sensus fidelium, the sense of the believing people. God speaks not just through the pope or to the bishops, the hierarchy. God speaks in the depth of the heart of each of us. The church has to enter into dialogue as that first community of disciples did to listen to one another, draw from the depths of the Spirit speaking to all of us, and then come to our conclusions. Now you might say, "That's impossible; that will never happen."
I just discovered yesterday or the day before that actually something very similar to this has just happened in a church in Germany. The bishops there gathered together 300 people for a four-day period to discuss what changes, what reforms needed to be developed within the church. Afterward, the president of the German Bishops' Conference spoke, and he said that one of the things that he, the bishops, and the church now were going to call for would be the ordination of women to the diaconate.
That's something we've been told you can't even talk about. Now the German church is saying, "Yes, we're calling for that." We're in a new time. We need more ministers in our church. There are women who claim and hear God speaking within them, calling them to minister. Now the German church having gathered together, listened to one another, and listened to the Spirit speaking to them are saying, "We need this reform now." And we do, I think.
It seems very obvious that we have just an extraordinary lack of ministers in our church. Why else are we closing all of our churches? We don't have enough ministers. Basically, that's the real reason. Now the church is listening in Germany, at least. That means, though, the church can do the same thing everywhere. We need to do that in our church. It starts with each one of us.
Try to listen deeply to what God is telling us about these things that are going on in the world around us, about the whole issue of homosexuality, about the issue of ordination of women, about the issue of how we bring peace into our world, about giving up violence, listening to God, bringing about change in ourselves and then trying to be bringing about this change in our church as we enter into deep dialogue with one another."
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests/Professional Photos by Giulia Bianchi
http://forwomenpriests.tumblr.com
If you share any of these photos, please re-post them
"courtesy of www.giuliabianchi.com
Here are a few of Guilia Bianchi's professional pictures of Rosemarie Smead's at Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests Ordination on April 27, 2013 in Louisville, KY.
Sister Megan Rice Interview VIDEO and article in Irish Central
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/-Catholic-nun-among-three-convicted-of-break-in-to-US-defense-nuclear-bomb-facility--VIDEO-206901161.html
Click on this link and watch powerful video of Sr. Megan Rice sharing why she broke into nuclear bomb facility -Y12 in Oak Ridge Tennesssee.
The activists admitted cutting several fences, walking through the complex for hours
"An elderly Catholic nun is among the three people convicted for damage they caused when they broke into a defense facility where enriched uranium for nuclear bombs is stored.
Sister Megan Gillespie Rice, 82, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed admitted to cutting the fence and gaining access to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in July 2012.
The defendants called themselves "Transform Now Plowshares," a reference to the biblical phrase: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks."
The jury deliberated for almost three hours before returning a guilty verdict in Knoxville federal court. The Irish Times reports that Rice stood straight up and smiled when it was read.
The three peace activists were convicted of damaging a national defence premises. The penalty for such a crime carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Prosecutors claim the break in at Y-12 disrupted operations endangered U.S. security and caused physical damage that cost over $8,500 to repair.
“These are people of conscious, nonviolence and justice. And they certainly put the US government to shame,” Paul Magno, a supporter of the activists and member of the group Plowshares, said afterward.
“We are a nation of laws. You can’t take the law into your own hands and force your views on other people,” Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Theodore had said in a closing argument.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests who attended the trial to support Rice, said the activists were “challenging unjust, inhumane and immoral behavior filled with insatiable insecurity and greed.”
“My hope is that the people wake up to the freedoms being taken away in the name of so-called security as well as to the egregious waste of their hard-earned taxpayers’ money,” she said in a statement..."
Click on this link and watch powerful video of Sr. Megan Rice sharing why she broke into nuclear bomb facility -Y12 in Oak Ridge Tennesssee.
The activists admitted cutting several fences, walking through the complex for hours
"An elderly Catholic nun is among the three people convicted for damage they caused when they broke into a defense facility where enriched uranium for nuclear bombs is stored.
Sister Megan Gillespie Rice, 82, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed admitted to cutting the fence and gaining access to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in July 2012.
The defendants called themselves "Transform Now Plowshares," a reference to the biblical phrase: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks."
The jury deliberated for almost three hours before returning a guilty verdict in Knoxville federal court. The Irish Times reports that Rice stood straight up and smiled when it was read.
The three peace activists were convicted of damaging a national defence premises. The penalty for such a crime carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Prosecutors claim the break in at Y-12 disrupted operations endangered U.S. security and caused physical damage that cost over $8,500 to repair.
“These are people of conscious, nonviolence and justice. And they certainly put the US government to shame,” Paul Magno, a supporter of the activists and member of the group Plowshares, said afterward.
“We are a nation of laws. You can’t take the law into your own hands and force your views on other people,” Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Theodore had said in a closing argument.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests who attended the trial to support Rice, said the activists were “challenging unjust, inhumane and immoral behavior filled with insatiable insecurity and greed.”
“My hope is that the people wake up to the freedoms being taken away in the name of so-called security as well as to the egregious waste of their hard-earned taxpayers’ money,” she said in a statement..."
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| Left/ Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP at liturgy with Plowshare Activists and Supporters before Trial |
Friday, May 10, 2013
Pope Francis and LCWR; "More Papacy Changes, More it Stays the Same"/Disappointing for Women in the Church
http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/lcwr-more-papacy-changes-more-it-stays-same
by Jamie Manson
"...If there is a point on which both Francis and the sisters agree, it is the importance of "touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and in children."
But Francis does not seem to understand that it is precisely because women religious regularly touch that wounded body of Christ that they have such rich theological imaginations and a longing to delve into the spiritual questions of our time. Their intensely sacramental lives of service help clarify their priorities in their pursuits of justice and mercy.
All that women religious have done -- the work they have committed to, the leadership style they have developed and the theologians they invite to their meetings -- has been inspired by their ministry to the broken body of Christ. What Francis and the doctrinal congregation may interpret as a "deviation from doctrine" or a "failure to obey" are really just the fruits of women religious fulfilling their vocation as a prophetic life form.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that the Vatican is punishing women religious for failing to strictly adhere to doctrines that they have had no voice in developing and no role in shaping -- precisely because they are women.
The look and feel of the papacy may be changing under Francis, but the fundamental understanding magisterium's authority and the requirement that the women obey the men, I'm afraid, will continue to stay the same."
[Jamie L. Manson received her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, where she studied Catholic theology and sexual ethics. Her NCR columns have won numerous awards, most recently second prize for Commentary of the Year from Religion Newswriters (RNA).]
by Jamie Manson
"...If there is a point on which both Francis and the sisters agree, it is the importance of "touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and in children."
But Francis does not seem to understand that it is precisely because women religious regularly touch that wounded body of Christ that they have such rich theological imaginations and a longing to delve into the spiritual questions of our time. Their intensely sacramental lives of service help clarify their priorities in their pursuits of justice and mercy.
All that women religious have done -- the work they have committed to, the leadership style they have developed and the theologians they invite to their meetings -- has been inspired by their ministry to the broken body of Christ. What Francis and the doctrinal congregation may interpret as a "deviation from doctrine" or a "failure to obey" are really just the fruits of women religious fulfilling their vocation as a prophetic life form.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that the Vatican is punishing women religious for failing to strictly adhere to doctrines that they have had no voice in developing and no role in shaping -- precisely because they are women.
The look and feel of the papacy may be changing under Francis, but the fundamental understanding magisterium's authority and the requirement that the women obey the men, I'm afraid, will continue to stay the same."
[Jamie L. Manson received her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, where she studied Catholic theology and sexual ethics. Her NCR columns have won numerous awards, most recently second prize for Commentary of the Year from Religion Newswriters (RNA).]
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Blessing by Woman Priest Janice Sevre-Duszynska Outside Jail Holding Peace Activists known as Transform Now Plowshares: Sister Megan Rice, Jim Walli and Greg Boertje- Obed
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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP, Shares Blessing for Peace Activists outside Jail In Tennessee |
Actvists face 30 years in prison.
They are prophets for our time, reminding us that God calls us to live in love, do justice, and reflect compassion. Sr. Megan, Jim, and Greg should have received a medal from the government for exposing the security violations at the site.
Jesuit Bill (Bix) Bischel, Oblate of Mary Immaculate Carl Kabat, ARCWP Janice Sevre -Duszynska, Franciscans Jerry Zawada and Louis Vitale outside Federal Court in Knoxville in support of Transform Now Plowshares
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| Jesuit Bill (Bix) Bischel, Oblate of Mary Immaculate Carl Kabat, ARCWP Janice Sevre -Duszynska, Franciscans Jerry Zawada and Louis Vitale outside Federal Court in Knoxville in support of Transform Now Plowshares http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/ |
Who is my neighbor?
Dear friends,
First, the facts. Greg, Megan, and Michael were found guilty today of both counts brought against them — sabotage and depredation of government property — and they were remanded from the courtroom as we sang them rounds of “Rejoice in the Lord Always,” and “Vine and Fig Tree.” The prosecution has stated that the defendants stand convicted of a “crime of violence”; if this is the case, law requires that they remain in prison until sentencing. They will spend the night in jail, and we will return to the courtroom tomorrow at 9:00 to see what the judge will decide.
In light of these heavy facts, it might seem irrelevant to share with you the evidence presented today in the courtroom. But truth-telling deserves to be celebrated — even if the jury wasn’t swayed, glimmers of truth did make their way into courtroom, thanks to the sharp minds and firm convictions of the defendants and their lawyers. Such good news should be shared.
A lot of evidence was presented today: Francis finished his questioning of Megan and the government cross-examined her. Michael, Col. Ann Wright, and Greg were also questioned and cross-examined, and lastly the judge read the jury instructions and allowed closing arguments before sending the jury out to deliberate.
Greg’s testimony came after the afternoon break, and in a way it tied together much of what had been said all day. He called to our attention the story of the Good Samaritan stopping to help an injured man on the road to Jericho. We see people on the roadside lying wounded, and our job is to do something to stop the violence and help the victims. Greg outlined the violence that we are obligated to stop in our world today: the United States is the only country to have over 700 military bases all over the world; we are the only nation that uses drones to kill people around the world; and we use nuclear weapons to threaten people around the world, weapons whose very manufacturing causes sickness and death.
Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan because someone has asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” The answer to this question is a major point of disagreement between the defense and the prosecution. “Do you consider yourself an American?” the government prosecutor asked Sister Megan Rice. “I believe I am a citizen of the world,” answered Sister Megan. “Boundaries are arbitrary.” The prosecutor went on to ask if Sister Megan had ever protested nuclear weapons by traveling to nuclear powers other than the United States. She responded that national borders are arbitrary lines; each and every human life on the planet is threatened by the use of nuclear weapons. Michael too was asked where he considered home. “I am a citizen of heaven and I travel here and there,” he replied. We are all citizens of heaven first; this loyalty takes precedence over any national allegiance we might have.
Greg cited a second story too, after the parable: the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. It was a little boy who revealed what was missing, Greg said — and he was the only one who dared speak. The emperor here is the United States DOE, and it does not have effective fences. What is more, the emperor doesn’t have real security. Greg explained, “Real security comes when we foster justice among all the nations.”
Ann Wright’s expert knowledge of U.S. security withstood all efforts of the government to discredit her testimony. She established firmly that the emperor has no clothes, insofar as Y-12 does not have effective internal security tests. If Y-12 was running internal security tests, there would never have been so much critical security apparatus that was broken or otherwise not in place. “That’s where the problem lies,” said Col. Wright. That is the key.” Col. Wright testified that Greg, Megan, and Michael’s action improved national security by pointing out this national security deficiency, even if that was not their intention.
Throughout the government’s closing arguments, the prosecutors accused the defendants of disobeying the rule of law, taking the law into their own hands, forcing their will on other people. How ironic! Disregard of the rule of law and treaties is exactly the behavior that the United States engages in, in their foreign policy, that Michael, Megan, and Greg came to Y-12 to address. The same smoke and mirrors allow the government prosecutors to accuse the defendants of “crimes of violence.” How absurd, when crimes of violence are precisely what Greg, Megan, and Michael desired to put an end to when they came to Y-12.
“The teachings of Jesus are practical, doable, worthy of emulation,” Michael said from the witness stand today. “Our role is to try to open their eyes,” Greg said, “to come out of the ways of death.” Megan said, “I believe we are all equally responsible to stop a known crime.” As we think of our friends in jail tonight, let us allow their words to echo in our hearts and minds.
First, the facts. Greg, Megan, and Michael were found guilty today of both counts brought against them — sabotage and depredation of government property — and they were remanded from the courtroom as we sang them rounds of “Rejoice in the Lord Always,” and “Vine and Fig Tree.” The prosecution has stated that the defendants stand convicted of a “crime of violence”; if this is the case, law requires that they remain in prison until sentencing. They will spend the night in jail, and we will return to the courtroom tomorrow at 9:00 to see what the judge will decide.
In light of these heavy facts, it might seem irrelevant to share with you the evidence presented today in the courtroom. But truth-telling deserves to be celebrated — even if the jury wasn’t swayed, glimmers of truth did make their way into courtroom, thanks to the sharp minds and firm convictions of the defendants and their lawyers. Such good news should be shared.
A lot of evidence was presented today: Francis finished his questioning of Megan and the government cross-examined her. Michael, Col. Ann Wright, and Greg were also questioned and cross-examined, and lastly the judge read the jury instructions and allowed closing arguments before sending the jury out to deliberate.
Greg’s testimony came after the afternoon break, and in a way it tied together much of what had been said all day. He called to our attention the story of the Good Samaritan stopping to help an injured man on the road to Jericho. We see people on the roadside lying wounded, and our job is to do something to stop the violence and help the victims. Greg outlined the violence that we are obligated to stop in our world today: the United States is the only country to have over 700 military bases all over the world; we are the only nation that uses drones to kill people around the world; and we use nuclear weapons to threaten people around the world, weapons whose very manufacturing causes sickness and death.
Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan because someone has asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” The answer to this question is a major point of disagreement between the defense and the prosecution. “Do you consider yourself an American?” the government prosecutor asked Sister Megan Rice. “I believe I am a citizen of the world,” answered Sister Megan. “Boundaries are arbitrary.” The prosecutor went on to ask if Sister Megan had ever protested nuclear weapons by traveling to nuclear powers other than the United States. She responded that national borders are arbitrary lines; each and every human life on the planet is threatened by the use of nuclear weapons. Michael too was asked where he considered home. “I am a citizen of heaven and I travel here and there,” he replied. We are all citizens of heaven first; this loyalty takes precedence over any national allegiance we might have.
Greg cited a second story too, after the parable: the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. It was a little boy who revealed what was missing, Greg said — and he was the only one who dared speak. The emperor here is the United States DOE, and it does not have effective fences. What is more, the emperor doesn’t have real security. Greg explained, “Real security comes when we foster justice among all the nations.”
Ann Wright’s expert knowledge of U.S. security withstood all efforts of the government to discredit her testimony. She established firmly that the emperor has no clothes, insofar as Y-12 does not have effective internal security tests. If Y-12 was running internal security tests, there would never have been so much critical security apparatus that was broken or otherwise not in place. “That’s where the problem lies,” said Col. Wright. That is the key.” Col. Wright testified that Greg, Megan, and Michael’s action improved national security by pointing out this national security deficiency, even if that was not their intention.
Throughout the government’s closing arguments, the prosecutors accused the defendants of disobeying the rule of law, taking the law into their own hands, forcing their will on other people. How ironic! Disregard of the rule of law and treaties is exactly the behavior that the United States engages in, in their foreign policy, that Michael, Megan, and Greg came to Y-12 to address. The same smoke and mirrors allow the government prosecutors to accuse the defendants of “crimes of violence.” How absurd, when crimes of violence are precisely what Greg, Megan, and Michael desired to put an end to when they came to Y-12.
“The teachings of Jesus are practical, doable, worthy of emulation,” Michael said from the witness stand today. “Our role is to try to open their eyes,” Greg said, “to come out of the ways of death.” Megan said, “I believe we are all equally responsible to stop a known crime.” As we think of our friends in jail tonight, let us allow their words to echo in our hearts and minds.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
No turning back on spiritual justice for women | National Catholic Reporter
No turning back on spiritual justice for women | National Catholic Reporter
New book on the women's ordination movement in the Roman Catholic Church by Mary Jeremy Daigler
New book on the women's ordination movement in the Roman Catholic Church by Mary Jeremy Daigler
“Debate over morality vs. security plays out in Tenn. Trial.” /Washington Post/ Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP Present in Prayer/Solidarity
"From 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, morality and conscience did quiet battle with protocol and budgets in Courtroom 1A of U.S. District Court, to which dozens of supporters marched that morning through downtown Knoxville, led by two Buddhist monks chanting a Japanese prayer for peace.
“They had white roses, Bibles . . . no dynamite, no machine guns . . . none of the tools you’d anticipate someone having to hinder the national defense.”(Christopher Irwin, attorney for co-defendant, Michael Walli.) p. C9 Washington Post |
| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP with Sr. Megan Rice and other justice activists outside courtroom on break at Tenn. Trial |
"Pope Francis To Nuns: Don't Be Old Maids"/Needs to Address Issue of Justice and Equality for Women in Church
Pope Francis, pleazze, lose the "old maid" termniology for the Sisterhood! Old Maids" is a patronizing, insulting term that should never be associated with nuns of a certain age who have spent years working with people on the margins with little thanks from their brothers in the hierarchy including the Vatican! As feminists point out, it is more of the same, men defining women and is no longer acceptable or advisable! Many Catholics are hopeful that you will appoint nuns to some of the top jobs in the Vatican Curia, and show a new attitude toward women in the church. Justice for women in the church is a human rights issue that needs to be addressed." It is my prayer that you will be a breath of fresh air for the reform and renewal of our church. I am a Sister for Christian Community and an ordained member of the international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. Women Priests offer the church the charism of a renewed priestly ministry in partnership with the people with whom we serve. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org
05/08/13 05:52 Associated Press
"Pope Francis has told nuns from around the world that they must be spiritual mothers and not "old maids."
Francis also warned the sisters against using their vocations for personal ambition, saying priests and sisters who do so "do more harm to the church."
Francis has complained frequently about such "careerism" in the church – a buzzword that is frequently used to describe Holy See bureaucrats.
The pope made the comments during an audience Wednesday with about 800 sisters attending an assembly of the International Union of Superiors General, which gathers the leaders of women's religious orders from some 75 countries.
The meeting came before Francis' general audience in St. Peter's Square, where in a break with tradition, he walked around a quadrant of the square greeting pilgrims. "
"Diaconate for Women Not Enough"/ German Catholic Women's Association Say Proposed Diaconate Falls Short
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/latest-news/5278
The Catholic Women's Association in Germany (Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbund, KDFB), which has around 220,000 members nationwide, has questioned a proposal for a special deacon's office for women.
Last week Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, president of the German bishops' conference, floated the idea of an office for women that would not require ordination.That "is not enough", the KDFB said.
KDFB spokeswoman Ute Hücker told Germany's newspaper in English, The Local: "Catholic women in Germany want to see deacons who are women. We want the full office and the training that goes with it," she emphasised. "Eighty per cent of the active members of the German Church are women," she said. She noted that women were already voluntarily doing the work done by deacons such as visiting the sick.
Bridget Mary's Response:
A diaconate without ordination would be a sham- mere window dressing to satisfy the growing demand for full equality of women in the church. The Vatican knows full well that you cannot separate ordination from the diaconate. Deacon, Priest, and bishop are related and require ordination. It is time for the Vatican to follow the example of Jesus in the Gospels and embrace full equality of women in the church. I like the idea of opening up leadership positions like Cardinals to women and calling for real reform of the Vatican Curia with women leaders in decision-making roles. The international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is leading the way toward justice and equality for women in the church with a renewed priestly ministry in an inclusive, empowered communityof equals. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Transform Now Plowshares on Trial in Knoxville, TN. Trial of Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli, and Greg Boertje-Obed
“Let’s stop pouring our billions into false, impossible security.” — Sister Megan Rice
Transform Now Plowshares URL: http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/
Historic First Ordination in Cincinnati as Dr. Debra Meyers will be ordained a Roman Catholic Woman Priest in Cincinnati, Ohio on May
Release date: May
7, 2013
On Saturday, May
25, 2013, Dr. Debra Meyers of Batavia, Ohio will be ordained a priest in the
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. The presiding bishop will be
Bridget Mary Meehan of Falls Church, Virginia and Sarasota, Florida. The
ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. at St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church,
320 Resor Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45220.
All are welcome.
Media are invited
to a pre-ordination conference on Saturday, May 25, at 11:30 a.m. at the church
with the candidate and Bridget Mary Meehan. Call Janice (859-684-4247) to
schedule an interview. Respectful filming/photo taking during the ceremony is
acceptable.
The ordained is
theologically prepared and has many years of experience in ministry.
Dr. Debra Meyers
earned a Ph.D. in History and Women’s Studies and a MA in Religious Studies
with an emphasis on pastoral care. The author of several books, she is a
professor of History and Women’s Studies at Northern Kentucky University. Her
ministry focuses primarily on single mothers and their children who make up the
vast majority of impoverished people in our country. She also serves the
Resurrection Community in Cincinnati where they are living the Gospel of
equality and social justice. Dr. Meyers is a wife, the mother of two successful
children and a grandmother.
"God called
me to the Catholic priesthood as a child and every step of my academic and
spiritual life as well as my social justice activism has prepared me to serve
God's people as a pastor," said Dr. Meyers. "I thank ARCWP for the
opportunity to fulfill God's call."
Since two-thirds
of the world’s poor are women, justice and equality must be top priorities for
our church. Our world and church can no longer function without the voices of
women’s lived experience. Women priests are visible reminders that all women
are images of God.
On March 13, five
hours before the new pope was elected, a woman priest celebrated Mass in Rome.
The church is at a crossroads with a new pope and women priests. This paradigm
represents a holy shakeup and is pregnant with potential for renewal and change.
Pope Francis’s simplicity and solidarity with the poor and marginalized is the
Good News that Catholics have been waiting for. Now is the time to embrace
women.
We are encouraged
by the tender gesture of Pope Francis who washed the feet of women in prison on
Holy Thursday, thus breaking the sexist tradition of washing only men’s feet.
During the Easter
homily Francis affirmed women as the first witnesses to the Resurrection. “This
tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria…The women are
driven by love and know how to accept this proclamation with faith: they
believe, and immediately transmit it, they do not keep it for themselves.“
Women who have
accepted the call from God to priesthood and who have become women priests want
to share “the joy of knowing that Jesus is alive, the hope that fills their
heart.”
The Association of
Roman Catholic Women Priests calls on Francis to embrace the full equality of
women, including women priests.
Women priests are
answering the call and our movement is growing since it began in 2002 with the
ordination of seven women on the Danube. There are now 150 in our Roman
Catholic Women Priests’ Movement in the world, including 100 in the U.S. living
and serving in over 60 inclusive Catholic communities and welcoming all to
receive the sacraments.
According to a
recent CBS Gallup Poll, over 70% of Catholics in the U.S. support women
priests. There is no shortage of vocations as women are now saying “Yes” to
this call and are being ordained. Two women will be ordained priests and two will
be ordained deacons in Falls Church, Virginia in June.
See:
Monday, May 6, 2013
"Could Pope Francis Appoint Women Cardinals?" Yes, According to U.S. Catholic/ Now that would be a major change!
http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201305/could-pope-francis-appoint-women-cardinals-27291
Bridget Mary's Response:
Well, women cardinals would certainly be an interesting way to reform the Vatican Curia and the institutional church. The plus is that women would be equals in the governance structure of the church. Right now cardinals are ordained, but historically this position was not limited to the ordained! There is a long list of qualified women that could fit this position including many nuns and women priests! Cardinals could also be selected from the poor and marginalized peoples from around the world. Maybe, I'm dreaming...!Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org
Bridget Mary's Response:
Well, women cardinals would certainly be an interesting way to reform the Vatican Curia and the institutional church. The plus is that women would be equals in the governance structure of the church. Right now cardinals are ordained, but historically this position was not limited to the ordained! There is a long list of qualified women that could fit this position including many nuns and women priests! Cardinals could also be selected from the poor and marginalized peoples from around the world. Maybe, I'm dreaming...!Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org
Vatican Decision About LCWR Made Without Consulting Religious Life Prefect/ Power Play
http://ncronline.org/news/sisters-stories/vatican-religious-prefect-i-was-left-out-lcwr-finding
Bridget Mary's Response:
The ball is in Pope Francis' court now. Hopefully, he will reverse course, apologize the LCWR, appoint some of its members as leaders in the Vatican Curia etc.
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
Bridget Mary's Response:
The ball is in Pope Francis' court now. Hopefully, he will reverse course, apologize the LCWR, appoint some of its members as leaders in the Vatican Curia etc.
Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org
Church Approval or Not More Women Seeking Priesthood/Chicago CBS Story
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/video/8847267-church-approval-or-not-more-/
Bridget Mary's Response:
Excellent interview with two women priests in Chicago area. According to one statistic our international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement has grown 33% since it began in 2002 with 7 women.
The exclusion of women from Holy Orders is not the tradition of the early church. Check out Romans 16:1-3 as one example. Deacon Phoebe.
During the first twelve hundred years of church's history, women were ordained deacons, priests and bishops. In 494 Pope Gelasius condemned that practice, but it was the church's practice, early tradition rooted in Jesus' example of Gospel equality. The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala and called her to be the apostle to the apostles. The institutional church should follow Jesus example! Instead of weeping the Chicago Archdiocesan spokeswoman should be working on helping the bishops repent of the sin of sexism and clericalism in the church and turning the all-male boys club into a more open, Christ-centered, partnership model that ministers to all like Jesus did. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, http://www.arcwp.org
Bridget Mary's Response:
Excellent interview with two women priests in Chicago area. According to one statistic our international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement has grown 33% since it began in 2002 with 7 women.
The exclusion of women from Holy Orders is not the tradition of the early church. Check out Romans 16:1-3 as one example. Deacon Phoebe.
During the first twelve hundred years of church's history, women were ordained deacons, priests and bishops. In 494 Pope Gelasius condemned that practice, but it was the church's practice, early tradition rooted in Jesus' example of Gospel equality. The Risen Christ appeared first to Mary of Magdala and called her to be the apostle to the apostles. The institutional church should follow Jesus example! Instead of weeping the Chicago Archdiocesan spokeswoman should be working on helping the bishops repent of the sin of sexism and clericalism in the church and turning the all-male boys club into a more open, Christ-centered, partnership model that ministers to all like Jesus did. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, http://www.arcwp.org
Eucharist and Vigil with Plowshares Activists and other Peace and Justice folks in Maryville, Tennessee./ May 5, 2013
Let us pray with and for the Plowshare Activists, Prophets in our Time ,who will be on trial for their witness for non-violence, justice and peace. Mike Walli, Sr Megan Rice and Greg Boetje-Obed.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diI333zxiZ4 (movie of supporters and vigil)
Washington Post article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2013/04/29/the-prophets-of-oak-ridge/
Below, photos of Eucharist with woman priest Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp.
Washington Post article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2013/04/29/the-prophets-of-oak-ridge/
Below, photos of Eucharist with woman priest Janice Sevre-Duszynska, arcwp.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Sequence for Pentecost: A Traditional Prayer Used by Church During Pentecost/ Sophia = Holy Wisdom
Come, Sophia Spirit come!
From your place within our hearts
Brighten us with light divine!
Come, Sophia, bless the poor!
Make our minds an open door!
Come, within our beings shine.
You, our comforter always;
You, are with us all our days;
Nurture, nourish us within;
In our struggles, bring us calm;
Bless us with your sacred balm;
Free us from our narrow bin.
O Light of power seeing all,
Be with us as we stand tall,
Fill us with your vision true!
Everywhere your Light shines bright,
We speak your Words day and night,
Revealing all that you do.
From your place within our hearts
Brighten us with light divine!
Come, Sophia, bless the poor!
Make our minds an open door!
Come, within our beings shine.
You, our comforter always;
You, are with us all our days;
Nurture, nourish us within;
In our struggles, bring us calm;
Bless us with your sacred balm;
Free us from our narrow bin.
O Light of power seeing all,
Be with us as we stand tall,
Fill us with your vision true!
Everywhere your Light shines bright,
We speak your Words day and night,
Revealing all that you do.
You, by our side as we walk,
You now our voice as we talk,
Proclaiming your love alone:
We listen with open ears,
Give us hope and wash our tears,
You now our voice as we talk,
Proclaiming your love alone:
We listen with open ears,
Give us hope and wash our tears,
Heal us to our very bone
We your faithful do adore
We your faithful do adore
Praise Sophia, evermore
Thus our hearts forever raise.
Seven gifts are what we seek
Send you gifts for us to keep.
We your faithful sing your praise
Amen. Alleluia.
Translated by Dorothy Shugrue, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org
(Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom. Wisdom is always feminine and reflects the feminine presence of God in our midst. Read Books of Proverbs and Wisdom.)
(Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom. Wisdom is always feminine and reflects the feminine presence of God in our midst. Read Books of Proverbs and Wisdom.)
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Prophets for Social Justice: Mike Walli, Sr Megan Rice and Greg Boetje-Obed with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP in Knoxville, TN.
 |
| Transform Now Plowshares Activists:Mike Walli, Sr Megan Rice and Greg Boetje-Obed with Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP in Knoxville, TN. “It’s idolatry, putting trust in weapons. And weapons are made like gods. … Weapons are always false gods because they make money. It’s profiteering.”Sister Megan Rice A drifter, a 82 year-nun and a painter- contemporary prophets http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2013/04/29/the-prophets-of-oak-ridge/ Bridget Mary's Response: Let us pray that the message of these contemporary prophets for peace and justice will wake up the conscience of all in our nation and world not only to weapons as false gods but to the sin of profiteering from the accumulation of nuclear weapons that could desroy our planet hundreds of times over. This is insanity. I thought we were getting rid of these huge stockpiles. |
Friday, May 3, 2013
Women's Rights are Human Rights/Roman Catholic Women Priests are a Justice Movement for Full Equality
As Stanford biology professors
Anne and Paul Erlich wrote in January
in the scientific journal Proceedings of
the Royal Society of London:
"Equal
rights for women is a critical first step to avoiding
civilization's
collapse."
The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a justice movement
for the full equality of women in the Roman Catholic Church.
Bridget Mary Meehan, www.arcwp.org
"Is Pope Francis inaugurating the third millennium?" by Leonardo Boff/Hopeful Commentary
"The first millennium of Christianity was marked by the
paradigm of community. The Churches had relative autonomy regarding their own
rites: Orthodox, Coptic, Ambrosian from Milan, Mozarabic, from Spain, and
others. They venerated their own martyrs and confessors and had their own
theologies, as seen in the flourishing Christianity of North Africa with Saint
Augustine, Saint Cyprian and the lay theologian Tertullian. Those Churches
recognized each other, and even though a mostly juridical vision in Rome was
already appearing, the primacy of charity predominated .
The second millennium was characterized by the paradigm of
the Church as a perfect and hierarchical society: an absolutist monarchy
centered in the figure of the Pope as supreme head (cephalic), endowed with
unlimited powers and, most recently, with infallibility, when he makes
declarations as such in matters of faith and morality. The Pontifical State was
created, with an army, a financial system and legislation that included the
death penalty. A body of experts of the institution was created, the Roman
Curia, responsible for the world ecclesiastical administration. This
centralization produced the Romanization of all of Christianity. The
evangelization of Latin America, Asia and Africa was accomplished within a
process of colonial conquest of the world, and meant that the Roman model was
transplanted, practically annulling the embodiment of the local cultures. The
strict separation between the clergy and the lay was made official. The lay had
no power of decision, (in the first millennium the lay participated in the
election of bishops and even of the Pope), and were turned into childlike
non-entities, in law and fact.
The palatial ways of the priests, bishops, cardinals and popes were affirmed. The titles of power of the Roman emperors, starting with those of Pope and Sumo Pontiff, were transferred to the bishop of Rome. The cardinals, princes of the Church, dressed up as the high Renaissance nobility, and so it has remained until now, scandalizing more than a few Christians, who were used to seeing Jesus of Nazareth as poor, a man of the people, persecuted, tortured and executed on the cross.
The palatial ways of the priests, bishops, cardinals and popes were affirmed. The titles of power of the Roman emperors, starting with those of Pope and Sumo Pontiff, were transferred to the bishop of Rome. The cardinals, princes of the Church, dressed up as the high Renaissance nobility, and so it has remained until now, scandalizing more than a few Christians, who were used to seeing Jesus of Nazareth as poor, a man of the people, persecuted, tortured and executed on the cross.
All indications are that this model of Church ended with the
resignation of Benedict XVI, the last Pope from this monarchical model, in the
tragic context of scandals that have touched the very heart of the credibility
of the Christian message.
The election of Pope Francis, who comes «from the end of the world», as he presented himself, from the periphery of Christianity, from the Great South where 60% of Roman Catholics live, will inaugurate the ecclesiastic paradigm of the Third Millennium: the Church as a vast network of Christian communities, rooted in the various cultures, some more ancient than the Western cultures, such as the Chinese, Indian and Japanese, the tribal cultures of Africa and the communities of Latin America. It is also embodied in the modern culture of the technologically advanced countries, with a faith that is also lived out in small communities. All these incarnations have something in common: the urbanization of humanity, where more than the 80% of the population live in huge conglomerates of millions and millions of persons.
In this context, it will be impossible to talk of territorial parishes, but of neighborhood communities, of the buildings, of the streets nearby. In that Christianity, the lay will be protagonists, encouraged by priests who may or may not be married, or by women priests or women bishops, bound more by spirituality than administration. The Churches will have different faces.
The Reformation will not be restricted to the Roman curia, that is in a calamitous state, but will be extended to the entire institution of the Church. Perhaps only by convoking a new Council, with representatives from all of Christendom, will the Pope have the security and the master lines of the Church of the Third Millennium. May the Spirit not fail him."
Leonardo <http://leonardoboff.com/> Boff
04-05-2013
The election of Pope Francis, who comes «from the end of the world», as he presented himself, from the periphery of Christianity, from the Great South where 60% of Roman Catholics live, will inaugurate the ecclesiastic paradigm of the Third Millennium: the Church as a vast network of Christian communities, rooted in the various cultures, some more ancient than the Western cultures, such as the Chinese, Indian and Japanese, the tribal cultures of Africa and the communities of Latin America. It is also embodied in the modern culture of the technologically advanced countries, with a faith that is also lived out in small communities. All these incarnations have something in common: the urbanization of humanity, where more than the 80% of the population live in huge conglomerates of millions and millions of persons.
In this context, it will be impossible to talk of territorial parishes, but of neighborhood communities, of the buildings, of the streets nearby. In that Christianity, the lay will be protagonists, encouraged by priests who may or may not be married, or by women priests or women bishops, bound more by spirituality than administration. The Churches will have different faces.
The Reformation will not be restricted to the Roman curia, that is in a calamitous state, but will be extended to the entire institution of the Church. Perhaps only by convoking a new Council, with representatives from all of Christendom, will the Pope have the security and the master lines of the Church of the Third Millennium. May the Spirit not fail him."
Leonardo <http://leonardoboff.com/> Boff
04-05-2013
German Bishop Promotes Ordaining Women Deacons/RCWP Offers a Model of Full Equality for Women in Renewed Priestly Ministry
Contrary to Bishop Voderholzer's view, women were deacons in the bible. Check out Romans 16:1-3. Paul commends Deacon Phoebe as a leader, overseerer, of the church . However, the institutional church's post Vatican 11 recent tradition of permanent deacons is not the path to full equality for women or for men because it limits sacramental ministry to presiding at Baptism and Matrimony. The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement offer a viable model the Vatican should be studying now. We are living a renewed priestly ministry in a community of equals that calls forth the gifts of the community and affirms their baptismal call as co-leaders in sacramental ministries. It is my hope that Pope Francis needs to focus on the full equality of women in every area of church life including ordination to deacons, priests and bishops. We need a Vatican 3 Council of the People of God! Bridget Mary Meehan, www.arcwp.org, sofiabmm@aol.com
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/latest-news/5263
The president of Germany's bishops' conference has called for the creation of a new, specific office for women deacons.
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch told delegates at a four-day conference in his Freiburg archdiocese on church reform: "I will promote further in-depth study of the common priesthood of all the faithful, encourage diversity as far as church ministries and offices are concerned and I will do so based on the Church's teaching. This will include promoting new church ministries and offices which will be open to women as, for example, a specific deacon's office for women."
But a spokesman for Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, whom Pope Francis has appointed cardinal-adviser for Europe, said ordaining women deacons was "not on the agenda".
And Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg said the office of deacon was inseparably bound to that of priest and bishop and the sacrament of ordination, and the "tradition that only men can be ordained is based on the Bible".
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/latest-news/5263
The president of Germany's bishops' conference has called for the creation of a new, specific office for women deacons.
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch told delegates at a four-day conference in his Freiburg archdiocese on church reform: "I will promote further in-depth study of the common priesthood of all the faithful, encourage diversity as far as church ministries and offices are concerned and I will do so based on the Church's teaching. This will include promoting new church ministries and offices which will be open to women as, for example, a specific deacon's office for women."
But a spokesman for Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, whom Pope Francis has appointed cardinal-adviser for Europe, said ordaining women deacons was "not on the agenda".
And Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg said the office of deacon was inseparably bound to that of priest and bishop and the sacrament of ordination, and the "tradition that only men can be ordained is based on the Bible".
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Homily: "Jesus Sets Women Free to Live Gospel Equality" by Bridget Mary Meehan / Ordination of Rosemarie Smead in Louisville, KY/April 27,2013
Today we rejoice because Rosemarie Smead will be ordained as
a Roman Catholic Woman Priest in the first ordination of a woman priest in Louisville,
Kentucky, in St. Andrew United Church of Christ. We are gathering at a new
moment of historical possibilities and challenges in our church.
We pray that Francis, the first Latin American
and first Jesuit pope, who washed the feet of young women and men in a juvenile
detention center, will usher in a new era of justice for all, especially for
those on the margins including women in our church. The news report that Pope Francis
plans to appoint more women to top positions in the Vatican is welcome, indeed!
There is certainly a long list of qualified women, including many nuns and
women priests, who are ready to serve in the renewal and reform of our church.
The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a
justice movement. we claim equal rites to achieve equal rights in our church. We
live prophetic obedience to the spirit, who is calling women today to a renewed
priestly ministry in a community of equals. as a woman priest, Rosemarie is
leading, not leaving the catholic church into a new era of inclusivity, where
all are invited to feast at the banquet table of god’s boundless, abundant
love. As the Irish writer, James Joyce, reminded us, the word catholic means, “here
comes everybody!”
In Luke 13:10-13, Jesus encounters a woman in
the synagogue on the Sabbath who, for 18 years, has been crippled with a
condition that causes her to be bent over, incapable of standing up straight. When
Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “woman, you are free of your
infirmity.” he laid his hands on her, and immediately, she stood up straight
and began thanking God.
When the synagogue leader expressed outrage that
Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites,
and pointed out that this healing was for a daughter of Abraham and Sarah, who
had suffered for 18 years. So, there are
several take home messages here:
1) Jesus treated women as equals,
2) People have priority over rules and regulations.
3) Sexism in church and society is sinful and should always
be challenged.
4) Our compassionate god lifts up all women bent over by the
burden of patriarchy.
The good news is that the Spirit of God
continues to set us free today to live gospel equality and partnership.
The institutional church has tried to keep women
bent over when it refuses to recognize their call to the priesthood. No longer will we tolerate the Vatican’s
practice of sexism, which is rooted in the misogynist attitude of church
fathers like Tertullian who once said that women are the “gateway to the devil”
and Thomas Acquinas who defined woman as a “defective male.”
Now, in the 21st century, women are
silent and invisible and subordinate no more!
If women priests were partners in decision-making in our church, there
would be some mighty big changes in church teachings like birth control!
According to a 2012 Newsweek interview with catholic
Melinda Gates, 100,000 women annually die in childbirth after unintended
pregnancies and six hundred thousand babies die in the first month of life. A
prolife church must value women’s health and well-being.
During her long professional life, Rosemarie has
worked tirelessly to model Jesus’ healing presence in the lives of women and
girls, and to teach the value of standing up for justice no matter what
challenges they encountered.
Maryknoll Roy Bourgeois, Franciscan Jerry Zawada,
jesuit Bill Brennan, Redemptorist Tony Flannery, the Irish Priests Association,
and the Austrian Priests’ Initiative have endured condemnation and punishment
by the Vatican for their solidarity with the women priests’ movement. but the hierarchy of the Catholic Church cannot
stop justice from rising up in the people of God! In a recent poll in the U.S. 70% of Catholics
support women’s ordination.
In her own words, Rosemarie shared this
inspiring testimony explaining why she chose today’s reading for her
ordination: “this gospel reflects Jesus
telling us to take heart from this woman, ignored and persecuted by the religious
leaders of her time. Be persistent, courageous, and keep your mind open to the
spirit of God, blowing the winds of change in our church. Be part of the movement forward in the
eternal dance of love, toward the kin-dom of the unity of us all.”
Our women priests start a new inclusive catholic
community in their home areas, that honors the gifts of God in the people of God,
bringing a renewal and reforming presence to enliven our beloved church. our women priests from Lexington, Janice Sevre-Duszynska
and Donna Rougeux, are assisting Rosemarie with this new church community
started here in Louisville. it is called
“Christ-Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community.”
You are all warmly welcome to celebrate the sacraments as God’s
embracing extravagant love for all in our midst.
The bible uses feminine imagery to describe
God who is beyond all names and images. This is one of the church’s best-kept
secrets! The books of Wisdom and Proverbs
use feminine imagery to describe divine wisdom. the Greek word for wisdom is Sophia
and is always personified as a woman. Our first reading is from the book of
wisdom and refers to the holy one as she.
The New Testatment identifies Christ with the wisdom of god. “…to those who are called… Christ is the
power and the wisdom of God.” (1 cor. 1:24)
The connection in scripture is made between the crucified Jesus of Nazareth
and the Cosmic Risen Christ in Christ-Sophia.
In this liturgy today we integrate this powerful image of Christ Sophia
in our prayer and song. Thanks to our
music director, Kathleen Rosenberg, for the beautiful musical mass of Christ Sophia
which she composed.
And now, i would like to share a brief overview
of the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. 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!
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 in our movement 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.
I believe that on a deep spiritual, mystical
level women priests are beginning a healing process of centuries-old deep
misogyny in which spiritual power was invested exclusively in men. For some, like the Catholic hierarchy, women
priests are a spiritual uprising. For
millions of people, the time has come for a holy shakeup that will bring new
life, creativity and justice to the church and beyond. Let us pray that Pope Francis will join this
holy shakeup!
Amen, Rosemarie, to rocking the boat of Peter
and walking on water with Christ! i guarantee that you are in for quite a
spiritual adventure! Like the woman who was healed in the gospel, we are set
free to work for justice and to live gospel equality and partnership now!
###
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 Northern Virginia. Dr. Meehan can be reached at sofiabmm@aol.com and www.arcwp.org
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