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PDF versionRoy Bourgeois' priesthood can never truly end
by Jamie L Manson on Mar. 30, 2011
He won a purple heart for his service in Vietnam.
He lived and worked among the poor in Bolivia for five years.
When his friends, Maryknoll sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, along with two other women, were raped and murdered in El Salvador, he became an outspoken opponent of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.
He has served nearly five years in federal prison for non-violent protests.
And now Fr. Roy Bourgeois has been told that he no longer has a place in the community of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
For more than a hundred years, the name Maryknoll has been synonymous with ministries of justice, peace, and care for the world’s most marginalized. But, as is the case with so many church institutions, their fight for justice is a strictly external exercise. These days there seems to be little possibility for justice to roll down within the internal structures of the Catholic church.
Few Roman Catholic priests in this country today have risked as much as Bourgeois has to live out the gospel. He answered Jesus’ call to be a peacemaker; he has an insatiable hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Fewer Roman Catholic priests have dared to apply their high-minded social justice theories to the demoralization and marginalization of women by the church that they serve.
One wonders to what extent Bourgeois’s decades of witnessing of suffering and violence gave him the eyes to see injustice and the courage to voice his dissent regardless of the risk.
Bourgeois was first called to speak prophetically about the ordination of women when his long time friend and fellow activist, Janice Sevre-Duszynska, decided to pursue her life-long call to ordination through the Roman Catholic Womenpriests. Bourgeois not only attended the 2008 ordination ceremony in Lexington, KY, he also offered the homily.
From that moment, Bourgeois began asking publicly the questions that dwell in the minds of the majority of Catholics in this country. "We state that the call to be a priest is a gift and comes from God. How can we as men say our call from God is authentic, but your call as women is not? Who are we to reject God’s call of women to the priesthood?" he asked in an interview with NCR yesterday.
The Vatican sent him a letter that following November, giving him 30 days to recant his position on women’s ordination or face automatic excommunication.
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Bourgeois declined to recant. Things proceeded rather quietly until this past February, when he participated on a panel discussion at the New York premiere of the documentary Pink Smoke Over the Vatican. The film chronicles the struggle for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church, and features extensive clips of an interview with Bourgeois.
The post-film program, apparently, was the last straw for the Vatican and the Maryknolls, who claimed that by participating in this conversation, Bourgeois had disobeyed the explicit instructions of his superiors.
I attended that panel discussion. It was the first time I met Bourgeois. He is unlike any Catholic priest I’ve met before. He did not have a shred of the egoism, clericalism, or privilege that I’ve detected in many Roman Catholic priests.
What stays with me most from that event was Bourgeois’s explanation of why he chose to follow his conscience by publicly supporting women’s ordination. Bourgeois conceded that many priests fear losing their jobs, pensions, and sacramental power if they speak out about the ordination of women. But, he said, "I’d rather eat at a soup kitchen and be free rather than not do something that I’m called to do."
In his March 18 letter threatening Bourgeois with expulsion from his religious order, Fr. Edward M. Dougherty, the Maryknoll superior general, and Edward J. McGovern, the Maryknoll's secretary general, charge Bourgeois with, among other things, causing “grave scandal” to “the people of God, the church, especially in the United States, and many of the Maryknoll priests and brothers.”
But if you listened to Bourgeois during the panel, the only scandal he seems to experience is his embarrassment over not speaking out sooner on the issue of women’s ordination. “I just feel bad it took me so long,” Bourgeois admitted sheepishly.
It’s interesting to note the phrase “many Maryknoll priests and brothers” in the letter. Are Dougherty and McGovern aware that there are other Maryknoll priests and brothers who agree with Bourgeois but have yet to find the courage to speak publicly?
As Bourgeois reminded the Pink Smoke crowd, “Silence is the voice of consent.”
The homepage of the Maryknoll Missionaries displays a timeline of major events in the life of its order. Decades from now, how will they mark this moment in their history? How will Maryknoll, whose Orbis publishing house has produced some of the finest texts on liberation theology and the prophetic vocation, reconcile the fact that it allowed one of its most faithful servants to be disinvited from the Eucharistic table?
After four decades risking his life and his personal comfort for the sake of peace and the liberation of the poor, Bourgeois has been stripped of his sacramental power. He is in full solidarity with the women who have been told by the Catholic hierarchy that God cannot work sacramentally through them.
The hierarchy acts as though it has the power to reject and invalidate the vocations of Bourgeois and all of the women denied the opportunity to function as priests. They forget, however, that the calling, and the holiness that flows from it, comes from God alone. Those who are truly called by God can never be prevented from touching the lives and transforming the hearts of God’s people.
Regardless of the actions of the Vatican and the decision of the Maryknoll community, Roy Bourgeois’s courage, his integrity, his humility, and his many sacrifices will continue to be a sacramental sign for us all.
The Women’s Ordination Conference has set up a petition urging the Maryknoll leadership to support Roy Bourgeois and desist from issuing a second canonical warning. You can sign it by clicking here.
[Jamie L. Manson received her Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School where she studied Catholic theology and sexual ethics. Her columns for NCR earned her a first prize Catholic Press Association award for Best Column/Regular Commentary in 2010.]
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Related stories from NCR:
- Maryknoll gives Bourgeois notice of removal from order, March 29, 2011
- Sixth woman priest ordained this year, Aug. 9, 2008
- Peace activist priest assists at women's ordination ceremony, Aug. 9, 2008
- Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois’ homily, Aug. 9, 2008
- Roy Bourgeois threatened with excommunication, Nov. 11, 2008
- Father's blessing brings peace to Roy Bourgeois, Nov. 17. 2008
- Support, criticism swirl around Roy Bourgeois, Nov. 20, 2008
Thank you Fr. Roy. Even if
Thank you Fr. Roy. Even if the Church pushes you away, you know that God never will.
It's true enough what you say
It's true enough what you say since the mark on the soul of the priest is indelible; it lasts forever. "Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech." Having said that though, it must also be said that Fr Bourgeois is a heretic since he denies a Defide teaching of the Catholic Church, namely that the concept of the priestess is an abomination. So whatever good he did in his life cannot be balanced against a sin against faith. When one sins against the virtue of faith, one is excluded from the Mystical Body of Christ from which vantage point there is no salvation.
Heretic? Nonsense.
Heretic? Nonsense.
It's thinking like this that
It's thinking like this that reminds me why I prefer Christianity to Roman Catholicism--or should I say paulte Catholicism.
It's thinking like this that
It's thinking like this that reminds me why I prefer Christianity to Roman Catholicism--or should I say paulte Catholicism.
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It's Christianity in it's broadest terms and application through history that will survive. As for Roman Catholicism, much of, like the Donation of Constantine, cannot withstand the test of time and close scrutiny.
Poor Paulte that you forget
Poor Paulte that you forget so easily that we would never have had a human Jesus if a WOMAN had not said yes to her God and built that body and blood, which was given to the world. If God called one woman to do this task of ministering to us all, why would He never call another? Fr. Roy has lived long enough and seen so much, that his eyes are open now to see that women have also the hearts,selflessness and love to also minister to God's people. Maybe some day you too will see that through our Baptism we are equal members of the People of God, some called to ministry as are men. At His last Passover supper, Jesus asked His Diciples( not Apostles) to do what He did in remembrance of Him. Passover as we know was not attended only by men.
Ministry doesn't equal
Ministry doesn't equal priesthood.
One can be called to minister in any number of ways. Saying that women can't be priests isn't the same as saying no women have vocations to the ministry. In fact, having a vocation to minister and a vocation to the priesthood are independent of each other. For instance, many monks are priests, and aren't called to ever minister to anyone, whereas few Catholic parents are priests, and they are called to minister to their children. You can be called to ministry without being called to the priesthood, and vice-versa.
The bottom line is that
The bottom line is that Mary's essential role in life was to be the Mother of Jesus. She did her job extremely well! She was not called to minister to anyone at all. Where do you get that from?
Poor Paulte, seems you will
Poor Paulte, seems you will not look at your sisters in Christ and see that we too have by reason of our baptism an equal standing in the Roman church. Ministry does not depend on our genitalia. Mary was a disciple of her Son. She was the one who asked him to change water to wine when He was not quite ready to do miracles or signs, but He listened to His Mother. Why do you feel we cannot do what Jesus asked us to do, remember Him in the breaking of the bread. Maybe you could get over your misogyny if the title was MINISTER and not priest. If God calls us we will answer!!
PT wrote: "It's true enough
PT wrote: "It's true enough what you say since the mark on the soul of the priest is indelible; it lasts forever. "Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech."
had PT stopped here we for once may have embraced in our Faith, but PT as always adds his or her own extra-Scriptural twist and falls again into the pit.
Shamelessly our institutional church abandons old men deserving our gratitude, not destitution.
The Reverend Father Roy is welcome here in our desert hermitage
I cannot for the life of me understand how is former classmate at Maryknoll, the deeply troubled Ted Custer, no doubt still afflicts kids in Nicaragua, while this great prophetic, forthright, courageous priest, persecuted by the Empire for the practice of our Faith, finds only abandonment by his brothers.
When one sins against the
When one sins against the virtue of faith, one is excluded from the Mystical Body of Christ from which vantage point there is no salvation.
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Paulte, As usual, you haven't disappointed us by indeed embracing heresy yourself. Following baptism one is excluded from the Mystical Body of Christ at death, then and only then. No, publication of a catechism, an act of a council or a pope can change that fact. Any more than they can reverse the tranmission of sanctifying grace gained at baptism and confirmation, or any other sacrament.
You keep committing another falsehood: theologians are not in agreement that "the concept of the priestess" as you so crudely put this issue is either an abomination or qualifies as a teaching, "de fide".
No, noble paulte speaks the
No, noble paulte speaks the truth as usual. I suggest you read the encyclical of Pius XII on "The Mystical Body of Christ" & then you will see that you, not I, are the heretic!
This dear person needs a
This dear person needs a deeper understanding of "de Fide" and doctrine and its relationship to the purpose of the institution we call Roman Catholic. Doctrine etc are "pointers" to help us in our relationship with Jesus. If pointers hinder or lessen that relationship, dispose. (Ah now i am a heretic!) The church institution, like so many christian religions, manipulates the Scriptures to fit it's goals and power needs. How can so many people be so blind to what the instittuion is doing to the Word of God?
Paulte suggests that you
Paulte suggests that you read, "Fundamental Dogmas of the Catholic Faith" by Dr Ludwig Ott, 1954, which affirms paulte's position on sins against the theological virtue of faith & exclusion from the Mystical Body of Christ.
He also suggests that you read the encyclical, "The Mystical Body of Christ" by Pius XII which states that all apostates, heretics & schismatics as well as all excommunicated persons are excluded from the Mystical Body of Christ.
Dear Fr. Ken, And by what
Dear Fr. Ken, And by what means do you call yourself Fr.? Are you an ordained priest of the Catholic Church? If so why do you allow PRIDE to get in your way and respond in the manner in which you have responded? Do Catholics support the Church established by Jesus Christ? In general we do. There are many who get so taken up by emotion that they no longer know what they believe and will believe anything that sounds or feels good. Sad that the Magisterium is so looked down upon these days. Schisms have happened in the past and will continue far into the future!
I've met Fr. Roy and priests
I've met Fr. Roy and priests like him are sadly lacking. The man is a true Christian. I guess if he were raping lityle boys., he would still be a priest. Pope Benedict, give me a break.
I sought and received a
I sought and received a dispensation from vows and the priesthood after 50 years as a religious and 41 as a priest. I could no longer continue to be in an official representative of the institutional Roman Catholic church. I admire Roy's prophetic stance. Like Jesus he has been crucified.
People's responses to me have been enlightening. One person commented, "You made the right choice." Several people have said, "You will always be a priest for me." The sensus fidelium is way ahead of the institutional church on this and so many other issues.
It is a sad state of affairs
It is a sad state of affairs in the Roman Church when a priest of 50 years serving Christ feels compelled to leave the Church. It is still sadder when a priest like Fr. Roy is pushed out.
What is the purpose of having a good conscience or the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (which I have never seen in any other church to this extent) when the Curia and its morally corrupt toadies resemble the Pharisees more each week?
On this Good Friday let us honour in prayer those who were punished by the Church for behaviour which exemplified our Saviour,Christ Jesus.
For those times when we have looked away, Lord have mercy.
+Bishop Timothy D. MacLam
Pilgrim Prayer & Healing Ministries
Dear David I am always sad
Dear David I am always sad whenever I hear of a priest leaving his divinely given ministry for whatever reason. I am even more sorrowful, when I hear one like you boast about it and even encourage others to do so. Why do I feel this way?
1. You were given a ministry to exercise and presumably, God called you to the priestly ministry. You speak as you simply took up a job at MacDonalds and then gave it away. Did it ever occur to you that the preisthood is of Christ and he has the power to sort out things in his Church?
2. Do you really believe that you or Roy or any one of us, (even if the Church were wrong in her teachings, which I don't believe she is wrong) is the judge of the situation and that by abondoning ones ministry, you are taking a stance? My question again is, who's ministry is it?
3. Where you taught in the seminary that as a priest you are an official representation of the Church (even though you now choose to call her an institution)? Even those of us who are laity have never heard that once you are ordained, you become a representative, so that when you are disappointed, you lay down your priesthood.
These are some of the few thoughts that are in my mind. I know that it makes one feel good when they can say, it doesn't matter if the church laicizes him or not, "he is still their priest". If this were true, then why the fuse about him being removed from the priesthood? Why are they woman group worried about ordination? after all they are making themselves priest? This goes back to the fact that "real truth" is in the heart and in that heart we all know that Roy and a few others who think differently from the Church, not our Holy Father Pope Benedict, is not right and the rest of the Church is wrong.
As much as I am sad to hear of a priest who left the ministry, I still feel it is better for you than to remain there and cause dissent and show of false sense of justice such as Roy is doing. Please pray for me and the whole church, that God may help us all.
Cynthia, did it ever occur to
Cynthia, did it ever occur to you that the God who called David to priestly ministry has now called David on to other work?
Personally, I think that people like David are very strong people who have spent much time in prayer, discussion and contemplation before ever even making the, what must be very difficult, decision to leave the priesthood or to be told to leave.
I know in my own life as a lay person, God has called me to minister to humanity in many different ways in my life. Some have been 'easy' calls and some have been very difficult calls.
Did it every occur to you Cynthia by David leaving presthood he is completelyl fulfilling "that the preisthood is of Christ and he has the power to sort out things in his Church?"
It is a shame that this holy
It is a shame that this holy priest of God has chosen to place his own beliefs above those of the Church, and thus threaten the good work that he does and bring dishonor to the Order that has supported him. It is very sad to see the unfortunate results of pride. I pray that he will recant his views, and be reunited with the Church to which he professed his vows.
"It is a shame that this holy
"It is a shame that this holy priest of God has chosen to place his own beliefs above those of the Church"
You know, one could say this about Jesus as well. The Jewish tradition had the Law given by God and yet Jesus doesn't just follow it, as some of the posts here have recommended---"trust the Church over your own sense of justice" ---well, our model, Jesus, didn't model that type of behavior. Fr. Bourgeois, like Jesus, is not an institutional person, and he is courageous enough to follow God, no matter the consequences and persecutions from the hierarchy--in fact, this (following one's conscience) is part of our Tradition.....along with the requisite persecution :) Like the religious leaders of Jesus' time the hierarchy is always trying to keep people away from God while Jesus is always creating access to God. The leaders, past and present, are more interested in POWER than in anything else, from the pope down. Not surprisingly, this is the exact same problem Jesus encountered, "By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you the authority to do them? (Mk.11:28). With authority comes power and religious leaders covet that power---forgive me, all you who minister and do not covet power and authority--but rather serve as God has called you.
Cheers,
The implicit message the
The implicit message the hierarchy is sending:
Supporting women's ordination is a graver sin than molesting children.
And they wonder why Church attendance is dwindling.
Implicit and blatant. This
Implicit and blatant. This is not the Maryknoll whose seminary I attended in the late 60s. This new Superior General reversed the society's previous stance under the previous general council. Maybe "Rome" threatened to "suppress" Maryknoll like the Church was suppressed in China in the middle `of the last century. A few years ago Maryknoll was forced by Rome to not allow a religious brother to be a member of the society's elected general council. He needed to be an ordained priest. What next? Special vow to kowtow to every whim of Rome? This is the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. But the American values seem to be wannning.
Maybe some Maryknollers need to speak out.
As far as I am aware, the
As far as I am aware, the suppression of the Catholics in China meant that thousands of the faithful were martyred or spent many years in concentration camps (where some are still held now). Can this really be compared to the possible suppression of a religious order by the Holy See which would merely mean that quite a lot of priests would be transferred to dioceses? Isn't it about time to drop such alarmist language?
compare the fates of the
compare the fates of the Reverend Father Roy Bourgeois with his classmate Ted Custer
and their politics
Every single time I read
Every single time I read Jamie Manson's articles I say - Darn! I wish I'd written that!
Does anyone really think a
Does anyone really think a letter from the Woman's Ordination Conference is going to have any effect? It's because of them that Fr. Bourgeois is facing his predicament.
It will take other letters from his fellow Maryknollers, from other clergy, other bishops, and other lay people to begin to have any effect on what the Maryknoll leadership will consider. It will take using the words of Maryknoll, their words on social justice, the rights of women, the theology of liberation that will have re-sounding within the mindset of Maryknoll leadership:
"Responding to God's presence we joyfully celebrate our faith with people
through Eucharist, liturgy and prayer. Among peoples, cultures and religions
we dwell in truth and hope, to dialogue with and reverence their contemplation of the divine. We join the struggles for justice of the poor, indigenous peoples, women and children against economic, social and cultural oppression.
Through a commitment to inculturation and an option for the poor we search for new ways to be the Church in service of God's Reign."
"Since God's presence and love invite all human beings into the fullness of life through death, even before the Gospel arrives, we realize that discovering and making known the Paschal Mystery in every culture and language
is not merely one among other aspects of evangelization but the irreplaceable ground of them all."
"Conscious of the responsibilities flowing from this vision, we call upon the Holy Spirit, the principal agent of mission, Mary, Queen of Apostles, and all the patrons of our Society, to lead us into the future renewed in a faith that moves mountains a love that casts out fear and a lively hope that heralds
a New Springtime of Mission." (from the Maryknoll website on their mission)
They are their brother's keeper. If they cannot keep Fr. Bourgeois, they must change their mission and charism in order to be authentic.
Shame on you Maryknoll
Shame on you Maryknoll leaders and shame on you Vatican old geezers - how many more ways can you come up with to make Roman Catholics look like a group of fools to the rest of the world and to our Holy Father (no I don't mean the pope - I mean our "real" Holy Father in Heaven).
Get a life!
Perhaps Fr. Bourgeois, and
Perhaps Fr. Bourgeois, and Mr. Manson can follow the lead of Norma Jean Coon and publicly renounce their position on the ordination of women.
If you think the Maryknollers
If you think the Maryknollers are less committed to justice than Roy Bourgeois is, you don't know Maryknoll. Maryknoll men and women have given their lives for over a century for a whole host of life-and-death causes. TO state that their commitment is nothing but lip service is to reveal your profound ignorance.
I know Maryknoll, rather
I know Maryknoll, rather personally, and I know their motherhouse to be full of Republicans who sold out Orbis Books and their most courageous and prophetic members, such as Father Roy, the very ones you mythologize here without proof.
Most Maryknoll priests do not match the popular image. Where we sought liberation, most were quite comfortable with repression, as this move and the public statements made demonstrate clearly.
We all have a need to believe in this mythic Maryknoll shining brightly upon a hill over the Hudson, a myth mainly created by the small magazine while under the masterful editorship of the Reverend Fater Miguel D'Escoto MM. It does not exist, and many Maryknollers hated that liberating magazine. Not even the great and highly capable Brother Wayne Fitzpatrick got a break in today's strictly, sternly presbyterian imposition.
Fr. Roy, you are not alone.
Fr. Roy, you are not alone. Many are willing to suffer with you in defense of woman/man equality in the church. That was how it was with Jesus, our liberator. That is how it is with us today. Just don´t recant. No one can separate you from the love of Christ and from loving like Christ. May the Holy Spirit strengthen you always.
Thank you, Jamie, for your
Thank you, Jamie, for your response. So very well-said. You speak for many of us.
The tag line on this article
The tag line on this article is fantastical...
I for one, am glad to see him
I for one, am glad to see him go. Its poisonous vipers like him in this Church that have watered down the Divine Liturgy to mere political niceties.
Sad Sad Sad that people think that good actions in the past can somehow make up for unrepented mortal sins today. Its the old universalist heresy all over again.
James Locke on Mar. 30,
James Locke on Mar. 30, 2011.
You stated:
I for one, am glad to see him go. Its poisonous vipers like him in this Church that have watered down the Divine Liturgy to mere political niceties.
Sad Sad Sad that people think that good actions in the past can somehow make up for unrepented mortal sins today. Its the old universalist heresy all over again.
----------------------------------------------------
It is so easy for folks like you to point to others and accuse them of heresy.
It is not given to you to judge anyone as having "unrepented mortal sin". Y
And would you accuse Jesus, for committing the mortal sin, of breaking the strict Sabbath laws set up by the religious leaders of the Jewish people?
Breaking the Sabbath by doing manual work (and healing the sick was considered manual work) was a MORTAL SIN of that time. The Jewish people didn't have a term, "Mortal Sin", but the probitions against work on the Sabbath was just as great.
Jesus KNEW that the religious leaders would be angry and plotting against him. But he continued to heal on the Sabbath anyway. God's glory is man (and woman) fully alive. Better to obey God than human laws.
Fr. Roy, as well as so many writers and theologians, know that the underpinnings of the "laws" against women's ordination are on a ground as flimsy as wet tissue paper. Scripture can be used against anything that the Vatican hold up as "proof" that Jesus only chose males to be priests.
You reply with a red herring.
You reply with a red herring. I am not Jewish, nor do I live in the first Century. Instead, your defense is one in which you confirm what I am saying. Fr Roy is just another priest who has given up his vows for the sake of his earthly political views. Sorry LilBear, but if thats not public scandal, then I don't know what is.
PS, if you reply, dont bother bringing up sexual abuse as a public scandal. We all know its a mortal sin and publicly scandalous and we are working on purging such acts from the Church. That being said, priests ae the class of people LEAST likely to abuse children. So dont bother going there as a strawman.
"That being said, priests ae
"That being said, priests ae the class of people LEAST likely to abuse children."
Hmmmm.............maybe you DO live in the first century with this kind of thinking.............
Cheers,
You really do need to look up
You really do need to look up the statistics. Parents, Teachers, and even clerics from other denominations and religions have far far far higher rates of abuse.
Jamie, no. Roy can "no longer
Jamie, no. Roy can "no longer be a priest." He is no longer a Roman Catholic priest. The problem with that is what, exactly? He made his choice and life goes on. Roy may be a priest as he defines priesthood, or as you define it. I hardly expect him or you to appeal to an ontological definition of sacerdotal, priestly ministry that he or you would object to in any other circumstances.
Man, are you on the wrong
Man, are you on the wrong track!
hey, add me to your short
hey, add me to your short list. He's my priest, too!
You can't make a choice that
You can't make a choice that results in not being a priest. You can make choices that results in excommunication, loss of faculties, or dispensation from vows and obligations, but not to not be a priest, just like you can't choose to stop having been baptized. If you're trying to be a conservative, you need to have a better understanding of the ontological nature of the priesthood.
Dear Jamie L Manson, When do
Dear Jamie L Manson, When do we lose the False Pride that so many possess concerning the ordination of women? This is turning into the largest schism the Catholic Church has ever faced. When Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church He called Twelve men to be His Apostles. From many walks of life and all ignorant and weak. It was not an accident that all were men. Today there are many women who would have you believe that their original call from GOD for the religious life was really for the Priesthood and not for the Convent. How convenient. One wonders how the call to these mistaken individuals really came about and from whom? You hear a lot of cutsey phrases supporting their cause-perhaps Satan is gleeful in his works? Just asking. Oh I forgot. Satan is just a figment of our imagination. Today anything is acceptable as long as it feels good!
How can you forget the WOMAN
How can you forget the WOMAN who came first to answer the call. Jesus could have landed here in a chariot, descended from the clouds of heaven or whatever....But God CALLED A WOMAN! She grew His body in hers, birthed Him, nursed Him at her breasts, followed Him to Jerusalem and ate a last Passover with her beloved Son. Then she stood at the foot of the cross to see Her son die and held his corpse in her arms. How joyful she must have felt after His resurrection to be with Him again. God knows our strengths and our love. Be assured He wants us as women to minister for Him. Some poor human men are just too blind to see yet what God sees. I thank those women who have answered His call and strong men like Fr. Roy who support them.
the real Satan dwells in the
the real Satan dwells in the exclusive, male-dominated, clerical, condemning church of tom warren....
"Today anything is acceptable
"Today anything is acceptable as long as it feels good!"
Did your writing this calumny against Ms. Manson make you feel good, tom?
Is it therefore acceptable?
Dear charles scanlon, There
Dear charles scanlon, There is no calumny against Ms Manson in my statement. A fact of life that all are living with is that anything is acceptable as long as it feels good. Just look around you as most people are living in this manner.
Jesus did NOT establish the
Jesus did NOT establish the Catholic Church on earth! He was Jewish...Mary was Jewish...it was the early CHRISTIAN men and WOMEN who established first "The Way" and then "the Christians (or those who follow Christ)." During Jesus' time he did call women apostles (ex. Mary Magdalene), and no, they weren't one of the 12 because the 12 were meant to signify the 12 tribes going back to Jacob's 12 SONS. And, as has been stated before, at the Last Supper, Jesus calls the DISCIPLES not the 12 APOSTLES to continue this work in his memory. This is all simple Church history.
Thank you, Fr. Roy, for all
Thank you, Fr. Roy, for all the good you have done in this world. I agree with the author; your priesthood can never truly end! God bless you!
The church will try to silent
The church will try to silent people in its ranks as sure as any tyrant anywhere.
Thanks for another great
Thanks for another great article about Fr. Bourgeois. I made a comment to another NCR article and will repeat once more how grateful I am for this courageous priest who has supported the cause of women's ordination, who sees us as equals, who acknowledges the legitimacy of our calling to the ordained ministry. Perhaps God is opening up a broader and more inclusive ministry to him. There are many of us who would drive a distance to hear him preach and share a meal with him. Perhaps he could even gather with us in the meadows, at the edge of deserts, in sport stadiums and concert halls to hear him preach. Perhaps even in the auditoriums of closed RC parochial schools.
I saw him speak about five
I saw him speak about five years ago in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I wish I could once more.
I hope his sorrowful situation with his father is resolved peacefully, and I am shocked at Maryknoll for not supporting this brother priest, but rejecting him. Those guys who stay in house have nothing better to do, having failed in the field and now make themselves feel important by degrading their betters.
Speaking up for women's
Speaking up for women's ordination-automatic excommunication, 40 years of child molestation and protecting the perpetrator-priceless.
Ouch! But true in this
Ouch! But true in this instance.
The "grave scandal...to the
The "grave scandal...to the people of God" comes from the hierarchy who are so threatened by other people's vocations that they forget their own.
Fr. Roy is a true follower of Christ, from whom his priesthood comes. Mere words cannot annul that kind of priesthood.
Years after FATHER Bourgeois
Years after FATHER Bourgeois passes on from this earth, the Maryknolls will most likely try to 'reclaim him" when they realize that he is their best shot at a cause for sainthood.
along with Bill Woods, Martyr
along with Bill Woods, Martyr of the Ixcan, and so many others like him, martyred for our faith in liberating justice through direct action, while the incompetents sit home on the hill condemning over coffee cups those on the line in the field.
Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clark as well, never forget
Ms. Manson says that "the
Ms. Manson says that "the calling [to the priesthood]. . .comes from God alone." She is wrong. The calling comes from God AND the Church. No such 'calling' exists without the Church. Ms. Manson is way off track here.
The church does not call
The church does not call people to the priesthood. God and GOD ALONE does.
The Church would not exsist had Jesus not been sent from His (and our Father) to redeem mankind. The present hierarchy of the Church appears to be wanting to hold control over its adherents...nothing new. When Pope John XX111 called the Second Vatican council he said he wanted to open the windows of the Vatrican to let the sunshine in and blow the dust out. Since the dubious death of Pope Luciano (John-Paul 1) the doors have swung shut and the decrees of the council seem to been consigned to Limbo, or maybe Hell. By the way can anyone give me a truely valid reason as to why women should not be ordained? Seems as if our beloved Church, or at least its hierarchy is hellbent on keeping its power rather than seeking to do the will of the Master who told us to "love one another."
for news of another
for news of another ewll-respected Maryknoll priest, please see:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/30/nicaraguan-chosen-represent-libya/
Fr. Roy knew what he was
Fr. Roy knew what he was getting into when he took his vows, as did I and every other religious who took her/his vows seriously. We all promised to let our Superiors in the Church speak God's will for us, even when we disagreed. That's what a vow of obedience means. It specifically does not mean obeying only when we agree. Father also made a promise of obedience to the bishops, which he has repeatedly said he cannot honor, although that promise -- made freely and without reservation -- was not contingent upon agreement, either. How can he call the church to new commitments when he refuses to honor the commitments he made as priest and religious? In thirty years of vowed life, I have frequently disagreed with my superiors and my community, but I have always made my case and obeyed, because to do otherwise is to make the vowed life meaningless. This action by the Maryknoll Society, however sad, simply recognizes that Fr. Roy is no longer living by his vows and has not been for quite a while. I have worked with Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters for many years, and I find your caricature of them insulting. I very much doubt that you and your friends from Call to Action could put up with the filth these men and women endure on a regular basis for the sake of the gospel. So please don't judge them, Ms. Manson, because it sounds as though you haven't walked many miles in your own shoes, let alone theirs.
Do Maryknoll priests even
Do Maryknoll priests even take a vow of obedience, dude?
The Maryknoll Sisters are Dominican. Do they take a vow of obedience?
Isn't that simply one of the later Franciscan impositions to control the order of little brothers?
Do the ancient Benedictines as such take a vow of obedience?
Did you ever see any document signed upon the altar by the Reverend Father Roy Bourgeois vowing obedience to any man? Are any Maryknollers required to sign such a document, sir?
Your rhetoric waxes long upon this point; let it not be a fallacy if you are to write truthfully. Where do you find the Society requires a vow of obedience, and what wording do you find within it?
What vows did this good priest take, that you so condemn him by?
Not only do you fail to walk in this great priest's large shoes, you have not even seen them.
You claim to have worked with Maryknollers, but do not know their vows, if any such exist? I have known Maryknollers all of my life, and their filth, as you call it, and have not discerned obedience a distinguishing characteristic of this loose society . . .
Your statements here, and equally condemnatory fallacious allusion to Call to Action draw suspicion upon your claim to know Maryknoll. Did you visit the motherhouse for coffee and rolls a few times?
Maryknollers and obedience?
Maryknollers and obedience? faghedabowdid . . . Hey, wait a minute. How about Maryknollers and CHASTITY!!??
Poverty, some got, but hey, aren't you equally concerned for their CHASTITY (OMG??!!)
Oh, that's right, you wojo-ratzo neo-nazi fascist franconista opus dei marcialitas care only about the strictest obedience to your own willful wills.
Charity?
That's something in Saint Paul, poorly
STERN OBEDIENCE is all that you demand.
No room for the Holy Ghosty
Divino Afflante Spiritu
Turn this old man uncharitably out of doors
as he no longer meets your demands
and is now too old to serve the society any further
turn him out to the dark and to the cold, alone, without charity, without your love.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish apart as fools
Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres in unum
The Reverend Father Roy Bourgeois MM shall ever and always find a certain place of honor and of love in our hermitage; may he come home here. God knows I need him!
Neither you Fabiola, nor
Neither you Fabiola, nor Father Roy, nor anyone of any rank or station, may let a vow of obedience override the voice of conscience. If that is not clear in RCC teaching, it should be.
This vow of Obedience,
This vow of Obedience, removing accountability, I'm quite sure that, and brother clergy absolving each other in the Confessional is one of the reasons sex-abuse has been allowed to continue for so long.
In our Episcopal parish,
In our Episcopal parish, former Roman Catholics easily out-number "cradle" Episcopalians. Any doubt why? It's issues like this and so many others in the post- Vatican II church that have become the " last straw" for many of us. Having supported the work of Maryknollers for many years, henceforth only the Sisters will receive my financial contributions.
Dear anonymous, I suppose its
Dear anonymous, I suppose its wonderful that you remain anonymous because it would be a shame to own up to such an article. If you are talking about former membters, who can claim more? You only have to look at what happend on January 15 in England and what happened on the first sunday of Lent and what Holy Mother Church is looking forward to in the USA, Canada and Australia, to realise that your claim of former Catholics outnumbering cradle Episcopalians sounds rather funny. Oh by the way, you might be right, the Episcopalians aren't that much anyway, plus many have crossed over to the Catholic Church. I just wish Roy and the others on this blog would be courageous enough to move over to your parish, after all "are we not worshiping the same God".
I bet your parish is busting
I bet your parish is busting at the seams with young families! The Episcopal Church seams to have everything NCR wants--gay priests, women priests, do what you want morality, choose your own theology. Yet the Anglican Communion is falling apart by the hour!
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