Volunteer teacher ousted for supporting Sister Louise Akers

And so the witch hunt begins......

If this event is in any way indicative of how dioceses' will approach Catholics who think for themselves, we may be in for a long winter.
While I understand that those who teach the "party line" must teach the party line, that doesn't mean that teacher must agree with every item and perspective of that party. This may seem contradictory or certainly raises doubt and skepticism in those who believe that only those who believe the party line can effectively teach the party line, at least with conviction.
But the reality is human beings disagree on things. Raising doubt is also an opportunity to deepen belief, to strengthen one's convictions. It is the teachable moment.
Women's ordination is not an infallible teaching, and there are certainly a multitude of intelligent people who have well-researched and well thought out differences of opinion as to women's ordination. The discussion ought to be aired. We have nothing to fear. We cannot continue to remove people from teaching positions because they don't agree with fallible, human teachings. The Church would still be looking at the heavens from a myopic position. And maybe it is.

Dr. Carol Egner is "yielding to the wisdom of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit"

by supporting "some self-reflection on the part of church officials " regarding women ordination.

The popes do make mistakes. Note the recent rescinding of the old limbo dictates and the ending of the abuse of families, unbaptised babies who die, who used to be denied consecrated burials and funerals in Catholic church.

The pope and the Fr. David Sunberg and the archbishop who fired Sr Akers should be "yielding to the wisdom of God" which is not always the "church."
Sunberg and the pope show arrogance, as the church is human too and NOT God.
I support women ordination.

Someone commented on another article that he wanted to excommunicate all who support women priests, which is 70% of Catholics.
He also wrote that Magisterium triumphs what Jesus taught and did.
Huh?

The pope wrote that God and Jesus are the ultimate authority, so no, the Magisterium does not trump what Jesus said or how he was with women and men in the New Testament. The bible is proof that women should be ordained, and were in the church in the beginning. Phoebe is a deacon for all the community, and Junia and Mary Magdalene are important real apostles, as significant as the males. St. Peter's "keys" do not "lock out" the women!
The "binding and loosening" means women too can be ordained.

"And perhaps if we had already been doing this, words like sexual abuse would not be associated with the Catholic Church."

well, thanks to ms. egner, i know now that women would never exploit their position of power to take sexual advantage of those under them like men sometimes do. it's good to know that all those stories of teachers like deborah lafave, and the near weekly news stories that come out of those like her are all false. older women would NEVER take sexual advantage of younger men/boys in their care.

it is good to know that in a fallen world, women never succumb to temptation.

Perhaps a "ledger" should be placed at the entrance of every Catholic Church which would require anyone entering to "sign in" under a declaration from Ordinatio Sacerdotalis: "I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women....". Refusal to sign would render entrance inadmissable and immediate "dis-memberment".

What happens when all who question respectfully are asked to leave? When the bishops tell me and the countless others (mostly women because that's who the predominent ministers are) in the church both volunteer and paid that we can no longer serve...unless we recant our beleifs? What I believe, through a prayerful and informed conscience is Spiritfilled. Do I teach that women ought to have an opportunity to answer the ordained call to ministry?--no, however that is truly how I beleive the Spirit continues to blow in the direction of women. As someone who believes in freewill, I have also been given the mind to question, which is at the heart of any person's journey of faith. The ability to question thankfully comes from God, and no one has the power to take it away.

"The lesson is a sobering one: Suppression does not end revolution; it breeds it. It solves nothing." Quoting Joan Chittister in NCR online, Sept. 9, 2009.

I'm afraid that "the revolution" will fizzle out completely, because most of us who are discouraged and fed up with working and waiting and hoping have walked away. At some point, thousands of the faithful made a choice to no longer enable the Church and they now either attend a different denomination or don't attend at all. I gave up about 6 years ago. My spiritual path continues, but it no longer passes through the RCC. How sad that discussion of any topic is completely off the table.

I hope that the church throws out all the women. Then maybe, just maybe, we would find our collective voices.

I think that there needs to be some sort of process that educates potential educators what the diocese expects of each one of them. It is simplistic to beleive that nothing would happen to a teacher that publicly supports a person and position that stands in direct opposition to the teachings of the Church. What else do they teach in the classroom that run perpedicular to the church precepts?

Either Ms. Egnar is naive or is looking for headlines as she walks out the door.

What is David Sunberg's background?

Yes, people I know are leaving the Church in droves. Abusive priests, complicit Bishops, slap downs for even discussing women priests, Bishops with no shepherding skills whatsoever have all contributed to the mass exodus. Now, they're reforming the reform. Vatican II was what kept me going in the Church. I knew the wheels turned slowly and really did not expect everything to happen in my lifetime, but now I know the wheels are in reverse. In fact I read many places that Vatican II was a big lie. I am teetering on the edge, and I am heartbroken.

A church that struggles to find volunteers for all the work that needs doing is in a poor position to start investigating all of the views of volunteers as well.

I say go find something happy to volunteer for; there are lots of organizations that welcome the help, that reward the helpers, and who help people who are grateful for your presence.

Paulte goes "Anonymous" here.

I for one am outraged and shocked that anyone would be fired from a Catholic classroom for holding views contrary to the Magisterium! Who do these males think they are anyway? Bishops, Archbishops, Popes & such always trying to tell women what to do! They don't even have a proper fashion sense!

Women know best, not men! And where are the Muslims? Shouldn't they be teaching in Catholic classrooms as well? Where is diversity in our Catholic Church? We gals demand it now & how! WOW! Solidarity, sisters!

I guess the hierarchy won't be happy until they have the laity imprisoning their consciences and minds in the same closet too many of the hierarcy have placed their sexuality.

I admire the courage of Dr. Eigner in publically supporting Sr. Akers and affirm that when the Spirit moves one to speak out, one does well to speak out. But I would also hope that we, who on the basis of Biblical study and in the spirit of Vatican II come to the conclusion that it is time for the Catholic Church to reconsider its post-apostalic surpression of female leadership in the Church, consider carefully whether the best way to support this development is to openly, in defiance of episcopal and pastoral authority, publically say what we think.

Another approach that could be taken by such catechatical teachers as Dr. Eigner is to stress in their teaching the vocation of all baptized people to "re-present" Christ to all we encounter in our daily lives. Then having said that (especially to teenagers and adults) add that though the Magisterium of our Church affirms that all the faithful, including women, are called to re-present Christ in the world, the Magisterium at the same time teaches that women cannot appropriately re-present Christ in the midst of the faithful when we are gathered for worship. In response to the inevitable question of "Why?" the answer might well be, "Because the Magisterium says so." That should be enough for those we teach to figure things out for themselves.

how about the 'good' pastor and bishop write a letter disavowing and regretting their coverup of known priest abusers.Posted in parish and diocesan paper.. No letter no donations..

I read in this roman mass missal transliteration that the deacon or the priest does the homily or reads the gospel. Is this to ensure that no woman ever gets to pronounce the good news of the gospel in public?

Jesus had both Mary Magdalene and samaria woman pronounce the good news to the public. Paul praises lots of women who spread the good news in his letters in the New Testament.

I guess pope Benedict is considering excommunicating Jesus for letting women pronounce the good news in public. The missal leaves out the women except for a few female saints and Virgin Mary. Oh sister where art thou? The church wants all women silent and invisible.

Amen, Kathy Hagan Diebold. And enrollment at Catholic schools are down this year. They can tell themselves it is the recession. But it might also be working moms like me who are tired of pushing their unwilling husbands to go to church on Sunday and working to pay an expensive institution so their children can learn in religion class that women "can't represent Christ" and that women have "roles" that only the men can define.

Or that legally elected Black Democrat Presidents who want to address schoolchildren with a message encouraging education are prohibited from the schools due to keeping the schoolchildren away from "politics", but legally elected White Republican state senators can have an hour of face time in the classroom with your child in person and give out "print materials."

I think that the problem here is that Dr. Egner made her opinions public....and therefore she took a chance. If I spoke out publicly against the organization I volunteer for, I'm sure I might be dismissed as well. That is the way things go (right or wrong).

Once again, I have to ask the question, why volunteer to teach religion at a Catholic parish, to Catholic children, if you have no intention of teaching the faith as presented by the Church? What point are you trying to make?

Bad enough to try to indoctrinate catechists and theologians. Bad enough to indoctrinate college and graduate students. But to try to brainwash and indoctrinate 11 and 12 year old sixth graders, to lead the souls of trusting children into dissent. They are not challenging these children to think, they are leading them away from the truth of the Church, the truth that is Jesus Christ, the truth that leads to salvation, and into the lies of sin.

There is a Scripture that speaks about this specifically. Folks like Sr. Louise and Dr. Egner should remember it: "but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

To call this site Catholic is a lie. There is nothing Catholic about it at all.

Why does the Church hierarchy get all huffed up & fire people immediately when lay WOMEN express their OPINIONS, but not fire the MEN when clergy commit criminal ACTS??? EG, Cardinal Law, formerly of Boston???