Kolpack letter to her parishioners explaining her dismissal

If this is what we do to our friends what whoud we do to our "enemies" if we had the chance?

I for one would like to read your thesis Ms.Kolpack. And one further point, on a personal note, the older I become, the more importance I attribute to my conscience which is more like a "straight line" to God, and it is against this line that I measure the Church.

Dear Ruth,

My heart breaks for you and for the parishioners who will lose your loving care and guidance. My heart breaks for our Church, who, because of a stone-headed and hearted hierarchy, unwittingly puts limits on the love, mercy and compassion of Christ.

Just wondering if all of you who jumped all over Bishop Richard Williamson for his alleged anti-semitism actually read what he said, or just got "bits and pieces"? Aren't "bits and pieces" sometimes good enough to make a judgement?

Our family is very upset by the actions of the Bishop. Our children are grown now, but remember you, Ruth, as a true example of how a human being and Catholic should conduct themselves. I have had such a great experience with you on a professional level and as a parent putting our children in your trust. We never had a moment of doubt that you would care for them when you had them with you, and never doubted that you would teach them the true meaning of being a Christian. Both of them speak of you with respect and fond memories. Thank you, Ruth, for being such a wonderful example. God is with you and you are in our prayers.

Ruth, this letter reflects the honesty and integrity you have shown to those of us who have had the honor of working and praying with you over the years. I encourage all those who have worked with you to write the letter to the Apostolic Nuncio. You can be assured I will! Your commitment to social justice and your compassionate presence in ministry will be missed. We just hope that wherever the Spirit leads you, she will guide you in the same life-giving and life-changing way. God bless you as you have blessed others!

Add this to the other nails in the coffin of the Roman Church on its swift path to death. I am truly saddened by this and applaud Ruth for having the courage to stand in the truth that God has revealed to her and in doing so, bravely following the path of Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Ruth,
I would also like to read your thesis. God Bless!

Peace,

It is time to MOVE ON...

You are not the First, nor will you be the Last to face opposition in the Church. We have seen how the Church in Amercia was brought to its knees when the adolescent altar boys and girls entrusted to the "ALL MALE" clergy were seduced, raped and silenced by their Pastors, even as they preached the WORD of GOD.

Compared to that "SEXUAL ABUSE, SODOMY, and RAPE of Children" your situation is MILD - loss of a JOB, and perhaps,"loss of face".

In this Pauline Year, like the Apostle Paul, my suggestion to you would be to just MOVE ON... Paul left Athens and moved onto Corinth. He did not return to Athens - where he was not wanted.

In his book, "Spirit of Catholicism", Karl Adam writes:

"So it may happen, and it must happen, that pastor and flock, bishop, priest, and layman are not always worthy mediators and recipients of God's grace, and that the infinitely holy is sometimes warped and distorted in passing through them. Wherever you have men, you are bound to have a restricted outlook and narrowness of judgment. For talent is rare, and genius comes only when God calls it. Eminent popes, bishops of great spiritual force, theologians of genius, priests of extraordinary graces and devout layfolk: these must be, not the rule, but the exception. God raises them up only at special times, when He needs them for His Church. We may and should pray for them, but we cannot reckon on their coming. And so as a rule it is the ordinary and average man who bears God's truth and grace through the world. The Church has from God the guarantee that she will not fall into error regarding faith or morals; but she has no guarantee whatever that every act and decision of ecclesiastical authority will be excellent and perfect. Mediocrity and even defects are possible. "The weak and the little hath God chosen that He may confound the strong." It is true that the power of divine truth and grace is manifested all the more gloriously because of this weakness. But reflective Catholics must feel and be pained by the conflict which arises out of the contrast between the sublimity, depth and power of divine revelation and the weakness of the human, too- human factor. The same phenomenon is repeated in the history of the Church throughout the centuries which so tragically moulded the relation of our Lord to His disciples. They were unable in their small mirrors to receive all the rays of light which went forth from His divine Person and to transmute them without loss into living forces."

"Still more palpable and painful does the conflict between the power of God and the weakness of man become when the in-streaming life of grace and truth is checked by human passions, by sin and vice, when Christ as He is realized in human history is dragged through the dust of the street, through the commonplace and the trivial, and over masses of rubbish. That is the deepest tragedy, the very tragedy of the Divine, when It is dispensed by unworthy hands and received by unworthy lips. An immoral laity, bad priests, bishops and popes—these are the saddest wounds of the Body of the mystical Christ. This is what grieves the earnest Catholic and inspires his sorrowful lamentation, when he sees these wounds and is unable to help."

The Spirit of Catholicism (Milestones in Catholic Theology) (Paperback)
The Crossroad Publishing Company (November 1, 1997)
ISBN-10: 0824517180; ISBN-13: 978-0824517182

God bless,
M.Francis

Sister Ruth:

I regret greatly that you have been terminated from your church position, but considering "the terminator," I am not at all surprised.

I will pray for you, and for this terribly misguided clergyperson who has been on the wrong of more than this particular issue.

May God continue to bless you wherever the Spirit leads.

Philip Gates
Prescott, Arizona

Beloit College, '58

Ruth, I graduated with you from the seminary in 2003. I have always known you to be a faith filled woman of integrity who loved her job and her church. I applaud you for not denouncing your thesis. What I would like to know is why after six years the subject of your thesis has come to light? I believe that things happen for a reason and that our loving God is on your side. Always hold fast to what you believe and continue to trust in the Lord with all your heart.

I am saddened even more now that I have read more of Ruth's thesis. I am a first-year graduate student pursuing a master's in theology, from a midwest Catholic university, and I completely understand Ruth's position on patriarchy, sexism and images of God. Ruth has every right to speak her opinion, and she is prophetic in her statements. Our church is sexist and patriarchal. I honestly cannot understand why our intelligent and well-educated church leaders cannot admit this! Well, I guess I can. They are blinded by their own fears. And it takes courageous people like Ruth to speak the truth to these lies.

All of this is for a higher purpose. Look at the prophets, look at those whose truth stood up to lies, covered in sugar-coated doctrines. God is perfectly complete. God is not a woman, but then God is also not a man. God is not human, but God is also not not-human. Our language is very powerful, and it speaks directly to the human condition, to creation itself.

I will be writing a mid-term this week on the image of God. I might use a few "bits and pieces" from your thesis as support for my arguments.

May God who is beyond our comprehension, bless you.
Kathy

Peace be with you Ruth Kolpack. I trust that this event will guide you along a path that will take you where God wants you to go and I trust that you will respond to God’s invitation as you have been doing for many years. Regretfully I cannot say the same about so many of our bishops and popes. “Top down” church is so full of certainty that they are always right. In their pride, they appear to see no possibility that they can be wrong. The spirit of the Pharisees continues in them.

In his book “On Being a Christian” (Page 211), Hans Kung speaks of the attitudes of the Pharisees that Jesus so thoroughly condemned and what happened to the various forms of Judaism during and after the destruction by the Romans in 70 AD:

“The Pharisaic spirit was maintained. In the great conflict Rome was the military victor. Zealotism broke down, Essenism was eradicated, Sadduceeism left without temple or temple ministry. But Pharisaism survived the catastrophe of the year 70. Only the scribes remained as leaders of the enslaved people. Thus out of Pharisaism there emerged the later, normative Judaism which was kept alive – despite all the hostility – in virtue of its “separateness,” very much modified and adjusted, in the midst of the world and which set up again the Jewish state after almost two thousand years. But Pharisaism lives on also – and sometimes more so – in Christianity. But it is contrary to the spirit of Jesus himself.”

Peace be with you Ruth Kolpack. I trust that this event will guide you along a path that will take you where God wants you to go and I trust that you will respond to God’s invitation as you have been doing for many years. Regretfully I cannot say the same about so many of our bishops and popes. “Top down” church is so full of certainty that they are always right. In their pride, they appear to see no possibility that they can be wrong. The spirit of the Pharisees continues in them.

In his book “On Being a Christian” (Page 211), Hans Kung speaks of the attitudes of the Pharisees that Jesus so thoroughly condemned and what happened to the various forms of Judaism during and after the destruction by the Romans in 70 AD:

“The Pharisaic spirit was maintained. In the great conflict Rome was the military victor. Zealotism broke down, Essenism was eradicated, Sadduceeism left without temple or temple ministry. But Pharisaism survived the catastrophe of the year 70. Only the scribes remained as leaders of the enslaved people. Thus out of Pharisaism there emerged the later, normative Judaism which was kept alive – despite all the hostility – in virtue of its “separateness,” very much modified and adjusted, in the midst of the world and which set up again the Jewish state after almost two thousand years. But Pharisaism lives on also – and sometimes more so – in Christianity. But it is contrary to the spirit of Jesus himself.”

I commend to your attention the article entitled "Men are from Tyre, Women are from Bethany" in today's Washington Post. An analysis of the recent Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey shows that women clergy in the mainline churches are significantly more "liberal" in their views than their male counterparts. The article avers that "while still a minority in the church [we are 20 percent as of 2008, up from 7 percent in 1989], as the percentage of women in the ministry continues to grow, female clergy have the potential to dramatically shift the balance of opinion of mainline churches and denominations on a variety of key issues." I believe that Roman Catholic women have the same potential, though their exclusion from the clergy makes them more vulnerable and less visible.
Have courage! Women hold up half the sky -- and perhaps even more.
Blessings,
Linda+

Dear Ruth: I feel your pain and loss. I, too, was forced from ministry after more than 3 decades. No reasons given. I'm sorry that a Church that holds up social justice and the rights of others cannot seem to make the connection that what is taught should also be practiced beginning with its own members. My hope at this time is that the "clergy caste" system which has so dominated our understanding of what it means to be church is terminally ill and that soon a death will occur that will open the possibility for the new life that the Christ came to bring. I applaud your courage to stand by your intellectually intergrity. Hopefully, you will be able to look back at a future date and know that you helped forge a path into the future. May God support and comfort you till then. Your sister in pain.

Ruth...

Along with so many others, I cannot understand the actions of the Bishop that dismissed you. I support you in not denouncing your thesis.

I, too, was a church worker and dismissed by my pastor for God knows what reason. I had no recourse so today am out of that line of work that I studied and prepared for while attending college in Madison, WI. It is sad that there is no recourse for those of us who get dismissed at another's whim.

Currently, I am a non-practicing Catholic, a religion that I was born and raised in and worked for for 20 plus years. It hurts me to not practice my religion but hurts me more to participate in a religion that puts the "men on a pedastal" while stomping down women.

I trust that God will bless us in our search for truth and justice. You are not alone.

Blessings to you.

Elizabeth

Ruth,

Above all I want you to know that I am praying with and for you and for the truth of the Gospel to prevail in this time of an injustice all too typical by virtue of its systemic nature. May you know the closeness of God in your heart and my own humble admiration for your courage, conviction, and conscience.

May the blessing of peace guard and support you,
sr. jane

You Go Girl! The bishop may have bullied you out of work, but truth will prevail. The hierarchy feels it's power waining. Male superiority, mysogyny and egotism has been exposed within the church system. Women who are "awake" hear the flute! We women elders may have arrived late but our voices will be heard......eventually!

This is heart-breaking. These certain bishops that epitomize the Pharisees seem to be multiplying...they seem to be taking actions that are indefensible, and it is causing me great distress. How can one continue to be a member of such an institution? How do we explain our affiliation with an institution that thinks so poorly of women? Day after day, it never stops. Like the pope condemning condoms for the those in Africa with AIDS....He expects sexual abstinence??? What makes him think that those women whose husbands bring the virus home are allowed to say "no."? Why can't these men learn to listen? They surely don't appear to be hearing the Holy Spirit. ...By their fruit they'll be known. Such rotten fruit!

The tears are burning and my heart is aching. My faith and trust in the Catholic Church was destroyed as was my daughter's burgeoning vocation by the actions of a Bishop who appears to be as arrogant, misogynistic, and power-mad as yours was. I wish you luck in your appeal to the Nuncio; I know it was in vain in the case of our beloved pastor who was removed on the word of people hand-picked by our bishop who was threatened by a priest who refused to kowtow to his whims. Indeed, I was accused of calumny and threatened with the possibility of excommunication for filing a concern regarding one of his "chosen". Maintain your faith in a loving God - eventually the power within the Church will have to realize they are on the path to devastation...or we will have another great schism on our hands

Greetings from Australia. Sending Ruth much support across the airwaves. Take courage with your prophetic action.

We only know why you were dismissed based on what you said, the bishops office will not discuss it, so we are only hearing your side of the story. All the blogs and articles I have read make it sound like you were the head of the church, interesting, I though it was God.

Additionally, as I read the comments of the others on this page, I am amazed at how all paint you as a pinnacle of virtue, while making no mention of many of your personal beliefs being at odds with the teachings of the church. It is not narrow minded for a bishop to remove from power, those who teach and aspouse things contrary to the churches teaching. Your role is supporting and teaching the faith, not interpretting and experimenting with it.

While others believe that the church is getting too rigid and that is the cause of its current decline, I disagree. I saw the decline starting at the close of Vatican II when every man and woman wanting to 'customize' Catholicism, through their selfish actions, caused the closing of churches and schools and the disbanding of religious orders.

I find it ironic that the majority of those supporting you are EX-Catholics. Remind me again why their opinion is relevant to those actually practicing the faith, faithfully?

Not knowing the whole story, I would imagine that the thesis in not the real issue. I have a feeling that there would be a total disregard for the GIRM or Roman Missal in this parish as well. How many times do you think she gave her "reflections" in place of a homily?

Greetings from Washington State...
Ruth, sending love and holding you and your parish family in prayer. Thank you for your years of service to our Church and for your courage and integrity.

Thank you, Ruth, for speaking the truth! It amazes me that a church that claims to promote Catholic Social Teaching is so hypocritical. We have become a church of small-minded leaders, who presume to know the "mind of God".
The work of Vatican II seems to be only a memory as we continue to become a retro church with diminishing members. Perhaps your thesis will be read by more people than you could ever imagine, Ruth, as the result of this ordeal. When that happens, you will touch and affect numerous people Kudos to you Ruth!!!

Such troubling comments from those who believe that Bishop Morlino's actions were appropriate. At this momentous time in history, it would be nice to see those leaders of my Church embracing, supporting and nurturing as many as possible. Instead, at least in the Madison diocese, it is doing the opposite -- driving its members away because of decisions that are incompatible with Christ's teachings. So we see Ms. Kolpack fired because she writes a thesis--for her Masters in theology from a Catholic University, no less--that Morlino doesn't like; one in which she expresses her view that the Church could and should be more inclusive, particularly with respect to women's roles in the Church. The irony is so thick it would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Similar problem in Verona, at St. Andrew, not too very long ago, with the firing of its music director.

What is particularly unfortunate is that in both situations, the problem began when a handful of parishioners complained in their Christlike fashion about the people who Bishop Morlino then fired, notwithstanding the otherwise near universal support these people had from their parishes. Of course, they shouldn't have need the support, because their lives didn't need to be opened up by anyone.

There is a HUGE disconnect between what we catholics need--love, guidance, spiritual development, hope and optimism to make the world a better place--and what we are getting from our local leaders--bigotry, meanness, and small-mindedness.