It's the Ratz effect .... and it's contagious. How many bishops went along as a form of appeasement. Now they recognize their actions are being 'noticed'.
Posted on 05/12/2005 6:27:14 PM PDT by Coleus
Writer banned from speaking at retreat
Diocese of Paterson Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli has banned a writer who supports abortion rights and female ordination from speaking to a lay Catholic group on church property.
Angela Bonavoglia , a self-described "itinerant Catholic," was scheduled to speak tonight to a local branch of the lay group Voice of the Faithful at the Jesuit Loyola Retreat in Morristown. But at the last minute, the diocese asked the Jesuits there to "disinvite" Bonavoglia, saying that her views oppose church doctrine, according to a diocesan spokeswoman.
The ban marks the first time a Paterson bishop has specifically interfered with a meeting planned by Voice of the Faithful. Since its inception in 2002, the group, which openly questions elements of church dogma, has been banned from churches in the Archdiocese of Newark but has met about 20 times on Diocese of Paterson property. Though Serratelli has no plan to ban the group in the future, he intervened specifically in this case because of Bonavoglia's views on abortion rights, according to Marianna Thompson, the diocese's spokeswoman.
"This is a speaker who is not in tune with the basic teachings of the Catholic Church, including abortion," Thompson said on Tuesday by telephone. "While we affirm every person's right to free speech, we also hold fast to the doctrines of the faith and church teaching." Serratelli
Bonavoglia, of Westchester County, N.Y., has written two books, "The Choices We Have Made: 25 Women and Men Speak Out About Abortion," and "Good Catholic Girls: How Women are Leading the Fight to Change the Church." In a recent radio interview, she argued that the church's strict anti-abortion and anti-contraception stances have especially hurt women in the developing world. She said that the fact that women are shut out of ministry is one of the biggest problems plaguing the church.
Voice of the Faithful leaders, who are not uniformly for abortion rights, said they invited Bonavoglia to speak because she has written positively about their group.
They said she was not going to speak only about abortion but was planning to focus more broadly on women in the church.
"As long as we suppress dialogue, we're stifling the pursuit of truth," said Maria Cleary, a North Jersey Voice of the Faithful organizer. "The last time we looked, we were free to talk in this country."
Bonavoglia said in a telephone conversation on Tuesday that her views are widely represented in the Catholic reform movement and that shutting her out was shutting a whole group of Catholics out.
"I don't feel that it's fair to target me as a Catholic that has rejected church teachings," she said. "This hierarchy right now is lopping off whole groups of us for daring to hold an alternative, equally legitimate position.
"To forbid dialogue, to forbid people to bring their feelings and thoughts into our own church environment is an ominous direction for the church."
Instead of Loyola House, Voice of the Faithful will meet tonight at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, which is also in Morristown. While Bonavoglia was not happy about being banned from church property, she indicated that the new venue has one thing going for it.
"It has a woman pastor, which delights me to no end," she said.
Oops, not the Baptists - at least not yet anyway.
From the article:
Though Serratelli has no plan to ban the group in the future,
+++
Please, NO. The Lutheran church already has more problems than it can handle!
Very interesting link. I see that the nice folks at the Good Sheperd "Catholic Community" have a "vision to be [an] open and welcoming community that exists to reach out to others in a caring and compassionate manner while maintaining our strength through Small Church Communities." Maybe someday they'll add saving people's souls to that warm, fuzzy vision. Until then, there's very little "Catholic" about them, no matter how much kumbayah "community" they may think they have.
Church is packed on Sundays. You'd be surprised, no doubt, at how Catholic they are.
Are you suggesting a correlation between being "packed on Sundays" and being remotely "Catholic"? That link you put forward on a "catholic" church displays one of the ugliest building structures I have ever seen -- church or sectarian. Not a pew or "sense of the sacred" anywhere, except for Christ's suffering on the cross.
You gotta love seeing the cardinals and bishops in the hot seat. A new Pope is watching and he will act. I bet Pope Benedict is already getting a lot of letters. I love it!!!!
You'd be surprised, no doubt, at how Catholic they are.
Well, looking at the interior of the community gathering place (or does the "community" call it a church?), I see that there's no communion rail, and the dinner table is in the center of the ritual area. Someone is apparently drying sheets on the bent crucifix. Looking at the bulletin, the "priests" who serve the "community" seem to have only first names, kind of like at a twelve-step meeting. The only man who seems to be in charge of anything meaningful is the janitor.
I would not be "shocked" if they were Catholic; I'd be floored.
It's the Ratz effect .... and it's contagious. How many bishops went along as a form of appeasement. Now they recognize their actions are being 'noticed'.
Good!
Apparently they encourage standing for the consecration since I do not see any kneelers. Moreover, what the heck is a "sacramental minister"? Is that the new term the heterodox are ascribing to priests to lower them down to "music minister" "hospitality minister" "Eucharistic minister" "Liturgical Dance Minister" ect ect.
Dissenters love their own.
They said she was not going to speak only about abortion but was planning to focus more broadly on women in the church.
Which 'church role' do you suppose Bonavoglia envisions for women?
OR
As they say, you just know that after 23 years(?)as Prefect,Pope Benedict XVl knows where all of the bodies are!!
Ping to #31
Don't get too excited. Benedict knows he didn't get unanimously elected by cardinals so he could start firing them.
He'll do pretty much what JPII did, as far as bishops go.
"Did somebody say "Liturgical Dance"? Just the Lord of the Dance, dancin' for the Lord! This moved absolutely slayed them at the Good Sheperd Catholic Community last Saturday"!
>>>>>Let's disinvite the speakers when we first learn of these situations.
Frankly, I don't care if a pro-abort is disinvited by pulling them off the stage after they've begun their spiel. If David Duke were invited to a Catholic forum to speak, would you be concerned if he were "disinvited" 5 minutes before he was supposed to speak rather than 5 days beforehand?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.