Posted on 08/09/2011 11:31:55 AM PDT by NYer
Details, from the New York Times:
The Rev. Roy Bourgeois, who refused to renounce his increasingly public campaign to see women ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic Church, has been notified of his dismissal by his religious order, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
A letter to Father Bourgeois, signed by the superior general and the general secretary of the Maryknoll order in the United States, said the dismissal was necessary because of his “defiant stance” in opposition to church teaching.
“Your numerous public statements and appearances in support of the women’s priests movement continues to create in the minds of many faithful the view that your position is acceptable to our Church,” the letter said, adding that Father Bourgeois had caused the church “grave scandal.”
Father Bourgeois has gone further than any other priest in good standing to ally himself publicly with the growing women’s ordination movement. The group Roman Catholic Womenpriests claims to have ordained 120 women as priests and 10 as bishops in the last few years. The Vatican regards the ceremonies as illicit and invalid. Father Bourgeois participated in one such ceremony in 2008, and since then has given speeches around the country in support of female priests.
“They want two words: I recant,” Father Bourgeois said. “And they can’t get that out of me. For me, the real scandal is the message we are sending to women: you’re not equal, you cannot be priests, you’re not worthy.”
The case now moves to the Vatican for his formal removal from the priesthood, or laicization. Father Bourgeois said he had hired the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer known for testifying as an expert witness on behalf of victims suing the church in clergy sexual abuse cases, to represent him at the Vatican.
Other reports — notably in the National Catholic Reporter — indicate the dismissal is not final and that Bourgeois is being given 15 days to recant. However, as he’s indicated above, he still refuses to do so.
You can read the Maryknoll letter and Bourgeois’s response here.
Ping!
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Go get a real job!
OK ...
Buh-bye!
Is this a step towards married priests (man and woman, of course)?
Such Marxist egalitarianism—to destroy the role of woman and man in society...to make them interchangeable....to make homosexuality the same as heterosexual marriage...actually these Marxists want homosexuality elevated above traditional marriage like in ancient Greece—where pederasty was the norm.
Get rid of girl altar boys....it was the camel’s nose under the tent—to confuse boys and girls and God’s design. They are not interchangeable.
The Catholic Church has been infiltrated by Marxists—godless people—who will use women and boys to destroy the Church from within, if the Roman Catholic Church does not purge itself of these defiled minds. They want to destroy the idea of God’s design in Natural Law.
Only then can they become god and redesign the roles of men and women to “Up is Down” and have massive herd of trousered apes to use as slaves.
He’s obviously very proud.
How's he doing on Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, and Envy?
Well, if that’s he on the left in the picture, it doesn’t look like gluttony is too big of a problem ... average-sized guy. And dissenters do much less harm if they’re slothful - in fact, they hardly do anything!
Episcopal Church Bishop V. Gene Robinson
Anglican Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the U.S. Episcopal Church
United Church of Christ Backs Same-Sex Marriage
"On a range of policy issues, Mainline Protestant clergy are generally more supportive of LGBT rights than the general population," according to a report released last week from the progressive think tank Public Religion Research.
Some Churches Support Gay Rights
Catholic Church -
Same Sex Marriage - The Catholic Church opposes gay marriage and the social acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex relationships, but teaches that homosexual persons deserve respect, justice and pastoral care. The Vatican and Pope John Paul II are speaking out against the growing number of places that recognize same-sex marriages.
Women Priests - In 1994 Pope John Paul II formally declared that the Church does not have the power to ordain women. He stated, "Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church’s judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force. Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful" (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis 4).
As for the notion that Marxists have infiltrated the Catholic Church, we have our Lord's assurance that the "gates of hell will not prevail against the church".
It may come as a surprise to learn that the Catholic Church has some married priests. To clearly understand this, however, it is necessary to know that the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.
Married priests are found in some of the Eastern Catholic Churches AND among converts to the Latin (Western) Catholic Church. In ALL instances, should the wife die, the priest may not remarry.
In answer to your question, "NO" the Latin Church has no plans to allow for married priests. In those churches that do recognize married priests, it is IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND that the decision to marry must be made before being ordained, NEVER afterwards.
The priesthood is the only wall feminazis have been unable to scale.
Women want to be priests, not because of a desire to serve, but to prove something. If their desire was to strengthen Christ’s church, they would rejoice in their roles rather than try to force this issue out of nothing more than pride.
There once was a woman whose mania
Was liturgical extemporanea.
She thought she'd at least
Be a self-declared priest:
And I am the Queen of Romania.
ROFL! Awesome!
I know the policies of the Pope—my point is that there are a lot of so called Priests that have been ordained who are deliberately sabotaging the Church from within—like the pedophile priests and the one who wants the ordination of women and the ones who advocate illegal entry into our nation.
It destroys all respect for the Church and the Rule of Law and Just Law, when these men are not immediately sanctioned and kicked out or dealt with swiftly. I understand the inadequacy in bureaucracies but there was no excuse to allow priests to continually molest boys. That should have been handled swiftly and with NO compassion because of the sheer evil of the act.
The Catholic Church would do a great service to the world if they would conduct a “real” study on the abuse of all the boys by homosexual priests—and open up that ugly can of worms—the connection of pederasty to homosexuality. For some reason, they guard that “secret”. I’ve read massively on the subject and I know the connection and the desires and the focus and connection to boys....just look at the men in Afghanistan—it is so blatant. But the Church is silent and tries to classify boys by age so it changes the definition of pedophilia.
I am holding my breath on that one....I’ve seen their recent rationalizations and I don’t buy it. I am waiting for their real psychological studies so that this nation can see the truth about what homosexuality is all about.
You may be the Queen of Romania, but I look exactly like Catherine Zeta-Jones. Take to THAT!
Actually, I feel I’m being called to my true identity as a Heisman Trophy winner, which is what I really am. And nobody can deny it.
It’s such an unjust universe. Just ask all my Offspring, each of whom is being denied his (or her) rightful position as the only child of millionaire parents.
Oh gee, the woman in the middle is wearing eyeshadow.
No thanks. Give me the plain, little brown wren religious who disappear into the background and get the job done.
Dedicated women already run every parish I know. The priest has his job; but it’s the good, quiet women in the background who work to make his vision a reality. That’s the role women have had in the Church since the days of Christ. It’s good enough for me.
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.