Women priests carry on despite Vatican
June 27, 2008 By Dennis Coday in National Catholic Reporter
Despite a recent decree that reiterates the official Vatican stance that women cannot be ordained and that those who attempt it are automatically excommunicated, women continue to step forward for ordination.
http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1271

Women claim ordination are expelled from church
June 17, 2008 By Nancy Haught
Background: In July 2007, Toni Tortorilla of Portland became -- in the eyes of many -- Oregon's first woman Roman Catholic priest. In a ceremony not recognized by the official church, she was ordained by a woman bishop active in Roman Catholic Womenpriests. The ceremony was in front of 200 friends and supporters in a Gresham United Church of Christ.
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1213656902208370.xml&coll=7

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Theresa Padovano  (973) 539-8732

VOTFNJ Responds to the Roman Catholic Church’s Decree that Automatically Excommunicates Women Ordained to the Priesthood

In response to the Decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) against Women's Ordination, we the members of Voice of the Faithful New Jersey support the following statement issued by CORPUS – National Association for an Inclusive Ministry.

Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events. When that validation is withheld for reasons which have nothing substantial to do with ministry, then the baptized community must call bishops to respect biblical norms and Gospel imperatives. The life of a community and of the Eucharist cannot be held hostage to Church policies which undermine them. A baptized community has a human and evangelical right to community, pastoral care and Eucharistic celebration.

            For these reasons, CORPUS stands in solidarity with those ordained women who followed their calling and were selected for priesthood when bishops rejected them. When rejection is based on weak theological reasons and on a refusal to dialogue with or hear these women, then the community must act against what is sees as an injustice, indeed discrimination, and behavior which Christ could not endorse.

            To excommunicate all these women, “latae sententiae”, automatically, without a hearing and due process, is the mark of a frightened and absolutist leadership. No democracy or humane government in the world employs its harshest penalty automatically against its citizens, without due process, redress, appeal, open courtrooms, judicial restraint and equity. It astonishes us that a Church we love can act in so desperate and destructive a manner. We, therefore, in the conviction that the future church will find this action shameful and unworthy, stand in solidarity with our sisters who seek to serve God’s People and are treated as criminals. They are branded as sinners to be excluded from the very sacramental life of the Church which their ordination was intended to make more abundantly available. Irony is too weak a word to describe this; tragedy is a more accurate description.

In addition, we offer the following points:

1.      The Papal Commission on the ordination of women found no biblical justification for the exclusion of women from Holy Orders.

2.      The National Review Board set up by the bishops in Dallas in 2002, made clear that the “clerical culture” of the Roman Catholic Church was a root cause of the sex abuse phenomenon.  The ordination of women and of a married priesthood would help reform that culture.

3.   History informs us that ordained women ministered to their faith communities in the early Church and throughout the first millennium.

4.   As the faithful we have a responsibility in Church law to express our needs to our pastors.  The Holy Spirit has spoken to women among us.  They have courageously responded. 

We know from our historical experience that silence implies consent.  Catholic theology and tradition teach that an unjust law must be resisted and that a dubious law need not be obeyed.

We believe the elements above are in accord with all the goals of VOTF.

- END -

Women's Ordination Worldwide challenges Pope on Excommunication and Sexism in the Church
June 10, 2008
PRESS RELEASE

Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God's People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events. When that validation is withheld for reasons which have nothing substantial to do with ministry, then the baptized community must call bishops to respect biblical norms and Gospel imperatives. The life of a community and of the Eucharist cannot be held hostage to Church policies which undermine them. A baptized community has a human and evangelical right to community, pastoral care and Eucharistic celebration. For these reasons, CORPUS stands in solidarity with those ordained women who followed their calling and were selected for priesthood when bishops rejected them. When rejection is based on weak theological reasons and on a refusal to dialogue with or hear these women, then the community must act against what is sees as an injustice, indeed discrimination, and behavior which Christ could not endorse. To excommunicate all these women, "latae sententiae", automatically, without a hearing and due process, is the mark of a frightened and absolutist leadership. No democracy or humane government in the world employs its harshest penalty automatically against its citizens, without due process, redress, appeal, open courtrooms, judicial restraint and equity. It astonishes us that a Church we love can act in so desperate and destructive a manner. We, therefore, in the conviction that the future church will find this action shameful and unworthy, stand in solidarity with our sisters who seek to serve God's People and are treated as criminals. They are branded as sinners to be excluded from the very sacramental life of the Church which their ordination was intended to make more abundantly available. Irony is too weak a word to describe this; tragedy is a more accurate description.
 

CORPUS/Married Priests' Organization Call Vatican excommunication of Roman Catholic Womenpriests a "Tragedy"
June 6, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
CORPUS, National Association for an Inclusive Ministry
Contact: Anthony Padovano (973)539-8732
Russ Ditzel (908) 638-4640

Worldwide network challenges Pope on excommunications and sexism in the church Women's Ordination Worldwide (WOW) expresses profound dismay at the recent decree by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which automatically excommunicates anyone involved in the ordination of women priests. With this decree, the Vatican attempts to reinforce its ban on the discussion of women's ordination among faithful Catholics who are gravely concerned for the future of pastoral ministry. In its obstinate refusal to test women's priestly vocations, the Vatican fails in its duty to ensure the faithful receive the sacramental pastoral care to which they are entitled. The conviction of the Church has always been that genuine vocations come from God. Though no one has the right to be ordained, the Vatican persists in its flagrant discrimination against women by refusing even to consider their call to priesthood. The fact that many responsible women, together with their communities, discern vocations to ordained ministry is a sign from the Holy Spirit. Vatican actions which block such a sign show nothing but contempt for the sensus fidelium and demonstrate that the hierarchy is tragically out of touch with the people it is called to serve. In baptism, women and men share equally in the priesthood of Christ. Baptism implies a fundamental openness to all sacraments, including Holy Orders. The history of the Church documents the ordination of women. Jennifer Stark, coordinator of WOW, commented, 'This is a global issue. In many countries around the world, the exclusion of women from ordained ministry, and thus from the decision-making structures of a worldwide church, has profound effects for their position and well being, and that of their children. It signals that they are lesser beings in the eyes of God.' WOW calls on all to act against the unjust laws that exclude women from the sacrament of Holy Orders. We ask Pope Benedict XVI to follow Christ's gospel imperative by liberating the church from the sin of sexism. We urge bishops throughout the world to recognize and act on their episcopal responsibility to their people. We further urge them to use their voice to challenge the legitimacy of this decree and the ban on discussion of women's ordination.
http://www.corpus.org/

DignityUSA Stands in Solidarity with Women Priests
June 4, 2008 · by William Henderson
Leaders of Boston-based DignityUSA, the organization of GLBT Catholics, as well as their families and allies, expressed outrage this week at the Vatican's order of immediate excommunication of women ordained to the priesthood, as well as the bishops who ordained them."Roman Catholic women who have been ordained minister with a number of DignityUSA's local Chapters," said DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke. "By all accounts, their ministry is effective and affirmed by those they serve. The Vatican's move to excommunicate them is nothing more than an attempt to exert control. DignityUSA rejects this order, and welcomes these women to continue their ministry with our community, in the same way we have affirmed and welcomed the ongoing ministry of gay men and married priests whose ministry is no longer recognized by Church officials."Duddy-Burke expressed solidarity with ordained women, those preparing for ordination, their families, and all who have priestly vocations that the Vatican and other Church officials refuse to acknowledge. "All around the world, Catholics are hurting because there are not enough priests to say Mass and provide the Sacraments on a regular basis," she said. "We believe this problem could be easily solved. God calls a wide variety of people to priesthood, and Church officials must acknowledge that.
http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2008/06/dignityusa-stands-in-solidarity-with.html

Subject: We Are Church on the Decree of the CDF against Women's Ordination International Movement We are Church

Movimiento internacional Somos-Iglesia
Movimento Internacional Nós somos Igreja
Movimento Internazionale Noi siamo Chiesa
Mouvement international Nous sommes Eglise Internationale
Bewegung Wir sind Kirche

Press release June 4, 2008

We are Church! Jesus Christ did not ordain men or women to the ministerial priesthood but to care for and nurture each other as brothers and sisters.

We Are Church statement on the Decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) against Women's Ordination

Please contact:

- Raquel Mallavibarrena/Chair (Spain) +34-649332654 rmallavi@mat.ucm.es
- Christian Weisner/ Media contact (Germany) +49-172-518 40 82 media@we-are-church.org
- Hans Peter Hurka (Austria) +43-1-3154200 hans_peter.hurka@gmx.atDiese
- Kaare Rübner Jorgensen (Denmark) ruebnerjo@webspeed.dk
- Vittorio Bellavite (Italy) +39-02-70602370 vi.bel@IOL.IT
- Maria Joao Sande Lemos (Portugal) +351.21 396 71 69 mjoaosandel@gmail.com
- Valerie J Stroud (UK) +44-1634-715278 valeriejstroud@we-are-church.org
- Anthony Padovano (United States) +1-973-539-8732 tpadovan@optonline.net

"As long as the attitude of our church leadership hardens in this way, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Christian church overall, lose credibility and the ability to evangelise effectively", says the International Movement We Are Church about the latest Decree of the Holy Office on women's ordination. In the month of May, dedicated to the foremost woman in Christianity, it is shameful that the Vatican can employ such weak and inadequate reasoning to deny women the opportunity to minister to the People of God.

The whole Catholic reform movement has called consistently for the removal of the Can. 1024 from the Roman Catholic Church law (Codex Iuris Canonici CIC) and the repeal of the excommunication of women who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Although decided in December 2007, the Decree has only just been published. It condemns both the women who "attempt" to receive Holy Orders and the Bishops who "attempt" to confer the Sacrament. Disgracefully, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith maintain they are promulgating the wishes and will of Jesus Christ.

However, nothing survives to demonstrate that Jesus expressed such wishes or particularly favoured men. Jesus sent both women and men out to announce his teachings and to remember His example and teaching in celebrating the Eucharist together. One of the tragedies in the Roman Catholic Church today is that more and more of its members are deprived of this central Sacrament of the Christian life because there are not enough Pastors to assist and lead them.

In the early church there were female Apostles (Mary of Magdala, Thekla, Nino), female Presbyters (eg Ammion, Epikto, Laeta) and even Bishops (Theodora and another unnamed woman) and other female office holders. There is evidence up to the 9th Century of inscriptions on tombs, churches and in literary texts. (See the dissertation by Ute E. Eisen" "Amtstraegerinnen im fruehen Christentum" "Female ministers /officeholders in early Christianity", Goettingen/Germany 1996)

Academic study and archaeological research over the last two centuries has shown the error in the arguments put forward by the Roman Catholic hierarchy to exclude women from Holy Orders. History shows that the Church does change its mind over its doctrine and thus Can. 1024, "Only a baptised man can validly receive sacred ordination" can be seen as sexist, discriminatory and thus worthy of amendment.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II in the Apostolic letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" stressed that only men could be validly ordained. The ban he placed on further investigation and discussion has had no effect. On the contrary, the question of the ordination of women is increasingly raised. Statements by the hierarchy that women cannot receive Holy Orders which they say are "absolutely necessary and irreplaceable in the life and mission of the Church" no longer convince anyone but the most gullible of believers.

>>> Wording of the Decree in Latin: http://www.radiovaticana.org/ted/Articolo.asp?c=208819

West Bend woman reacts to Vatican excommunication
June 3, 2008 · By Tom Heinen
Alice Iaquinta of West Bend, who underwent unsanctioned ordination ceremonies last year in Toronto (diaconate) and Minneapolis (priesthood), has not been deterred by a Vatican decree last week "The whole notion of excommunication is quite outdated," she said. "And it has to be received. And that's what the Roman Catholic Womenpriests' position is, that we simply don't accept this excommunication because nothing can separate us from our faith, from our God, from our spirituality or from our call.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/faith/archive/2008/06/03/west-bend-woman-reacts-to-vatican-excommunication.aspx

Women's Ordination Conference Statement on Vatican Decree of Immediate Excommunication of Ordained Women
May 30, 2008
Media Advisory
MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Saiz Hanna (202) 675-1006

Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, issued the following statement about the Vatican's decree that ordained Roman Catholic women and the bishops who ordained them incur latae sententiae excommunication, which means that the excommunication is immediate and self-imposed. The Women's Ordination Conference is outraged by yesterday's Vatican decree, which reminds Catholic women once again of the animosity they face from the hierarchy, despite being the backbone of most Catholic parishes throughout the world. Out of fear of the growing numbers of ordained women and the overwhelming support they are receiving, the Vatican is trying to preserve what lit tle power they have left by attempting to extinguish the widespread call for women's equality in the church. It will not work. In the face of one closed door after another, Catholic women will continue to make a way when there is none. We reject the notion of excommunication. In our efforts to ordain women into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church, we see it as contrary to the gospel itself to excommunicate people who are doing good works and responding to injustice and the needs of their communities. While the hierarchy prattles on about excommunication, Catholic women are working for justice and making a positive difference in the world. This unreasonable excommunication and the Vatican's stance on ordination are based on arguments that have been refuted time and again. In 1976, the Vatican's own Pontifical Biblical Commission determined that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit women' s ordination. Jesus included women as full and equal partners in his ministry, and so should the hierarchy. The call for women's equality in the Catholic Church is reverberating loudly in the public consciousness. Around the world, over sixty women have been ordained as priests, deacons or bishops by the group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), and there are nearly 100 women in the RCWP preparation program. There are 16 national organizations from 11 different countries that advocate women's ordination, and a vast majority of US Catholics support the ordination of women. The refusal to ordain women is nothing more than a blatant manifestation of sexism in the church. It is time for the Vatican to listen to its own research, its own theologians and its own people who say that women are equally created in the image of God and are called to serve as priests in a renewed and inclusive Catholic Church. ###
http://www.womensordination.org/