The acts of Rome...

October 17, 2011

This afternoon, an international delegation of women's ordination leaders including Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, marched to the Vatican with a petition signed by 15,000 supporters. Fr. Bourgeois has been threatened by church officials for his public support of women's ordination. Members of the delegation including Fr. Bourgeois, Erin Saiz Hanna, Executive Director of Women's Ordination Conference, and Miriam Duignan of Womenpriest.org were detained and then released by local police authorities.

The delegation of fifteen leaders was met by local police at the gate of St. Peter's and was denied entry. Plain-clothes policemen apprehended the delegation's banners stating "Ordain Catholic Women," "God is calling women to be priests" and "Call To Action." The banners have been withheld as evidence for a pending hearing. Those who were detained were not officially arrested but their case will be heard by a judiciary court.       

View photos here.   

Read more:
Reuters: Catholics campaigning for women priests detained at Vatican

Associated Press: Roy Bourgeois, U.S. Catholic priest who backs women's ordination, detained 

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In solidarity with Fr. Roy Bourgeois

I just received the following press release.

Fr. Roy's letter can be read here.

I wrote a letter to the Pope about it a few years ago when it all started.


***

WOMENPRIESTS.ORG IN SOLIDARITY WITH FR. ROY BOURGEOIS

On March 29th, 2011, Fr. Roy Bourgeois received a canonical warning from the leadership of his community, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers giving him fifteen days to publicly recant his belief that women, just as much as men, are called by God to serve as Catholic priests. Failure to recant within the prescribed time will result in a second canonical warning whereupon Maryknoll leadership will submit their charge for Bourgeois’s dismissal and laicization to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

WOMENPRIESTS.ORG wholeheartedly supports Father Roy Bourgeois’s stand for women’s ordination. And we are deeply, deeply saddened by Maryknoll’s threats to dismiss him on account of it.

The Case for Women’s Ordination

womenpriests.org is an international academic website that promotes informed dialogue about women’s ordination.  It presents in full both sides of the case including the reasons the Vatican uses in its attempt to justify excluding women from sacramental ministry.  Thorough research and analysis shows there is absolutely no reason in scripture, theology, or the tradition of the Church to justify a male only priesthood. (See www.womenpriests.org/story.asp) Instead, what is clear is that century after century, cascading prejudice against women has continued to creep into the Church as though it (prejudice) were truth and now underpins official rationale for the exclusion of women.

What Is the Grave Scandal

While Maryknoll superiors suggest that Father Roy’s witness causes grave scandal to the people of God, ie, the Church, the grave scandal lies in the fact that:

• the international community of Catholic faithful is officially forbidden from even discussing women’s ordination; and 
• in the twenty-first century, women are still excluded from sacramental ministry in the Catholic Church.

No Reason to Exclude Women

There is absolutely no reason to support the continuing exclusion of women from priesthood.  Anyone who denigrates Father Bourgeois on account of his witness for women’s ordination denigrates one of the channels through which truth is struggling to emerge.  Canon law 212§3 provides that:

the Christian faithful have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard for the integrity of faith and morals and reverence towards their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and dignity of  persons. 

Abuse of Authority

What is becoming ever more clear is that a serious abuse of legitimate authority is at the root of the prohibition against women priests and many other problems inside our faith community.  Signs of this scourge are evident in:

• the suppression of lay authority in the Church;
• the suppression of free speech for theologians and experts and people like Fr. Roy;
• the suppression of the rights of Bishops’ Conferences; and
• the appointment of party line Bishops.

See: www.womenpriests.org/authority/index.asp

WOMENPRIESTS.ORG Stands in Solidarity with Father Roy

womenpriests.org stands in solidarity with Father Roy and pray for him, the faithful, our leaders and for the emergence of truth.   ‘A custom without truth is merely ancient error’ - St. Cyprian.

_________________________________________________________________________

womenpriests.org was founded in 1999 by Dr. John Wijngaards.  Sustained by faithful Catholics who support discussion  about women’s ordination, we work within the parameters of canon law to promote informed international dialogue  about the case.  We love our family, the Catholic Church.  We accept the authority of the Pope and respect his personal integrity as a spiritual leader.  Nonetheless we are convinced that he and his advisors continue to make a serious mistake by dismissing women as priests.  

We are moved by conscience to make our reasons known.  In so doing, we fulfill our duty to speak out as Church teaching and canon law provide... and as our present Pope has repeatedly told us to do.  

With offices in the UK, the US, and Canada, womenpriests.org provides key point presentations, an online library, podcasts, picture galleries, interactive courses and pastoral support for all who struggle to come to terms with the current situation in the Church.  More than 1.5 million people from 220 countries of the world visit the website every year.

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Tyska teologer utmanar katolska kyrkans lära

"BERLIN — University theologians in Germany have called on the Catholic Church to abandon the vow of celibacy for priests, open up the clergy for women and accept gays couples.

The 143 professors said the church must implement bold reforms because of "a crisis without precedent" following the discovery of widespread sexual and physical abuses by clergymen a year ago.

More Christians than ever have turned their backs on the Catholic Church in the past year, they said. "The Church has to understand these signs and move beyond its ossified structures to regain new vitality and credibility."

/.../

The appeal – signed by a few Austrian, Swiss and by almost a third of Germany's Catholic university theologians – is a rare challenge to the clergy establishment and the Vatican, because the church has a veto right in appointing theologians at Germany's state-run universities."

Läs hela artikeln här.

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Catholic women priests - a theological break through on its way!?

"Few people will have noticed that a subtle shift has taken place in the central Catholic Teaching Authority with regard to the reasons for which women are being excluded from the ordained ministries.

In the document Inter Insigniores of 1975 a number of arguments had already been abandoned, arguments favoured by earlier theologians. Among these we find:

* Women may not touch sacred objects . (for example: Richard of Middleton)
* It is not becoming for women to have the clerical tonsure. (for example: Henricus de Sergusio)
* Women are not created in the image of |God. (for example: Huguccio, Antonius de Butrio)
* Women are less intelligent than men and highly unreliable. (for example: John Duns Scotus § 19). This last reason, incidentally, was still part of the Church's official Canon law until 1915.

Over the past 25 years some of the arguments of Inter Insigniores itself are now seemingly being ignored.

Reading the documents in which our present Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, has been involved, we find that little weight is attached to reasons such as:

* Paul did not allow women to teach men (1 Timothy 2,11-15).
* Women should be subject to men ( 1 Corinthians 11,2-XVI).
* Only a man is a perfect human being and can thus properly represent Christ (Thomas Aquinas).
* Christ was incarnated as a man, in fact maleness is an essential ingredient of the Incarnation in God's plan of redemption, an argument Pope John Paul II was fond of (Mulieris Dignitatem § 26).

In documents of the last 25 years Pope Benedict XVI no longer mentions such reasonings. Rather he narrows his focus. He reduces the argument simply to three central key assertions:

1. Jesus appointed only men as apostles.
2. In doing so Jesus established masculinity in the ministry as a permanent norm that has to be followed by the Church.
3. This norm of having a male ministry has been confirmed by the constant and universal Teaching of the Church throughout Tradition.

In short we may say that, according to Pope Benedict XVI, Christ established a masculine order of bishops and priests; and that the Church of all times and places has constantly affirmed this as a norm through its practice and teaching.

So what to make of these central assertions by Pope Benedict XVI? We can do no better than briefly examine the validity of each of the three pegs on which he now hangs the argument."

Read the whole article here.

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Catholic priest speaks out about women priests

"GREG Reynolds is grateful that heretics are no longer burnt at the stake. But the Catholic parish priest at Western Port knows that he will be dismissed after this article because Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has told him so.

Father Reynolds, 57, delivered a homily in his three parish churches two months ago saying it was God's will for the church to have women priests and that, by refusing them, the church was obstructing the work of the Holy Spirit.

So none of his congregation would feel the need to report him, he sent his homily to Archbishop Hart.

''I am convinced in my heart that it is God's will that we should have women priests … I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to share my position publicly, and yet very reluctantly,'' the sermon said.

''I believe certain women are being called by God to the ministerial priesthood, and our official church is obstructing the work of the Holy Spirit. I feel I can no longer sit back and remain silent.''"

Read the whole article here.

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Fler och fler katolska kvinnor prästvigs

"Alta Jacko is the mother of eight children. She is also an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church. Jacko, 81, who earned her master's degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University, a Jesuit Catholic school, says that being a priest is what she was called to do."

Läs hela artikeln här.

Särskilt intressant är hur hennes manliga vän och kollega agerar för att hjälpa henne, trots att han själv är tveksam:

"I feel compelled to help, out of respect and love. If God called me, why wouldn't God call a woman?"

"Jacko adds, "There are a lot of Catholic priests who are helping the women priests. You'd be surprised."

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Sandahl vänder på kappan för att kunna bli biskop?

Vindarna blåser och kappor vänds. Ibland åt oväntat håll. Med avigsidan ut.

Den envetne (forne?) kvinnoprästmotståndaren förklarar sig nu plötsligt beredd att viga kvinnor, med anledning av att han vill ha chansen att bli biskop i Växjö. Visserligen ett av de stift där motståndet mot kvinnliga präster är som störst. Desto större utmaning då för modiga kvinnor.

Vad har hänt? Är det bara skicklig retorik han kör med?


"Du skulle som biskop alltså även viga kvinnor?

– Jag har skrivit under att jag är beredd att viga både män och kvinnor till präster och diakoner. Vad skulle jag annars viga, tuppar och hönor, säger Dag Sandahl.

Vad har då skett med din åsikt i ämbetsfrågan?

– Min vetenskapliga insikt står kvar, den som jag blev docent på.

Vad tycker du då om att du går emot din övertygelse om du viger en kvinna till präst?

– Jag går aldrig emot min övertygelse. Men som biskop ska man pröva folks kallelse, och jag tar allvarligt på kallelsen. Det är olyckligt att Svenska kyrkan har varit ointresserad av att pröva kallelsen.

Den verkliga prövningen kommer alltså den dag du som biskop har en kvinna framför dig som säger att hon har en kallelse att bli präst?

– Ja, och den prövningen skulle jag ta ohyggligt allvarligt, säger Dag Sandahl."

Läs mer.

Menar han att han skulle ta kallelsen så ohyggligt allvarligt att han systematiskt och in i det sista kommer att betvivla och bekämpa den varje gång en kvinna står framför honom?

En ulv brukar förbli en ulv även i omvänt fårskinn. Men undantag finns säkert. Jag väntar med spänning på att se hur det går för första kvinnliga prästkandidaten i Växjö stift om Dag Sandahl vinner biskopsvalet.

Att bli biskop är också en kallelse. Jag tillåter mig att se den på ett ohyggligt allvarligt vis i detta fall.

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Slutreplik i kvinnopräst-/pedofildebatten

Den debatt som initierades i SvD förra helgen med anledning av Vatikanens justeringar av de normer som gäller vid pedofilbrott och "överträdelsen" att prästviga kvinnor, fick ett svar av Bitte Assarmo.

Idag svarar jag på det hon skrev.

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Kvinnliga präster kan vara del av lösningen på pedofilproblemet

"Hur kan man i ett dokument på detta sätt bunta ihop fruktansvärda pedofilbrott begångna av präster mot barn - med prästvigning av kvinnor som upplever sig vara kallade av Gud att tjäna kyrkan? Hur kan det vara kriminellt att som katolsk kvinna följa Gud - av kärlek till kyrkan?"

"Tänk om välkomnandet av såväl prästvigda kvinnor som gifta präster (det senare som en valfrihet även inom den romerska riten), faktiskt är en del av lösningen på problemet med att olämpliga prästkandidater söker sig till katolska kyrkan? Kanske man kan få fortsätta hoppas på en välsignad förändring tillbaka till ursprunget i fråga om detta?"

Läs hela artikeln här.

Läs mer.

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Prästvigning av kvinnor - ett av de värsta brotten i katolska kyrkan?

Ja, i alla fall om man väljer att tro på vatikanherrarna mer än på Gud.

Artikeln handlar mest om hur man ska skärpa hanteringen av katolska präster som begår sexbrott gentemot barn.

Men jag klippte ut de bitar som handlar om det här, se nedan.

Minst sagt märkligt att kvinnor som följer Guds kallelse ses som kriminella...

***

"The Vatican is preparing to update the 2001 norms that deal with priestly sex abuse of minors, in effect codifying practices that have been in place for several years.

At the same time, it will include the "attempted ordination of women" among the
list of most serious crimes against church law, or "delicta graviora," sources said.

/.../

Pope John Paul's 2001 document distinguished between two types of "most grave crimes," those committed in the celebration of the sacraments and those committed against morals. Among the sacramental crimes were such things as desecration of the Eucharist and violation of the seal of confession.

Under the new revisions, the "attempted ordination of women" will be listed among those crimes, as a serious violation of the sacrament of holy orders, informed sources said. As such, it will be handled under the procedures set up for investigating "delicta graviora" under the control of the doctrinal congregation.

In 2008, the doctrinal congregation formally decreed that a woman who attempts to be ordained a Catholic priest and the person attempting to ordain her are automatically excommunicated. In 1994, Pope John Paul said the church's ban on women priests is definitive and not open to debate among Catholics."

VATICAN CITY (CNS)

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Mer om uppropet om kvinnliga diakoner/präster i Rom idag...

Women's Ordination Advocates Hold Press Conference During Vatican Year for Priests celebration,
Vigil Calling on Pope to Ordain Women

ROME, ITALY – Today, at 11:00 o’clock in the office of redazione di ADISTA, Via Acciaioli 7, 00186 Roma, representatives of Catholic organizations from around the world called for the full and equal participation of women in the Roman Catholic Church, including ordination as deacons, priests and bishops. The remarks came during a press conference held by Women’s Ordination Worldwide and other pro-ordination groups held in Rome to protest the Vatican’s “Year for Priests” celebration, which begins tomorrow. After the press conference, the groups staged a vigil in St. Peter’s Square.

“The absolute hypocrisy of the ‘Year for Priests’ celebration cuts to the core of what is wrong with the hierarchy today,” said Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the U.S. based Women’s Ordination Conference. “The Vatican is all too happy to turn a blind eye when men in its ranks destroy the lives of children and families, but jumps at the chance to excommunicate women who, in good conscience, are prophetically answering their call to ordination and responding to needs of their communities.”

On June 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared a ‘Year for Priests’ to celebrate and honor the male, clerical, priesthood. From June 9-11, 2010, the year-long celebration culminates with an international gathering of priests hosted by Pope Benedict in Rome to pay tribute to their work.

“At the end of a disappointing ‘Year for Priests’ and a disastrous year for the Roman Catholic Church we call for a Decade of the People of God,” stated Angelika Fromm, representative from International Movement We are Church and the Purple Stole Movement in Germany. “The current global crisis within the church demonstrates that the clerical hierarchy alone can’t serve any longer as the foundation of the Catholic church's institutional structure and authority.” Fromm continued, “Our church urgently needs large numbers of male and female pastors to serve our parishes. Charisma should be important, not gender.”
FULL STATEMENT OF ANGELIKA FROMM in English, French, Italian, and German: http://www.we-are-church.org/int/

Therese Koturbash, a Canadian lawyer and International Coordinator of the womenpriests.org campaign, stated, “Thanks to historical research, we now know conclusively that women did receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, at least in the diaconate. And we know that the Council of Trent stated clearly that the diaconate is part of Holy Orders. However, somewhere along the way, the door to women slammed shut.” Koturbash continued, “During this ‘Year for Priests,’ we have asked that women’s historical service in Holy Orders be remembered and that reforms be put in motion to welcome women into priesthood! Women can and should be priests.”

Mary Ann M. Schoettly, ordained through Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), an international initiative within the Roman Catholic Church that advocates for a new model of priestly ministry, stated, “After years of considerable study and reflection, the women of RCWP are following their well formed consciences and accepting the gift of ordination.”

According to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, in a statement published on May 29, 2008 published in L'Observatorio Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, all Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the bishops who ordain them are automatically excommunicated, known as latae sententiae.

Schoettly continued, “Roman Catholic Womenpriests reject the penalty of excommunication. We are loyal members of the church who stand in the prophetic tradition of holy obedience to the Spirit’s call to change an unjust law that discriminates against us.”

“The discrimination against women in faith communities and in particular by the Catholic Church underpins the violence against women in everyday life,” stated Mary Leslie of Catholic Women's Ordination, UK.

Colette Joyce from New Wine, another UK based group, continued, “It is very difficult for a Catholic woman active in her own parish and community to come forward and say this is her calling because there is nowhere for her to take it. I want to talk to the leaders of my church about women’s ordination – not journalists – but every time I try the door is continually being closed.”

In 1976, the Biblical Commission of Pope Paul VI determined there was no scriptural reason to prohibit women’s ordination. Despite the Commission’s finding, the pope issued a statement later that year declaring the Vatican is not authorized to ordain women. In 1994, Pope John Paul II officially closed discussion of the subject. Today, an overwhelming Catholics support the issue, yet people who work for the church can be fired if they even talk about women priests.

“For far too long, only ordained, male, celibate clergy have dictated -or tried to dictate- how Catholics worship, pray and make decisions,” concluded Hanna. “Canon 1024, which states that only men can validly receive the sacrament of ordination, is unjust and does not value the gospel message of Jesus. It must be changed.”

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Kvinnliga diakoner/präster - pressrelease

Commemorating Ordained Women During The Year of the Priest

‘A document that provides the names and biographical details of women who were ordained deacons in the Early Church will be handed to Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on June 8, 2010. The presentation will be made by dignitaries of international Catholic groups. It happens in the context of the Catholic Church’s concluding celebrations for the Year of the Priest. The representatives will ask the Pope to give formal recognition to the women’s historical diaconate and to begin the reforms needed to include women in priesthood.’ A press conference in Rome’s ADISTA news agency will follow at 11 am that day. A demonstration in Saint Peter’s Square to raise awareness about women’s call to priesthood will also be held.

Historical Background

Historical records document the service of tens of thousands of ordained women deacons in parishes during the first millennium of the Church (Romans 16, 1; 1 Tim 3, 8-11). Their service is witnessed in literary records and inscriptions on tombs. Some women deacon saints are commemorated in the current liturgical calendar. Ongoing historical research now makes many of these women known to us by name. Ancient manuscripts preserve the exact rite of their ordination (for more, see: womenpriests.org/deacons/default.asp).

Why is the Vatican is Suppressing the Historical Facts

Analysis of the woman deacons ordination rite shows that it was a true sacrament with a bishop laying hands on the candidate and invoking the Holy Spirit. In all essentials it was identical to the one for men deacons. This means women did receive Holy Orders. This evidence gives further supports to the case which says there is no justification for the exclusion of women from Holy Orders, ie priesthood today. It is known that on July 15, 1563 the Council of Trent defined that the diaconate as much as the priesthood and the episcopacy belongs to the sacrament of Holy Orders. ‘If anyone says that in the Catholic Church there does not exist a hierarchy, established through divine ordination, which consists of bishops, priests and deacons, let him be anathema.’ (Denzinger no 966).

Women as Priests?

In an interview, Therese Koturbash, a Canadian lawyer and International Coordinator of Women Can Be Priests! womenpriests.org confirms: ‘Thanks to historical research, we now know conclusively that women did receive the sacrament of Holy Orders in our faith tradition. But somewhere along the way, the door to women slammed shut. Those ordained women deacons have been forgotten in this year’s celebrations [for the Year of the Priest.] Today the Vatican justifies exclusion of women from priesthood by saying that we don’t look like Christ. This kind of thinking is new to Catholic faith. It is unorthodox theology. Christ teaches that we see His face in every person we meet,’ she said. ‘What has become clear is that ancient unChristlike prejudice against women has crept into the Church and bars women from priesthood today. Little more than one hundred years ago, the Vatican maintained that slavery was willed by God. We don’t want this same kind of mistake to continue about the dignity of women. During this Year of the Priest, we have asked that women’s historical service in Holy Orders be remembered and that reforms be put in motion to welcome women into priesthood! Women can and should be priests!’

The Document Containing the Names of the Ordained Women:

The document to be presented to the Pope is based on historical research and was compiled by a Team working under the direction of Dr. John Wijngaards at womenpriests.org in England. The team is made up of faithful Catholics who believe that women should be ordained. They are working to help make that happen.

International dignitaries who will be present at the function include Therese Koturbash (UK and Canada), International Coordinator womenpriests.org and National Work Group member of Canada’s Catholic Network for Women’s Equality (CNWE), Erin Saiz Hanna (USA), President of Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), Colette Joyce (UK), New Wine, along with others from countries around the world including Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Japan and other countries.

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Australian bishop speaks up!

And thank God for this bishop...! May he be heard widely around the world...

***

"Groups calling for reform are regularly dismissed as trouble-makers with little love for the Church when in fact their hearts are breaking for the Church which they see as drifting further away from the message of the Jesus. Maybe it has taken this present crisis to bring us all to our senses.

In 1996, I gave a talk in which I expressed my hopes for the Catholic Church. They were that it would be

* a more human Church
* a humbler Church
* a less clerical Church
* a more inclusive Church (and therefore more truly catholic)
* a more open Church
* a Church which finds unity in diversity
* a Church which discovers its whole tradition
* a Church which truly reflects the person and values of Jesus.

/.../

The reform needed by the Church today will involve much more than just “tinkering around the edges”. Issues such as the authoritarian nature of the Church, compulsory celibacy for the clergy, the participation of women in the Church, the teaching on sexuality in all aspects cannot be brushed aside. Listening must be a key component of reform and at times that will involve listening to unpalatable truths. It needs to be recognised that all wisdom does not reside exclusively in the present all male leadership of the Church and that the voices of the faithful must be heard.

At Easter I pointed out that it was largely Jesus’ female disciples who stood by him dying on Calvary, that Mary Magdalene was the first witness to the resurrection and that she could legitimately be called an apostle in that she was sent to bring the good news to the other followers of Jesus. I wondered aloud if the Church would be in its present state of crisis if women had been part of the decision-making in the life of the Church."

Read the whole article by bishop Pat Power here.

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Så fel det kan bli...

Läser Expressens ledare idag. Försöker föreställa mig att den har skrivits med god vilja och inte utifrån fördomar.

Rubriken "Låt kvinnor bli präster" får mig att le (har absolut inget emot det, tvärtom, håller med). Men vad är det egentligen för hopkok som serveras i artikeln?

Delar av det skrivna är det lätt att instämma i:

"man kan tänka sig att prästlivets celibatkrav lockar individer som skäms över, eller skräms av, sina sexuella böjelser och hoppas att de kan tygla dem genom bön, lydnad och askes."

Samma analys har gjorts i andra artiklar de senaste dagarna. Förmodligen ligger det mycket i det rent psykologiskt. Och även i att strukturerna har gjort det möjligt att det har kunnat fortgå. Vilket förhoppningsvis har fått ett slut nu i och med att man har vidtagit förändringar i hur det här hanteras. Tycker för övrigt att katolska stiftet i Sverige står för ett mycket bra agerande hittills: genomskinligt, öppet och ödmjukt.

Jag läser vidare...

"Bara män får bli präster. De är alltså mer värda. Vad gäller kvinnor, idoliseras Madonnan medan bristen på empati med verkliga kvinnor och deras livsvillkor är påtaglig."

Visst grundar sig hindret för kvinnor att bli präster på en sekulär romersk (alltså inte kristen) diskriminerande kvinnosyn. Detta har sedan byggts på under århundradena med många lager av usel teologi, istället för att man nånsin har gjort vad som borde ha gjorts för länge sen: gå till botten av problemet och göra upp med den felaktiga inställningen. Tyvärr kommer nog inte mycket att ske på den fronten med anledning av skandalerna, om något alls...

Och visst förekommer en idealisering, inte bara av Madonnan, utan också av Modern. Rent konkret. Den fromma nunnan (representerad av otaliga helgon) och mångbarnsmamman kan ännu ses varligt placerade på en mental katolsk piedestal.

Så långt alltså en ganska hyfsad analys av läget, men sen spårar det väl ur ändå...? Tänkandet blir västerländskt, snävt, och faktiskt - ironiskt nog: kvinnoföraktande.

"Kvinnor får inte skydda sig mot spermier - eller hiv - med preventivmedel. De får inte befria sig från följderna av en våldtäkt, eller ens rädda sina liv, genom abort. Det låter medeltida."

Är det verkligen kvinnor som har ansvaret för att skydda sig från oönskade graviditeter i den stora del av den katolska världen som består av kulturer där män fortfarande har all makt och kontroll över kvinnor? Där de gör precis vad de vill med vem de vill när de vill. Är det inte dessa män som borde lära sig något om sann kärlek och jämställdhet? Så att de respekterar kvinnorna.

En delvis annan sak är frågan om användande av preventivmedel inom äktenskapet, vilket var nära att röstas igenom för flera decennier sen. Nu blev det inte så, men inget hindrar i princip en förändring, eftersom den metod som tillåts (säkra perioder) har samma effekt som användande av preventivmedel. Frågan är förvisso hur många katoliker som bryr sig om förbudet. Så skillnaden skulle nog inte bli så stor jämfört med nu om preventivmedel tilläts inom äktenskapet.

Jag förmodar att preventivmedel inom äktenskapet redan tillämpas pastoralt där ena parten är hiv-smittad, för att skydda den andra. Men, lite drastiskt uttryckt: om männen alltid var trogna sina fruar så skulle ingen av dem få hiv. Svårare än så är det inte, rent logiskt. Men i praktiken tycks det vara väldigt svårt...

Sen blir det riktigt obehagligt. Ska kvinnor verkligen behöva genomlida traumatiska våldtäkter med ursäkten att det går att göra abort om de blir gravida? En abort innebär en svår psykisk påfrestning för de flesta kvinnor, vare sig den föregås av en våldtäkt eller inte, inte minst som hormonerna har ställt in kroppen på att ett barn ska växa inom den. Det verkar också finnas en instinktiv känsla inom de flesta människor att allt oskyldigt och värnlöst liv ska skyddas i möjligaste mån. Så på vilket sätt är tillåtande av abort en bra lösning på problemet att det finns rejält störda män som tycker att det är ok att våldta?

Sen stämmer det inte att det inte är tillåtet med abort i en situation där moderns, och därmed det ofödda barnets, liv är i fara:

"Beträffande medicinskt motiverade ingrepp som genomförs för att rädda moderns liv, men som leder till det ofödda barnets död, anser kyrkan att dessa är moraliskt befogade. I sådana fall genomförs de för att rädda ett liv då både kvinnans och det ofödda barnets liv är i fara. Intentionen är inte att avbryta graviditeten. Det ofödda barnets död är den förutsedda men oönskade konsekvensen av en god handling, som syftar till att rädda kvinnans liv och hälsa." Läs mer här.

Preventivmedel eller abort är inte den bästa lösningen i dessa fall så vitt jag kan se... Tillåt mig citera: "Det låter medeltida." Det låter kvinnoföraktande. Och det verkar även uttrycka synen att barn inte har något egenvärde eller ens människovärde förrän de når en viss utvecklingsgrad eller rentav har fötts.

Det behövs mycket mer djuplodande förändringar för att situationen ska kunna förändras på ett bestående sätt för tusentals (miljontals?) förtryckta kvinnor och barn världen över. Så att de får ett människovärde även i praktiken.

Just människovärdet, från tillkomsten av mänskligt liv till den naturliga döden värderas mycket högt av den katolska kyrkan...

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Irländsk präst ber om kvinnliga präster

Detta händer nu i kölvattnet efter de uppdagade skandalerna. Liknande röster hörs från Tyskland.

Hoppas kyrkan vaknar ur sin törnrosamardröm nån gång.

****

"Athlone priest Fr Shay Casey has said this week that it does his head in thinking about the abuse of children by Catholic priests and the fact that more wasn't done about it.

And he said the introduction of women priests would help to usher in a new era for the church."

/.../

"Speaking about the pope's letter to the people of Ireland which was read out at masses last weekend, Fr Shay said: "It's one of the many tiny steps that need to be taken."

He added that Pope Benedict XVI seemed to be engaging with the people on the issue.

"They're sending in the 'CAB of the Catholic Church' to investigate, it's a pity they didn't send them in 20 years ago," said Fr Shay.

"I hope it's not just dressage. We have to get back to being authentic and living the gospel and doing what we're supposed to be doing. Alongside that I hope it will bring about a shake-up in the Church," said Fr Shay, saying the whole organisation of the Church needed to be changed, saying there was a need for female priests.

"It's incredible in this day and age that you can deny a person the right to exercise a ministry because of their gender. It would make a big difference to the decision making process," he said. "We need a feminine influence. I pray for the day it will come, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

Fr Shay said there was a need for renewal in the Church, and said this shouldn't just be about painting buildings or statues, but a profound awakening in the Church."

Läs hela artikeln här.

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Kvinnliga rabbiner

Läste en mycket intressant artikel om judiska (även ortodoxa/konservativa) kvinnor som har vigts till rabbiner. De är inte många, men de finns. Och det som verkar vara mest kontroversiellt är titeln, inte uppgiften, utom för en del bakåtsträvare...

Någon som känner igen resonemanget nedan?

Är det inte lite underligt att judendomen förnyas smidigare och snabbare än katolska kyrkan? Om den religion som kristendomen har vuxit fram ur kan viga kvinnor - varför skulle då inte vi kunna göra det?

***

"In 1935, Regina Jonas of East Berlin was ordained a rabbi to serve the German Jewish community. But after the Shoah decimated the German Jewish population, no more women were ordained until the Reform movement began ordaining women in 1972. The Reconstructionists followed suit two years later. The second Jewish Renewal rabbi ordained by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi was a woman (Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, in 1981). And the Conservative movement ordained its first woman in 1985. As of 2008, according to the Boston-based Jewish Advocate, women outnumber men in liberal rabbinic schools.

But in the Orthodox world, ordaining women remains a radical move; perhaps because Orthodoxy is a culture in which men and women assume divergent gender roles in largely separate social spheres. The mainstream Orthodox viewpoint holds that God created men and women to be different according to divine purpose. /.../ Within that paradigm, for a woman to choose a position of communal leadership serving people of both genders is seen as immodest at best, and at worst an inversion of the divine order."

Läs hela artikeln här.

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Ortodox ärkebiskop om kvinnliga präster

Missa inte nyhetsklippet som bara är tillgängligt i ett par dar till!

Finskortodoxa ärkebiskopen Leo nämner bl.a. frågan om kvinnliga präster i inslaget - låter nog inte helt omöjligt ändå, samtal pågår - vore det omöjligt skulle det inte samtalas om det. Kanske ändrar ortodoxerna detta före katolikerna - och då finns det inte längre något att skyla de ihåliga anti-argumenten med längre.

Ikonostasen är målad av en kollega, och nyss invigd! Luftig, nordisk!

Men jag fattar inte vad han menar med det där med politiken - det finns ju många politiskt engagerade katolska präster... Men då räknar jag in ganska mycket till "politik". Arbete för mänskliga rättigheter t.ex.

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Kvinnligt katolskt diakonat på gång att återinföras?

Påvens senaste Motu Proprio kan tyda på det. Och det vore ju bra, ett första steg på vägen tillbaka till det vi har förlorat för länge sedan.

Genom att man, som i dokumentet, skiljer mellan diakonat och prästämbete som separata ämbeten där inte det ena per automatik leder till det andra, kan man låta diakoner agera som Guds avbild (in imago Dei), medan enbart präster får agera i Kristi ställe (in persona Christi). Därigenom kan även kvinnor komma att få "vara med och leka". Bara som diakoner då. Eftersom de tyvärr inte har Kristi absolut viktigaste och mest upphöjda (?) "egenskap": att han var man.

Fortfarande är det hela teologiskt uppåt väggarna. Hur tjusigt man än formulerar det så är endast Gud den Gud är, och vi alla övriga är människor, ingen blir mer Guds avbild än någon annan genom en vigningsakt, utan i så fall genom ett heligt liv. Och den som iklädd en ämbetstitel utger sig för att handla i Kristi ställe bör inte bidra till att diskriminera halva mänskligheten. Det blir helt enkelt inte trovärdigt... Hur stora guldkors och tygstycken man än bär omkring på.

***

Från Catholic News Agency:

"According to J.D. Flynn, a canon lawyer for the Archdiocese of Denver, the new document clarifies the nature of a deacon's orders and the impact of defections from Catholicism on the validity of a marriage.

"Omnium in Mentum," roughly translated as "Everything in Mind," deals with two unrelated topics, a fact that caused Flynn to observe that it's probably easier to publish one Motu Propio than two.

Writing in an explanatory note for the Motu Proprio, Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, commented on the modified canons (1008, 1009, 1086, 1117 and 1124). These variations, he said, "concern two separate questions: adapting the text of the canons that define the ministerial function of deacons ... and suppressing a subordinate clause in three canons concerning marriage, which experience has shown to be inappropriate."

The first issue addressed by the Motu Propio is the role of the diaconate.

Part of the current canon "describes sacred orders as participating in the headship of Christ," Flynn explained. "The Motu Proprio clarifies that priests and bishops participate in the headship of Christ 'in persona Christi,' whereas deacons serve the Church, the people of God, through the ministry, services, or 'diaconias' of liturgy, word, and charity." Thus, Flynn said, the document emphasizes that there is a "clear distinction between the diaconate and the presbyterate."

"The distinction is between the deacon who acts "in imago Dei" and the priest who acts 'in persona Christi,'" Flynn explained.

What this means in layman's terms is that "we see the diaconate as a unique ministry unto itself and not simply a step along the way to the priesthood," he added."

Läs mer i den här bloggen.

***

Ed Peters (canon lawyer) skriver så här om det i sin blogg:

"Now, about the first change announced today, that dealing with the description of deacons under canon law (cc. 1108-1109), it is really interesting, obviously, and I need time to study it. The language here obviously does not seem to underscore the unity that permeates the three level of holy orders, but (per Abp. Francesco Coccopalmerio of the Text Council) it is more consistent with the language of CCC 1581, as it was revised in 1998. In any case, I'll certainly be consulting the auctores probati on this one."

***

Uppdatering:

Läs mer här och här.

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Ny katolsk rit som inkluderar kvinnliga präster...?

Det låter nästan för bra för att vara sant. I kölvattnet av Vatikanens accepterande av de mest konservativa av utbrytare samt lika konservativa anglikaner, skulle dörrarna enligt uppgift vara på gång att öppnas på vid gavel även för kvinnor med en prästkallelse. Stora famnen från Troskongregationen? På vars bord mina brev om ämnet för övrigt förmodligen ännu ligger obesvarade...

Personen som har skrivit om det brukar inte komma med vilda teorier utan grund. Men jag är ganska tveksam till om det verkligen kan stämma. Fast det vore ju alldeles fantastiskt i så fall.

Jag nöjer mig därför med att citera ur hennes blogg, och avvaktar skeendet:

"I have heard, however, from reliable sources which I cannot reveal at this time, that in a remarkable change of heart and mind the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a desire of fair play and catholicity, is now also considering a new Catholic Rite for all the women and gay Catholics who feel called to the priesthood. This could be elaborated in a conclave of bishops, theologians and laypeople as soon as 2012 or 2013.

It seems then that this inflow of traditionalist Anglicans has spurred an innovation in the Roman Catholic Church when all hopes for a 21st century aggiornamento seemed to be lost.

It is, of course, too early to rejoice and celebrate, too soon for women and gay to send their applications to seminaries. One can only congratulate, nevertheless, the courage and resolve of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to include the many currents found in the Roman Catholic Church at this time, finally inviting all to sit at the table. This potentially could be quite a revolution. Stay tuned."

Läs hela inlägget här.

Uppdatering:

Hm, jag tror jag har listat ut det!

Den anglikanske ärkebiskopen träffar just nu påven, och hans skarpt kritiska uttalande om att de inte tänker backa angående kvinnliga präster samt att den katolska motsträvigheten på det området hindrar kristen enhet (!), lär kunna få positiva resultat. Kanske Rowan Williams kommer att insistera på att kvinnor ska kunna fortsätta vara präster i den nya anglikanska katolska riten - och så kan det sedan spridas därifrån...? Samtalet med påven fortsätter imorgon!

"The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday made his most outspoken challenge to the Roman Catholic Church since the Pope invited disaffected Anglicans to switch to Rome.

Speaking before he meets Benedict XVI tomorrow, Dr Rowan Williams told a conference in Rome that the Catholic Church’s refusal to ordain women was a bar to Christian unity."

Läs mer här.

P.S. Det var nog den helige Ande som ledde mig till att hitta och lägga ihop de minst sagt kluriga pusselbitarna på bara ett par minuter! Jag t.o.m. klickade "fel" på en länk och fördes därigenom till sidan med nyheten, har inte gått in på den sidan på över ett år. Ett par klick till två andra ställen och sen framstod det hela som glasklart.

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Att kallas till förnyelsearbete

Läste en artikel av Therese Koturbash om det, som jag på många sätt kan känna igen mig i...

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"As a quiet, faith-filled, observant Catholic who appreciates the opportunity for daily mass, never in my wildest dreams or nightmares could I have imagined becoming a front-line worker in the campaign for women priests.

A lawyer by profession today, during youthful career discernment struggles, I would often innocently pray for a figurative “St. Paul moment” of being “knocked off my horse” by the Holy Spirit so that when I “stood up,” future direction would be clear. St. Paul's experience after all seemed like a tidy and efficient way for moving forward. Yet, as life teaches, there are reasons for the sayings which urge caution about this sort of thing:

— Be careful what you wish for, or

— Pray, then duck.

Years later, during a pilgrimage to World Youth Days in Toronto 2002, the St. Paul moment with all its pain came for me. All my life, I have been fortunate to take for granted a church of the Canadian prairies filled with the spiritual energy of the Second Vatican Council. At World Youth Days, I was awakened to the sight of an unfamiliar church.

The “fall,” or should I say “the reckoning,” bolted me into a painful awareness of discrimination against the women who are called by God to serve as priests. Though at one time I might have written off the women's ordination movement as one of a rebellious rabble-rousing kind, it suddenly dawned on me that the exclusion of women from sacred ministry was more than an issue about equality (as important as that is) but also a matter of critical concern for all God's people — women and men. As a faith community, we must be concerned about all priests called by God to serve us and our church.

The World Youth Days' experience literally did knock me off my horse. I was disoriented, fearful, and enormously grieving for the circumstances that see so many vocations excluded from service to our church just because those vocations happen to be planted in women. My once cherished daily mass had now become a time of painful tears.

Though I tried to reach out for help about the stirrings inside, reactions from others were frequently negative. I felt as though I had been stricken with a disease or a spiritual cancer. I was fearful that “by talking” I would spread what I perceived to be the contagion of the virus or infection which had inflicted this painful new vision of my church. If I caused contagion to spread, I worried about the damage I would be responsible for inflicting on my community of faith."

Läs hela artikeln här.

(Klicka på länken längst ner till vänster på sidan, med rubrik "FEATURE: Faith-filled Prairie woman recalls journey to become church reformer".)

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