Father Roy explains his stand, "As a Catholic priest for thirty-six years, in conscience, I cannot remain silent about injustice in my Church. I and many have come to the conclusion that the exclusion of women in the Catholic Church is a grave injustice, and I simply must-I cannot, in conscience, accept the Vatican's demand that I recant my belief and my public statements in support of women's ordination. This is simply wrong."
WOMEN WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SILENT
Father Roy has served in Bolivia and in El Salvador in recent decades with the Maryknoll community. He has shared, "Any institution, organization that's controlled where the power is in the hands of any particular group, whether they be men or women, is not healthy. Our Church, the Catholic Church, is going through a real crisis. There are thousands of churches that are being shut down because there is a lack of priests. The sexual abuse crisis has really rocked the Church to its roots. I am convinced, of course, that if we had women priests and women bishops, that sexual abuse and the silence during those years would not have been possible. Women simply would not have been silent. I'm also convinced, if we had women priests and women bishops, there would not be such silence about this war in Iraq. I'm convinced, too, that there would be, if we had women priests and women bishops, they would have called for the closing of this School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. We need women priests in our Church for it to be healthy, for it to be complete."
In the end the powers that be have decided to step on Father Roy as though he is an ant. The fact is, however, there are many who support women taking up their callings regardless of what that call is-to be a priest even.
In the interview with Amy Goodman, Father Roy explains further, "Well, Amy, I have poked as many-a number of beehives in my life. This is the biggest beehive I have ever poked. I've poked the beehive of the patriarchy. I think I and others, priests and women and bishops-I'm not alone in this-who call for the ordination of women, I think what we're threatening at its very core is the power, is power, privilege. I mean, let's face it, this is an all-boys' club. And we are card-I and many others are card-carrying members. Again, in conscience, I felt I had to break my silence. I've broken that silence many times over the years, and I'm calling on my fellow priests and Catholics and Church leaders to break their silence."
Father Roy continues, "But what we have here, at its very core, is the sin of sexism. And like racism, no matter how hard we try to justify it or bring in, you know, God to bless discrimination, in the end it is always immoral."
Bourgeois concludes his charge against the Catholic hierarchy by summing up his rationale for speak up as follows, "[A]t its very core, we're dealing with power, those in power who have had that power and control for centuries, who simply don't want to give it up. But I have to say, they must give it up. They will be, in a way, forced to give it up. There are many similarities about, you know, what's going on in Latin America. We've learned that all of these repressive militaries that have held onto their power for so long were not going to give up that power and the abuse of their power through the goodness of their heart. And I'm sad to say that the patriarchy of faith communities, like the Catholic Church and other faith traditions, they will have to give up their power because of the grassroots movement from the bottom up organizing, like in Latin America, so many saying, 'Basta! We will simply not allow you to repress us as you have been doing for so long.'"
MY MOTHER: THE MINISTER
Sometime ago, I began to read Karen Armstrong's the HISTORY OF GOD. In perusing Armstrong's work, I noted that both the Western and Middle Eastern concepts of God as being masculine rose prominently only during the later years of the first millennium and at the start of the second millennium in Western Europe.
http://www.answers.com/topic/karen-armstrong
In other words, Armstrong in her well-respected history on the God of monotheism, outlines that reactionary (or male-revisionist) movements in Judaism, Islam and Christianity rose only or primarily in the last 1000 years.
In short, these male-revisionists tried successfully to turn back the clock on the calling of women. This has marginalized many women from leadership in their faiths for centuries
http://www.necessaryprose.com/armstrong.htm
For example, Judge Deborah, in one of major characters in one of the earliest books in the Old Testament, served as respected main leadership of Israel, i.e. long before King David or king Solomon came on stage.
Likewise, both Jesus in his days on earth encouraged women's active participation, and later even apostle Paul--obviously a chauvinist in a chauvinist era-often lauded the active role of women in the early church. (See last chapter of Paul's first epistle, Romans.)
Finally, in the early years of Islam, both Khadija and Aisha, daughter and wife of the Prophet Mohammed, through their own words and influence positively effected doctrines, practices, and beliefs for all generations of Muslims.
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