Women's Ordination Conference

1. Update on Fr. Roy Bourgeois' meeting with Superiors for participating in ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska

Women's Ordination Conference is delighted to report that Fr. Roy Bourgeois had a productive and positive meeting with his religious leadership on Monday, August 18. While Fr. Roy Bourgeois received a canonical warning to not participate in future ordinations, the Maryknoll community has agreed to opening further conversations on matters social justice issues, including the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church.

We urge the Maryknoll community to support Fr. Bourgeois in the coming months, throughout the investigation that will be sent to the Vatican and possible consequences afterward. We hope that Fr. Bourgeois' public support of Janice Sevre-Duszynska's ordination will encourage many other Catholics to speak out in support of women's ordination. We deeply respect his courage and dedication to seeking justice for women in the Roman Catholic Church.

Learn more here:

National Catholic Reporter:
National Public Radio: WUKY (local): Listen to Mp3 interview! Female Activist To Be Ordained
View Pictures

2. Support letter from WOC, WATER calling for University of San Diego to reinstate Rosemary Radford Ruether

The University of San Diego recently rescinded its offer to Professor Rosemary Radford Ruether, Ph.D., to hold the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology for 2009-2010. We consider this a matter of serious concern with regard to academic freedom in Catholic institutions.

The Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) and the Women's Ordination Conference (WOC) gathered over 2,100 signatures on a letter to USD President Mary E. Lyons and Vice President Julie Sullivan. 18 members of WOC and Call to Action San Diego delivered the letter on Thursday, August 21. We are currently waiting for the reaction of USD.

To read the letter, click here To view pictures of the letter being delivered, click here

3. Support Sr. Louise Lears Unjustly Penalized By Archbishop Burke

Only a few hours before Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis was appointed head of the Vatican's highest court -- and lost his power and jusidiction to do so -- he imposed two canonical penalties on Sr. Louise for false accusations of publicly supporting women's ordination. The first one, the penalty of interdict, means she cannot participate in public worship in a ministerial capacity and cannot receive the Sacraments. The second one, the prohibition of receiving any mission in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, means she can no longer serve in her positions as a member of the pastoral team at St. Cronan’s Catholic Church or as the Coordinator of Religious Education.

Take action!

The unjust penalties are being appealed by the best canon lawyers in the country, and you can show your support of Sr. Louise by signing the petition below. National Catholic Reporter recently covered our petition, and you can read the article by clicking here.

Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com

The Women's Ordination Conference was horrified to learn that St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisc. will no longer allow girls to serve at liturgy. The new policy was announced by Rev. John Del Priore, who was assigned to the parish on June 1. To read WOC's press release, click here. To find out more, click here.

Take action!

CALL the parish and ask for Rev. John Del Priore and express your serious concerns about this decision!

His direct line is 608 370-3271. The phone number for the church is (608) 795-4321. Call today!

Please also contact Erin Hanna, WOC assistant director, at (202) 675-1006 or via at ehanna@womensordination.org and let us know how the call went. We'd love to keep track of how many calls have been made.

WOMEN’S ORDINATION NEWS