Break the Silence. Shatter the Stained Glass Ceiling!
Lift your Voice with Roy Bourgeois!
"Break the Silence. Shatter the Stained-Glass Ceiling"
Fr. Roy Writes Letter to His Maryknoll Community
May 24, 2010
To My Maryknoll Brothers,
You have
been my community, my family, for 44 years.Because of my love and respect for you and for Maryknoll, I want to
explain, as best I can, why I believe women should be ordained in our Church.
As a young
man in the military, I felt God was calling me to be priest.After much discernment, I entered Maryknoll
and was ordained in 1972.I am grateful
to have found the hope, meaning and joy I was seeking in life.
In my
ministry over the years, I have met many devout women in our Church who feel
called by God to the priesthood, just as we do as men.And why shouldn’t they be called?As Catholics, we profess that our all-loving
God created men and women of equal worth and dignity.As priests, we all say that the call to the
priesthood is a gift and comes from God.
My
brothers, who are we to reject God’s call of women to the priesthood?Who are we, as men, to say that our call from
God is valid, but their call, as women is not?I believe that our all-powerful God, Creator of the universe, is
certainly capable of calling women to be priests.
Our
Church leaders tell us that women cannot be priests because Jesus chose only
male apostles.With all due respect,
this is not accurate.As Christians, we
know the importance of the resurrection.It is at the core of our faith.Jesus chose a woman, Mary Magdalene, to be the first witness to His
resurrection.She was also chose to
bring “the good news” to the male apostles and became known as “the apostle to
the apostles.” Galatians 3:28 is very clear: “There is neither male nor
female.In Christ Jesus you are
one.”Furthermore, a 1976 report by the
Pontifical Biblical Commission, the Vatican’s top scripture scholars, concluded
that there is no justification in the New Testament for excluding women from
the priesthood.
Reflecting
on the scriptures, the love of God, and the many stories I have heard from
women over the years about their being called by God, I believe that excluding
women from ordination is rooted in sexism.Sexism, like racism, is a sin.And no matter how hard we may try to justify discrimination, in the end,
it is always wrong.
For the
past 20 years I have been speaking out against the injustice of the School of
the Americas and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.In conscience, I cannot be silent about an
injustice I see much closer to home-an injustice in my Church.The exclusion of women from the priesthood is
a grave injustice against women, against our Church, and against our God who is
calling women to serve our Church as priests.
Fundamentally,
the ordination of women is a matter of justice.At the same time, there are practical benefits to having women
priests.As we know, our Church is in a
serious crisis.Hundreds of churches are
closing because of a shortage of priests.When I entered Maryknoll we had over 300 seminarians preparing for the
priesthood.Today we have eight.If we are to have a vibrant and healthy
Church rooted in the teachings of Jesus, we need the wisdom, compassion,
courage, and gifts of women in the priesthood.
Like the
abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, and the right of women to
vote, the ordination of women is inevitable because it is just.Let us be on the right side of history.
Our
Maryknoll community is well known and respected for its work for justice and
the oppressed.My brothers, I
respectfully ask that you break your silence and stand in solidarity with the
many women in our Church who, like you and me, are called by God to their priesthood.
On October 21, 2008, the Vatican sent a letter to the Maryknoll community stating that Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest of 36 years, had 30 days to recant his support of women's ordination or he would be automatically excommunicated. The thirty days are up, and Bourgeois stands firm in his stance. Read his response to the Vatican here.On August 9, Bourgeois gave the homily during the ordination ceremony of Roman Catholic Womenpriest, Janice Sevre-Duszynska, in Lexington, Ky.
In response, the Women's Ordination Conference initiated a campaign titled "Break the Silence. Shatter the Stained Glass Ceiling." with Roman Catholics Womenpriests and Call to Action as partners. The campaign has included an online petition, the first of which garnered over 3,700 signatures in less than a week. Before the 30 days were up, WOC sent that petition to Pope Benedict XVI; the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Pietro Sambi; and Maryknoll Superior General, John Sivalon.
Take action!
You can sign the online petition today at the link below. Please send it to your friends. We also encourage you to send letters to the editor and op eds to your local papers.
* Calling on all women and men religious and priests! *
We are asking Roman Catholic women and men religious and priests to join Roy Bourgeois, over 200 women religious, and thousands of women's ordination supporters, as we "Break the Silence" on the issue of women's ordination into an inclusive and accountable Catholic Church.
Please email Erin Saiz Hanna at ehanna@womensordination.orgif you are able to break the silence on women's ordination and sign the petition. If you are unable to give us your name at this time, please consider listing yourself as "anonymous" and including your religious community or diocesan affiliation.
Together, we are breaking the Vatican's pattern of intimidation, fear, and silence. We will shatter the stained glass ceiling.
TO THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, THE VATICAN
I was very saddened by your letter dated October 21, 2008, giving me 30 days to recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church, or I will be excommunicated.
I have been a Catholic priest for 36 years and have a deep love for my Church and ministry.
When I was a young man in the military, I felt God was calling me to the priesthood.I entered Maryknoll and was ordained in 1972.
Over the years I have met a number of women in our Church who, like me, feel called by God to the priesthood.You, our Church leaders at the Vatican, tell us that women cannot be ordained.
With all due respect, I believe our Catholic Church's teaching on this issue is wrong and does not stand up to scrutiny.A 1976 report by the Pontifical Biblical Commission supports the research of Scripture scholars, canon lawyers and many faithful Catholics who have studied and pondered the Scriptures and have concluded that there is no justification in the Bible for excluding women from the priesthood.
As people of faith, we profess that the invitation to the ministry of priesthood comes from God.We profess that God is the Source of life and created men and women of equal stature and dignity.The current Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women implies our loving and all-powerful God, Creator of heaven and earth, somehow cannot empower a woman to be a priest.
Women in our Church are telling us that God is calling them to the priesthood.Who are we, as men, to say to women, "Our call is valid, but yours is not."Who are we to tamper with God's call?
Sexism, like racism, is a sin.And no matter how hard or how long we may try to justify discrimination, in the end, it is always immoral.
Hundreds of Catholic churches in the U.S. are closing because of a shortage of priests.Yet there are hundreds of committed and prophetic women telling us that God is calling them to serve our Church as priests.
If we are to have a vibrant, healthy Church rooted in the teachings of our Savior, we need the faith, wisdom, experience, compassion and courage of women in the priesthood.
Conscience is very sacred.Conscience gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing.Conscience is what compelled Franz Jagerstatter, a humble Austrian farmer, husband and father of four young children, to refuse to join Hitler's army, which led to his execution.Conscience is what compelled Rosa Parks to say she could no longer sit in the back of the bus.Conscience is what compels women in our Church to say they cannot be silent and deny their call from God to the priesthood.Conscience is what compelled my dear mother and father, now 95, to always strive to do the right things as faithful Catholics raising four children.And after much prayer, reflection and discernment, it is my conscience that compels me to do the right thing.I cannot recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church.
Working and struggling for peace and justice are an integral part of our faith.For this reason, I speak out against the war in Iraq.And for the last eighteen years, I have been speaking out against the atrocities and suffering caused by the School of the Americas (SOA).Eight years ago, while in Rome for a conference on peace and justice, I was invited to speak about the SOA on Vatican Radio.During the interview, I stated that I could not address the injustice of the SOA and remain silent about injustice in my Church.I ended the interview by saying, "There will never be justice in the Catholic Church until women can be ordained."I remain committed to this belief today.
Having an all male clergy implies that men are worthy to be Catholic priests, but women are not.
According to USA TODAY (Feb. 28, 2008) in the United States alone, nearly 5,000 Catholic priests have sexually abused more than 12,000 children.Many bishops, aware of the abuse, remained silent.These priests and bishops were not excommunicated.Yet the women in our Church who are called by God and are ordained to serve God's people, and the priests and bishops who support them, are excommunicated.
Silence is the voice of complicity.Therefore, I call on all Catholics, fellow priests, bishops, Pope Benedict XVI and all Church leaders at the Vatican, to speak loudly on this grave injustice of excluding women from the priesthood.
Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was assassinated because of his defense of the oppressed.He said, "Let those who have a voice, speak out for the voiceless."
Our loving God has given us a voice.Let us speak clearly and boldly and walk in solidarity as Jesus would, with the women in our Church who are being called by God to the priesthood.
In Peace and Justice,
Rev. Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
PO Box 3330, Columbus, GA 31903
Father Roy's letter to fellow priests
To My Fellow Priests
"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."Canon 212"
As a Catholic priest for 36 years, my conscience compels me to write this letter.
Years ago, as a young man in the military, I felt God was calling me to the priesthood.I entered Maryknoll, was ordained in 1972, and assigned to work in Bolivia.
Since returning to ministry in the U.S., I have met a number of women who, like you and me, feel called to the priesthood.
I am now 69 years old and believe, without any doubt, that God is calling women, as well as men, to be priests in our Church.
After all, isn't our God the Creator of heaven and earth, the Source of all life?Is not our loving and all-powerful God, who created men and women of equal stature and dignity, capable of empowering a woman to be a priest?
Women are telling us that God is calling them to priesthood. As we know, the invitation to the ministry of priesthood comes from God.Who are we to say that we are called by God, but women are not.Who are we, as men, to tamper with God's call?
Excluding women from priesthood is a grave injustice in our Church.
Therefore, I respectfully ask that you, my brother priests, join me in speaking out on this important moral issue.
Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, assassinated during Mass because of his defense of the oppressed, said, "Let those who have a voice, speak out for the voiceless!"
My fellow priests, you and I have powerful voices within our Church.I ask that we break our silence and address this issue of the ordination of women in our homilies, in our clergy meetings and with our bishops. Silence is the voice of complicity.
You and I are leaders in our faith community. Let us walk in solidarity, as Jesus would, with the women of our Church who, like you and me, are called by God to the priesthood.
Your brother in Christ,
Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
P.O. Box 3330, Columbus, GA 31903
706 682-5369
Aug. 18, 2008: Update on Roy Bourgeois' meeting with Superiors for participating in ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Women's Ordination Conference is delighted to report that Roy Bourgeois had a productive and positive meeting with his religious leadership on Monday, August 18. While 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 Roy in the coming months, throughout the investigation that will be sent to the Vatican and possible consequences afterward. We hope that 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 dedication to seeking justice for women in the Roman Catholic Church.
Aug. 14, 2008:Support Roy Bourgeois for participating in ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Email Roy Bourgeois' superiors and urge them to stand in solidarity with him -- like Sr. Joan Chittister's order supported her after the Vatican's instruction to not speak at the first Women's Ordination Worldwide conference in Dublin, Ireland in 2001 (read her keynote speech here).
Email his superior general, John Sivalon at jsivalon@maryknoll.org and the three-member Maryknoll Council at mklcouncil@maryknoll.org and/or fax to 914-944-3600
Write to: Maryknoll Council P.O. Box 303 Maryknoll, NY 10545
