Catholics Speak Out & Women’s Ordination Conference
Sponsor Five Week Speaking Tour by Ida Raming, Ph.D.
Theologian, Pioneer in Women’s Ordination Movement,
Ordained on Danube
Catholics
Speak Out and Women’s Ordination conference are jointly sponsoring a national
five-week tour by German theologian Ida Raming, one of the seven women who were
ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on June 29, 2002.
Raming is a pioneer of the women’s ordination movement,
who, together with Dr. Iris Mueller, drew up a published submission to the
Second Vatican Council in 1963, challenging the exclusion of women from the
priesthood.
Background
Raming’s groundbreaking doctoral study (1969) of the history
of the church’s discrimination against women from early Christian writings
through the Middle Ages conclusively proved the church’s exclusion of
women from the priesthood was based upon concepts of the essential and ethical
inferiority of women. These notions rest upon the second creation story found
in Genesis saying woman was created from the first man’s rib, and the
alleged first sin of the mythical Eve. These mythical concepts are the foundation
stones upon which the church’s continuing discrimination against women
rests.
Ida’s research published in English in 1976 as The Exclusion
of Women from the Priesthood: Divine Law or Sex Discrimination was tremendously
influential. It soon will be republished in an updated edition edited by Bernard
Cooke and Gary Macy for Scarecrow Press as the second volume of a series on
the history of women’s ordination. Raming is also the author of numerous
scholarly articles on the ordination of women. The decision of the women to
go forward with the ordinations was both spiritual and political, they said.
"Women who feel called to ministerial priesthood and who
want to live their vocation, find themselves in a situation of grave conflict
of conscience," Raming and Mueller say. "On one hand they face the
unrevised position of the church leadership. On the other hand, God is calling
them to priestly service to the church."
Raming argues that the church law restricting ordination to
only baptised males (Canon 1024) is itself illegal, because it establishes
two classes of baptism. The Church law is contrary to Holy Scripture and the
church’s earliest history in which women played prominent roles and
were ordained deacons, priests and bishops. The Brazilian bishop who ordained
the women was ordained a bishop by a bishop consecrated by Pope John XXIII.
Had the women been men, the ordinations would have been considered "valid
but illicit" because it is through the laying on of hands that one is
ordained a priest.
The ordinations occurred during widespread revelations of sexual
abuse crimes involving decades of secrecy and official cover-up. Yet the women
presented such a challenge to the hieararchy that it took the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith a mere 23 days to excommunicate the seven women,
on July 22, 2002.
Raming was well prepared for this move, and filed a refutation
on behalf of the women priests, pointing out that the excommunications were
illegal. At least one prominent German theologian has publicly agreed. Dr.
Raming has given many speeches and appeared on television programs. Her deeply
spiritual roots, intellectual gifts, and the genuineness of her call are clearly
authentic. Her reasoned approach has tremendous appeal among young people,
says Tobias Raschke, spokesperson for the International Movement We Are Church/Youth.
_______________________________________________________
Catholics Speak Out/Quixote Center, PO Box 5206,
Hyattsville, MD 20782
301-699-0042 * www.quixote.org/cso * cso@quixote.org
Women's Ordination Conference, PO Box 2693,
Fairfax, VA 22031
703-352-1006 * womensordination.org * woc@womensordination.org
|
Save These Dates!
Tentative* Schedule For Ida Raming Five-Week Tour
| April 4, 2003 |
Morris County,
New Jersey
Sponsored by CTA New Jersey,
Drew Theological School & Women's Studies Dept.
8 PM - Drew University
36 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ
Founder's Room, Mead Hall
(Directions available at: www.drew.edu/about/directions.html
Contact: Mary Ann Hain, calltoactionnj@att.net 908-665-0919, Jody Caldwell, jcaldwell@drew.edu |
| April 6, 2003 |
Metro Washington, DC
Sponsors: Call to Action (CTA) NOVA, Dignity NOVA & WOC
2:30 - 5 PM,
First Presbyterian Church, 601 N. Vermont St.,
Arlington, VA (From Ballston Mall, 1 Block on Carlin Springs Rd.)
Contact: Sharon Danner, ctanva@comcast.net
|
| April 8, 2003 |
San Diego, California
Sponsor: CTA San Diego
Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan
4321 Eastgate Mall, La Jolla, CA
Contact: Evi Quinn, eviq@cs.com 858-277-0259
or 760-434-3710 |
| April 9, 2003 |
Los Angeles, California
Sponsor: Women's Studies in Religion at Claremont Graduate University
7:30 PM Claremont School of Theology, Haddon Conference
Rm
1325 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA
Contact: Katie Van Heest, 909-607-9893 katrina.vanheest@cgu.edu |
| April 13, 2003 |
Palo Alto, California (South Bay Area)
Sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center of Palo Alto
7:30 PM. St. Ann Chapel
541 Melville Ave., Palo Alto
Contact: Kay Williams, kaywill@pacbell.net 650-328-2781 |
| April 21, 2003 |
Chicago, Illinois
Sponsors: Chicago WOC & European Studies, Sociology, Anthropology,
Religion and History Deptartments, and the Medill School of Journalism
at Northwestern University
7-9 PM, Northwestern University, Harris Hall
Evanston, IL
Open to students and the general
public, donation requested
Contact: Katy Scott 773 465 7409, katyscott@rcn.com |
| April 22, 2003 |
Liturgy - Rev. Ida Raming, Presider
7-9 PM Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evanston, IL
Registration requested,
limited seating: Maura Neuffer, 630-493-1886
|
| April 24, 2003 |
St. Louis, Missouri
Sponsor: Justice for Women in the Catholic Church
7PM Central Reform Congregation, 5020 Waterman
St. Louis, MO
Contact: Gerry Rauch, gerrauch@swbell.net 314-664-5770
|
| April 25, 2003 |
St. Paul, Minnesota
Sponsors: CTA Minn., Minnesota St. Joan Community (local group of St.
Joan’s International Alliance) & WOC-Red Wing Chapter
7PM, Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minneapolis area
Contact: Regina Nicolosi, rnicolos@pressenter.com 651-388-6059
Dorothy Irvin, dirvish854@cs.com
Verna Mikesh, 651-645-2791 or Joyce Manning, 651-628-9283 |
| April 27, 2003 |
Boston, Massachusetts
Sponsors: Massachusetts Women Church & Dignity/Boston
1
- 4 PM
Braun Room, Andover Hall
Harvard University Divinity School
45 Francis Street
Cambridge, MA
Contact: Barbara Mahar, masswomenchurch@aol.com |
| April 29-30, 2003 |
New York, New York
Sponsors: Dignity New York & WOC
April 29, 7-9:30PM (Please note, this date may be changed to April 30)
James Chapel
Union Theological Seminary
Columbia University
3041 Broadway at 121st St.
Contact: Leslie Kretzu,
LEKretzu@aol.com
|
| April 29, 2003 |
Liturgy - TBA |
| May 1, 2003 |
Rochester, New York Sponsor:
Spiritus Christi Church
7:00 PM Mass, Guest Presider
Spiritus Christi Church
60 Bittner St.
Rochester, NY
585-325-1180 www.spirituschristi.org |
| May 3, 2003 |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: Southeast Pennsylvania WOC
12:30
Registration, 1 PM Program
Additional speakers: Mary Ramerman, Denise Donato, Janice Sevre-Duszynska:
Break-out groups, concelebration, and dinner. Friends Center, 15th &
Cherry Sts. SEPA WOC, www.sepawoc.org
Contact: mejann@aol.com or phone 215-545-9649 |
Bibliography of Dr. Ida Ramin
* (Together with Iris Müller)
‘Kritische Auseinandersetzung mit den Gründen der kath. Theologie
betreffend den Ausschluß der Frau vom sakramentalen Priestertum’.
In: Heinzelmann, G.(ed.): Wir schweigen nicht länger! Frauen äußern
sich zum 2. Vatikanischen Konzil, deutsch- englisch, Zürich 1964,
pp.61-76.
* Der Ausschluß der Frau vom priesterlichen
Amt - Gottgewollte Tradition oder Diskriminierung? Eine rechtshistorisch-dogmatische
Untersuchung der Grundlagen von Kanon 968 § 1 des Codex Iuris Canonici.
Köln / Wien 1973.
American edition:
The Exclusion of Women from the Priesthood: Divine Law
or Sex Discrimination? (translated by Norman R. Adams with a preface
by Arlene Swidler), The Scarecrow Press (Metuchen, N.J.) 1976
* ‘Frau und kirchliche Ämter’, In: Diaconia
Christi. Dokumentation, hg. v. Internationalen Diakonatszentrum Freiburg,
10 (1975) H.1, pp. 24-28.
* ‘Die inferiore Stellung der Frau nach geltendem
Kirchenrecht’. In: Concilium 12 (1976) 30-34.
* ‘Gleichwertig - aber andersartig’. Zu einem
üblichen Argumentationsschema gegen das Priesteramt der Frau. In:
Orientierung 43 (1979) 218-221.
American translation: ‘Equal but other’ and
ordination of women. In: Theology Digest, Vol 29, Nr. 1, p.19-22.
* ‘Von der Freiheit des Evangeliums zur versteinerten
Männerkirche. Zur Entstehung und Entwicklung der Männerherrschaft
in der Kirche’. In: Concilium 16 (1980) 230-235.
* ‘Den Fatalismus überwinden. Zur Situation
der Frauen in der katholischen Kirche und in den theologischen Fakultäten
der deutschen Universitäten’ , In: Publik-Forum 10 (1981)
Nr.6, pp.20.
* ‘Kanonisches Un-Recht. Zum neuen Codex Iuris Canonici.’
In: Courage. Aktuelle Frauenzeitung 8 (1983) nr.9.
* “Theologie der Ordnungen” und Priesteramt
der Frau. In: Orientierung 47 (1983) 176-178.
* ‘Katholische Frauen in den USA. Die Women’s
Ordination Conference streitet für mehr Rechte der Frauen in der
Kirche’, In: Publik-Forum 13 (1984) nr. 10, pp.26-27.
* ‘Ordination der Frau für ein erneuertes Amt
- Fortschritt auf dem Weg zur Befreiung der Frau in der Kirche.’
In: Schlangenlinien. Feministische Wissenschaft - Feministische Theologie,
AGG-Broschüre, Bonn 1984, pp.142-146.
* ‘Einsatz für die Menschenrechte der Frau
in der Kirche - die Women’s Ordination Conference in den USA.’
In: Schlangenlinien, Bonn 1984, pp.170-174.
* ‘Wir rufen nach Freiheit und Gerechtigkeit, wo
Frauen nicht als Menschen gelten.’ In: N. Sommer (ed.): Nennt
uns nicht Brüder! Frauen in der Kirche durchbrechen das Schweigen,
Stuttgart 1985, pp.73-79.
* ‘Diskriminiert, gedemütigt, manipuliert -
und trotzdem kaum empört. Zur Situation der Frau in der Kirche.’
In: H.J. Findeis (ed.): Die Frau in Religion und Gesellschaft. Hinduismus-Judentum-Christentum
- Islam, Bielefeld 1986, pp.118-138.
* (Together with Iris Müller), ‘Erste Internationale
Konferenz über Frau und Judentum.’ In: Orientierung 51(1987)30-32
* ‘Relevanz und Stellenwert des Kirchenrechts in
der feministischen Theologie.’ In: M.Th. Wacker (ed.): Theologie
feministisch. Disziplinen, Schwerpunkte, Richtungen, Düsseldorf
1988, pp.115-142.
* “Gleiche Würde” - aber keine gleichen
Rechte. Zum Apostolischen Schreiben Johannes Paul II. “Mulieris
Dignitatem”. In: Christenrechte in der Kirche, 14. Rundbrief (1988)
pp.31-35.
* Frauenbewegung und Kirche. Bilanz eines 25jährigen
Kampfes für Gleichberechtigung und Befreiung der Frau seit dem
2. Vatikanischen Konzil, Weinheim, 1. ed. 1989, 2. ed. 1991.
* ‘In Christus gilt nicht mehr Mann und Frau’
- Zeichen des anbrechenden Reiches Gottes. In: Anhaltspunkte (pub. by
Deutschen Evangelischen Frauenbund) 34(1990) H.1, pp.9-13.
* ‘Die Frauen in der Kirche’. In: Stimmen
der Zeit 115 (1990) 415-426.
* ‘Diskriminierung der Frauen in der katholischen
Kirche - eine Herausforderung für Frauen und Männer.’
In: Rundbrief. Zeitschrift des BDKJ im Bistum Berlin nr. 7/April 1991,
pp.5-7.
* ‘Die Amtsfrage ist der Prüfstein’ (Interview).
In: Entschluß. Spiritualität. Praxis. Gemeinde (pub. by the
deutschsprachigen Jesuiten) 46 (1991) 33-35.
* ‘Recht/Gerechtigkeit’. Kirchenrecht (kath.).
In: Wörterbuch der feministischen Theologie (ed. v. E. Gössmann
u.a.) Gütersloh 1991, pp.344-347.
* ‘Priestertum der Frau’ , In: Wörterbuch
der feministischen Theologie. Gütersloh 1991, pp.328-330.
* (Together with Iris Müller) ‘Theologin’
(kath.) In: Wörterbuch der feministischen Theologie. Gütersloh
1991, pp.420f .
* “Die zwölf Apostel waren Männer...”
Stereotype Einwände gegen die Frauenordination und ihre tieferen
Ursachen. In: Orientierung 56 (1992)143-146.
English
translation
.
* ‘Ungenutzte Chancen für Frauen im Kirchenrecht. Widersprüche
im CIC/1983 und ihre Konsequenzen.’ In: Orientierung 58 (1994)
68-70.
* ‘Endgültiges Nein zum Priestertum der Frau?
Zum Apostolischen Schreiben Papst Johannes Pauls II. “Ordinatio
Sacerdotalis” ’, In: Orientierung 58 (1994) 190-193.
English
translation
* ‘Priesteramt für Frauen: eine Forderung der
Gerechtigkeit und Anerkennung ihres Christseins.’ In: Katechetische
Blätter 120 (1995) 296-299.
* ‘Für die Rechte der Frauen in der Kirche.
Eindrücke und Überlegungen zur Women’s Ordination Conference
1995’, In: Orientierung 60 (1996) 54-57.
* ‘Ein Ereignis von historischer Tragweite? Priesterinnenweihe
in der altkatholischen Kirche Deutschlands.’ In: Schlangenbrut
14 (1996) 46.
* ‘Rezension: Walter Groß (ed.): Frauenordination.’
In: Schlangenbrut 15 (1997) 47f.
* ‘Stellung und Wertung der Frau im kanonischen
Recht.’ In: U. Gerhard (ed.): Frauen in der Geschichte des Rechts.
Von der Frühen Neuzeit bis zur Gegenwart. München 1997, 698-712
* ‘Kirchenrechtliche Fragen zum Diakonat der Frau.
Das bestehende Kirchenrecht und der Diakonat der Frau; Rechtliche Fragen
in der Diskussion.’ In: P. Hünermann u.a. (ed.): Diakonat.
Ein Amt für Frauen in der Kirche - Ein frauengerechtes Amt? Ostfildern
1997, 225-235.
* ‘Diakonat - ein Amt für Frauen in der Kirche’,
In: Orientierung 62 (1998) 8-11.
English
translation
* (Together with Gertrud Jansen and Iris Müller )
Zur Priesterin berufen. Gott sieht nicht auf das Geschlecht. Zeugnisse
röm.-katholischer Frauen. Thaur-Verlag (Österreich) 1998.
* (Together with Mechtilde Neuendorff and Iris Müller
ed.) Aufbruch aus männlichen “Gottesordnungen”. Reformbestrebungen
von Frauen in christlichen Kirchen und im Islam. Weinheim 1998.
* “Wie lange noch sollen wir warten?” Frauen,
die Priesterinnen werden wollen, brauchen die Solidarität ihrer
Schwestern. In: Publik-Forum nr. 15 (1998) 36f.
* ‘Kein priesterliches Amt für die Frau? Der
Ausschluß von Frauen von kirchlichen Ämtern ist biblisch
nicht begründbar.’ in: Christliche Freiheit statt Heilige
Herrschaft. Vision einer künftigen Kirche (pub. by der Kirchenvolksbewegung
“Wir sind Kirche”) Publik-Forum Spezial 1998, 42-46.
* ‘Studientag Salzburg: Meilenstein auf dem Weg
zur Frauenordination.’ In: Kirche Intern 13 (1999) nr.6, pp.26.
* ‘Zur Geschichte des weiblichen Diakonats.’
In: Kirche braucht Diakoninnen. Arbeitshilfe zum Diakonat der Frau,
hg. v. Arbeitskreis Diakonat der Frau, Münster,1999, 5-7 .
* ‘Les Discours masculin sur Dieu dans la liturgie
et ses effets sur les femmes.’ In: Lumen Vitae, Revue Internationale
de Catéchèse et de Pastorale 55 (1999) pp. 47 - 57.
English
translation
* (Together with Iris Müller) ‘Veränderungen
nicht erwünscht. Bericht über die 2. Sonderversammlung der
Bischofssynode für Europa 1999’, In: Kirche Intern 13 (1999)
nr.12, pp.36f.
* ‘Eine Vorkämpferin für die Gleichstellung
von Frauen. Zum Tod von Gertrud Heinzelmann’, In: Schlangenbrut
18 (2000) nr. 68, 39.
* ‘Frauenordination vor dem Hintergrund des interkonfessionellen
Dialogs.’ In: Johannes Brosseder u. Evah Ignestam (ed.): Die Ambivalenz
der Moderne. The Ambivalence of Modernity. TRO & TANKE, Svenska
Kyrkan, Uppsala 1999, 173-181.
Witness to HerStory
Austrian and German Women Ordained Priests
By Rea Howarth, Coordinator Catholics Speak Out
Click
here for Spanish translation
On June 29, I witnessed an
extraordinary event that I believe moves the ordination of women in
the Catholic church to a new level.
Seven Roman Catholic women -- two Austrians, four
Germans, and a woman with
dual US-Austrian citizenship, were ordained to the priesthood on Saturday,
June 29, by two bishops, Romulo Braschi of Argentina and Rafael Regelsberger
of Austria.
The German and Austrian women hold degrees in theology
and had participated in a three-year ministerial training program. Two
of the ordinands were Austrian, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger and Sr.
Adelinde Theresia Roitinger. There were four Germans: Dr. Iris Müller,
Dr. Ida Raming, Dr. Gisela Forster, and Pia Brunner. The seventh, with
a dual citizenship in the US and Austria, was ordained under a pseudonym
in order to preserve her anonymity.
The ceremony took place under tight security on a cruise
boat on the Donau (Danube) River, which winds through Germany and Austria,
with 200 invited guests. This was to prevent disruptions by demonstrators
and press. It made it impossible for the local bishops, witnesses, and
even the newly-consecrated priests to know precisely where the ordinations
took place.
It was attended by prominent theologians, activists, and
ordinary Catholics who are in the communities served by the women.
Msgr. Braschi was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood
in Buenos Aires in 1966. He was a member of the Marianists and holds
a doctorate in theology. He was active in the basic community movement
in Argentina, and opposed the military junta during 1976-1983. His public
attitude, he said, caused him great personal suffering. Braschi left
the Roman Catholic church to work with the Charismatic Apostolic Church
of Jesus Christ. He received his episcopal ordination in 1988 from Bishop
Roberto Padin, a bishop who had left the RC church, but whose apostolic
roots trace back to the 15th Century.
Braschi says that he was ordained a second time by Jeronimo
Podestá, bishop of the Avellanda diocese in Argentina, who served
for a few years during the 1960s before being removed, allegedly for
being too vocal in his support for church reform and social justice
issues. Podestá continued to serve the church as a priest, but
in 1972, gave up that right to marry, and later became active in the
international married priests movement.
From a canonical standpoint, the organizers say that Braschi,
who is married, is a bona fide bishop, although he is not recognized
as such by Rome. That is, since the conferral of holy orders is accomplished
through the laying on of hands, Braschi can validly claim apostolic
succession even though the Vatican does not recognize him as a Roman
bishop.
Braschi said that he did not claim to ordain the women
in the name of the Pope, nor to present himself as a Roman Catholic
bishop. He is, he said, a bishop for the universal catholic church,
and that he was ordaining the women as for the good of the whole church.
He did, however, follow the Roman rite. But even if the ordaining bishop
were recognized by Rome, the ordinations would not be considered valid
by Rome because they violate canon law 1024, which stipulates that only
men can be ordained.
Nonetheless, the women consider the ordinations valid. "We understand
ourselves as priests in the Roman Catholic Church," Rev. Christine
Mayr-Lumetzberger, one of the seven women said at a press conference
following the ordinations. "It is not a licit solution, but it
is a fact. We have to live with this fact, and in this fact."
Forster said that at one point as many as 12 women considered
being ordained. She noted that four American women had actively considered
ordination at that time, but pulled out of the process.
"An important step," Forster noted, was the
ordination of eight women to the diaconate on Palm Sunday. The ordaining
bishop's identity was not disclosed. The pressure on the candidates
was enormous, Forster said. One of the women had so much pressure put
on her by her bishop that she pulled out. The nun, Roitinger, was "threatened
with expulsion" from her community of 58 years if she went through
with the act.
"We looked for a bishop with apostolic succession
for three years," Forster said. They found five bishops who support
women's ordination and are in good standing with Rome, but only one
said he would do it, and then in secret. "We thought at this time
that the institutional church exerts so much coercion and pressure,
that no one has the courage to do it," Forster said.
The group justified their actions, saying that for 40
years, women have used theological arguments to refute the justifications
for excluding women from ordained ministry, in numerous scholarly and
popular articles, books, and other publications. So far, the Vatican
has ignored the refutations of existing church teaching, and in 1995,
gave the doctrine Ordinatio Sacerdotalis issued in 1994, the status
or a "quasi-dogma" and forbidden theologians from further
discussion.
"Women who feel called to ministerial
priesthood and who want to live their vocation, find themselves in a
situation of grave conflict of conscience," said Raming. "On
one hand they face the unrevised position of the Church leadership.
On the other hand, God is calling them to priestly service to the Church....
Experience has shown that the discussion does not bear the promise of
a result, and so the women have chosen ordination contra legem (CIC.1024).
A change in the juridical condition of women in the Roman Catholic Church
is not to be expected in the near future. Its hierarchical and centralized
structure means that only bishops (exclusively men!) have the right
to decide in a Council that women may have access to the ordained ministry.
These men have shown themselves to be in the main, extremely obedient
to the Pope and the Magisterium of the Church."
Canon 1024, which states that "only
a baptized man can validly receive sacred ordination," is based
upon "a grave lack of respect for the human dignity of women and
their Christian existence," Raming said. "That valid ordination
is reserved exclusively to men ignores the status of women as baptized
and confirmed persons. This implies that Canon 1024 and its underlying
teaching denies that women are created in the image and likeness of
God (Gen. 1:27) and the teaching of Vatican II (Lumen Gentium, para
32 et al.) and Galations 3:27-28 that says: "All baptized in Christ,
you have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions
between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of you
are one in Christ Jesus."
Thus, the doctrine of exclusion of women from ordained
ministry is based upon a heresy that women in the Roman Catholic Church
are no longer willing to accept, Raming said. The women's act is both
political and spiritual, a clear sign of protest against "this
misogynist teaching and juridical norm that a male church leadership
has imposed upon women, causing grave damage to the credibility of the
Roman Catholic Church in the world."
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