WASHINGTON, DC: Tomorrow,
Roman Catholics globally will join together for feast of Holy Thursday, to
commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus the Christ
and welcome the Easter Triduum, the holiest days for Catholics.
It was during the Last Supper that Jesus
gave those gathered a new commandment ---to “love one another, as I have loved
you, that you also love one another,” only to be betrayed by Judas.
Like Jesus, Roman Catholics everywhere have been betrayed − again.The latest Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal which implicates Pope
Benedict XVI, the former Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger of Munich, in a sex abuse
case is beyond belief for Catholics worldwide. How can these crimes still be coming to light
when the Vatican has been made aware of the magnitude of the crisis? How is it
possible that leaders of the Vatican still have not come clean about pedophile
cases that were not properly addressed?
For far too long, the all-male boys club has covered up
decades of abuse with lies and secrets that have put our most vulnerable in
severe danger, a far cry from Jesus’ commandment to live a life of love.
The Women’s Ordination Conference calls for an official
opening of the discussion on women’s ordination. In a church reeling from abuse,
scandal, and
oppression, it’s long overdue for the Vatican to use all of its resources to
work toward a solution.
For far too long, only ordained, male, celibate clergy have
dictated-or tried to dictate-how Catholics worship, pray and make
decisions. 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.
We are calling on our members to take action: express their
outrage and call for accountability and equality to their local priests and
parish leaders, reach out to victims and
take steps to make sure children are protected now, write letters to the U.S. Bishops, and
discontinue all financial contributions that benefit the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
When women are full and equal partners in every aspect of
the Catholic Church, only then, will the Roman Catholic Church be associated
with accountability, transparency and justice rather than hierarchy, exclusion,
and scandal. Until then, we will continue to raise our collective voices
and organize actions that will bring our church closer to the gospel values
of Jesus.
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Founded in 1975, the
Women's Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest organization that works
to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops into an inclusive and
accountable Catholic church. WOC represents the 63 percent of US
Catholics, and millions of Catholics worldwide, who support women's ordination.
WOC also promotes new perspectives on ordination that call for more
accountability and less separation between the clergy and laity.
