Vatican Miscategorizes Women’s Rights Advocates with Child Abusers

Vatican Miscategorizes Women’s Rights Advocates with Child Abusers

Twenty-seven Catholic organizations from around the globe issue statement denouncing the oppression of women and the inadequate response to child sex crimes

Yesterday, the Vatican issued a clarification of its canonical procedures for how dioceses should handle priests who sexually abuse children. As part of the statement, they have added that the "attempted ordination of a woman" has now been added to the list of "delicta graviora," or most serious crimes in church law, alongside the sexual abuse of minors.
Twenty-seven Catholic organizations issued the following joint statement in response:

 
We, the undersigned, express our solidarity with Catholics who continue to seek equality, including those who practice feminist ministries and those who are ordained. We know these women and men to be firm in their faith and courageous in their work as they seek an inclusive and accountable church, undeterred by threats of excommunication or other canonical penalties. In addition, we stand with our brother priests and bishops who are also being threatened by this new policy for their support of women’s equality in the church.  Furthermore, we take great offense that good faith struggles for gender equality could be misunderstood as a sacrilege and placed on par with the sexual abuse of children. In 1976, the Vatican’s own Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded there is no valid scriptural reason for denying ordination to women. Therefore, we welcome such efforts to expand the scope and variety of ministry and we celebrate women’s faithfulness despite huge institutional obstacles.
 
We are gravely disappointed that the Vatican would largely repackage its sexual abuse policy norms from 2001 in yesterday’s re-issued statement without adding many meaningful changes to canonical procedures on how to handle the sexual crimes of its religious leaders. We stand with survivors in calling for the release of the names of all credibly accused Catholic religious leaders and for the Vatican’s immediate adoption and implementation of global child protection policies. Nothing less is adequate to the crying needs of a community torn asunder by its own leaders’ crimes.

Catholic Organization Signatories

 

Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC), USA

Patrick B. Edgar, D.P.A., M.Div., President

patedgar_2005@yahoo.com www.arcc-catholic-rights.net

 

BASIC (Brothers And Sisters In Christ), Ireland.

Contact: Una Ruddock

+353 1 621 6816 www.basic.ie

 

DignityUSA

Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director,

617-669-7810 www.DignityUSA.org

 

Call To Action, USA

Jim FitzGerald, Executive Director

773.404.0004 www.cta-usa.org

 

Catholics for Choice- Canada

Rosemary Ganley, Coordinator 

www.catholicsforchoice.ca 

 

Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, USA

Paula Ruddy, Bernie Rodel, Michael Bayly, Co-chairs

(612) 379-1043  www.cccrmn.org

 

Catholic Network for Women’s Equality, Canada

Paula MacQuarrie, Coordinator

www.cnwe.org

 

CORPUS, USA

Contact: William Manseau

www.corpus.org

 

Corriente Somos Iglesia, Spain

Raquel Mallavibarrena, Coordinator

+34 649332654 www.somosiglesia.net

 

Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Mexico

Maria Consuelo Mejia, Director

+5255 5658 1163 www,catolicasmexico.org

 

Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Spain

Mar Grandal, President
352 88946

 

8th Day Center for Justice – Women’s Group, USA

www.8thdaycenter.org

 

Femmes et Hommes en Eglise/Genre en Christianisme, France  

Danielle Penuel-Monneron, President

(0)2 33 90 78 10 www.fhe.assoc.fr

 

Institute for Feminism and Religion, Ireland.

Mary Condren, Th.D., Director

Tel: 001-353-1-4624504 www.instituteforfeminismandreligion.org

 

Interreligious Convention of European Women Theologians
Lee Wax, Coordinator

0044-208 884 0476 www.iketh.eu

 

Kerk Hardop, Netherlands
Marleen Wijdeveld, President

Isaac Wüst, Editor-in-Chief

0031-20-441.3339  www.rk-kerkplein.org

 

National Coalition of American Nuns, USA

Contact: Donna Quinn

www.ncan.us

 

Noi Siamo Chiesa (Italian Section of IMWAC), Italy

Contact: Vittorio Bellavite

vi.bel@IOL.IT

 

Nous sommes Aussi l’Eglise, France
Lucienne Gouguenhem, Vice-President
33 1 45 88 04 92 www.nsae.fr

 

Pax Christi Maine, USA

Bill Slavick, Coordinator

207-773-6562 paxchristimaine.org


RAPPORT, USA

Conatct: Gloria Ulterino

 

Roman Catholic Faith Community Council of the Federation of Christian

William J. Manseau, Evelyn Hunt, and Thomas Quinn, Co-Chairs

 603-886-7158  www.federationofchristianministries.org

 

Roman Catholic Women Priests, Europe-West.
I. Riedl, Coordinator  

tel. 0049-089 845 830 romancatholicwomenpriests.org

 

Roman Catholic Womenpriests-USA, Inc

Contact: Alice Iaquinta

414-791-9952 aliceiaquinta@hotmail.com

 

Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), USA

Mary E. Hunt and Diann L. Neu, Co-directors

Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual

301 589-2509 www.hers.com/water

 

Women’s Ordination Conference, USA

Erin Saiz Hanna, Executive Director

202-675-1006  www.womensordination.org

 

WomenPriests.Org, International

Therese Koturbash, Coordinator

+44 (0)1923 779 446

 

 

An online petition has been started so that other groups or individuals may register their support of this statement. http://www.womensordination.org/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&chronoformname=delicta_gravioria