Priorities
A priest named Roy Bourgeois publicly supports the ordination of women, and participated in the ordination of his friend Janice Sevre-Duszynska, for which the Vatican promptly excommunicated him. Then he went to a film festival that showed a movie on the subject, so the Maryknolls are kicking him out and plan to ask the Vatican to laicize him, i.e. take away his priesthood forever.
This swift and unequivocal action has never been the response of these same church leaders to the rape, sodomizing, sexual torture and torment of children — from infancy through adolescence — by thousands of male Catholic clergy worldwide.
It’s always interesting to see what the Vatican considers important and what it doesn’t.
So this shows yet again that the position of this church is that equality for women is a crime, of greater evil than the rape of children by grown men in the service of that same church.
But when we point this out, it is a sign that atheists are shrill and strident.
Let’s all sit with our hands primly folded, lips sealed, and wait for the three blind mice (Berlinerblau, Hoffman, Ruse) to explain to us that none of us has read deeply enough into theology or delved far enough into the history of atheism to truly understand the position of the Church in these matters. Anyone expect to hear from them soon?
It doesn’t make sense to me why ANY women are Catholics, or more generally, why any women see the bible as ultimate wisdom. My Mom was graduate educated, worked full time, and ran our house…. and raised us as Christians. When I first came across the “women keep your mouths shut” passages in the bible and started paying enough attention at weddings to hear the “submit to your husband as he submits to Christ line,” I knew that my Mom would never go for that crap. I don’t know why she bothered to have any affiliation with it. (She doesn’t go to church anymore, I am proud to say, but my sister does)
As an aside, doesn’t the fired priest’s name (Roy Bourgeois) mean “Bourgeois King,” in French? I know, I know, he’s the good guy in this story. But still, that name.
While the reason for his excommunication is ludicrous, Roy Bourgeois will soon be out of the church and that is a good thing. We must stop being surprised that an institution built on such a fundamental lie will act in the good and best interests of its members and leaders. Pointing out the hypocrisy is right on, for sure. But let’s not hold up the priests who would otherwise continue to recruit people into its membership or leadership. We do not need more good people changing the church for the better, we need good people to see the institution itself as poison and to flee as quickly as possible. If this case — among so many — convinces others to forsake the church, so be it.
This is the continuation of the old policies
A year ago Vatican called ordination of women to be a ‘grave crime’, equal to child molestation http://huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/vatican-ordination-of-wom_n_647296.html
Maybe because women would not be able to keep their dirty secrets.
Religious mafia.
If you want to remain a Catholic, you have to check your conscience at the door. Along with the rest of your brain.
@ Daveau
Looking back at an agnostic me who still so desperately wanted to believe and who propped up the Catholic Church as an example of what every religion should be, I kinda wish someone had punched me in the back of the head.
This really is sick. It only goes to show how quickly the church can move when it wants to, and how ready it is to drive the unwanted out of the church. And for what? For showing respect for women’s equality! Let priests rape and abuse children, and all is quickly forgiven, so long as they don’t soil the priesthood by admitting women to it. But let them rape children and then celebrate mass, and a little rap on the wrist, a few days at a retreat centre will do the trick — if the first ten or twenty warnings, and a shift to a new parish, didn’t work. And after all, children are so precocious nowadays. They and the secularised world around just drive priests to commit acts of “indecency”. And besides, people have given up sacramental confession and do not attend mass faithfully as they used to do. It’s all of a piece. And, anyway, it’s really all just a game and the children themselves don’t seem to mind, even seem to submit willingly to the sexual need of priests. But women in the priesthood. No way José!
And yet the Catholic Church claims that they “respect” women and that secularism with its contraception and divorce undermines women.
To prove this point they offer such evidence as:
women priests = intolerable evil
Rape of minors = ummm, well, it’s complicated. Look over there! Secularists!
Tammi – I couldn’t agree more. I don’t want insiders to make the Catholic church slightly less evil, I want them to abandon the nasty thing. The same goes for the Mormon church, Islam, the Southern Baptists, etc.
Nevertheless I still think it’s worth pointing out how warped their priorities are.
So when I read about this over-reaction… I’m a little confused… Because I thought only a Bishop or higher could ordain a Catholic priest. And then, only after the priest-candidate finished all the ordination requirements.
I don’t see anything mentioned about a Bishop being involved so, besides it being a bit of a comedy, nothing happened insofar as her becoming a Catholic priest. And yet, here we are with this gross over-reaction to something that, frankly, is about as silly as my crowning myself Duke of Argyll…
(Para 1577 of CCC) The Catholic Church would never ever consider itself the Catholic Church anymore if it were to ordain women. 2,000 years of male dominance would go down the Liffey. Where would it be then? Drowned out of existence! Kapput! Its very foundations would have altogether disappeared. No more power. Priest paedophiles and child rapists are inconsequential in comparison and seen as only a small threat to the church. The church can handle them, but not the former.
Oops! Should have read ‘kaputt’.
I note that Roy Bourgeois only obviously participated in the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska, and is guilty by association in the eyes of the church. Reminds me of the abortion case where the nun was also excommunicated. It’s ironic too that the church only recently made a saint out of one such nun that it also excommunicated.
There will never be women priests while this present pope exists. There are also changes to the missal and there are rumours abounding that sexist language therein is prevalent. Nothing will change. God Hates Women?