There is much about the social teaching of the Church that rightly inspires radical political behavior against entrenched interests that oppress people, and while that is a large part of the true witness of the Church; some of that behavior merely shadows a fundamental dissent against the doctrines of the Church.
Which appears to be the case with this Maryknoll priest, whose involvement in the ordination of women priests is reported by Catholic News Service.
An excerpt.
"I see (my participation) connected in a real way in my work for justice in Latin America, speaking out against the war in Iraq and connected to the injustice in my church here at home," added Father Bourgeois, who is best known for his 19-year effort to close a U.S. Army school at Fort Benning, Ga., [School of Americas Watch] that trains soldiers from throughout Latin America.
"Who are we as men to say to Janice and these other women that we are called but not you?" asked the priest. "This is a big issue for me. I feel we are tampering with the sacred, that we are in a way overwriting God's call. Who are we to say that our call as men is valid, your call as women is not valid?
"I've come to the realization that women could be ordained in our Catholic Church," he said.
“He acknowledged that he has placed his 36-year ministry as a priest in jeopardy by participating in the ceremony. At the same time, he expressed hope that the council will continue to support him once his views are discussed.
"I don't want to leave (the order)," he said. "But I do believe in this issue enough that I cannot be silent."
“Father Bourgeois, 69, said that during the event he concelebrated the liturgy and delivered the homily. He also said he laid hands on Sevre-Duszynska, 58, during what traditionally would be the rite of ordination.”
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.