Maryknoll priest Fr. Roy Bourgeois faces excommunication, according to the CDF. NCR has the story, based on a letter Bourgeois sent to the Vatican.
According to Bourgeois' letter, which is dated Nov. 7, the congregation has given the priest 30 days to recant his "belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church, or (he) will be excommunicated." The letter indicates that Bourgeois received notification from the congregation Oct. 21.Bourgeois, a priest for 36 years, attended the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska in Lexingon, Ky., Aug. 9 and preached a homily.
If Bourgeois is excommunicated at the end of 30 days, that would come just before the mass rally and protest against the U.S. Army's School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga., that Bourgeois has organized for 19 years. In recent years, more than 15,000 people, many of them Catholic university students, have joined the three daylong rally and demonstration.
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My comment is more a request for accuracy in the reporting than an opinion on the good Father's stance. The Church is not excommunicating Roy, Roy excommunicates himself. He is free to do as he pleases but there are consequences to his actions. I just think it's important to "define the terms" before the usual rant on this tired topic begins.
Thank you for the opportunity to share. Pmc
Saying the RB is excommunicating himself is like saying that pregnancy is a self-inflicted injury
I admire the good Father for standing up to Benny and the Boys. He is pregressive enough to realize that women are equal and should be in the RCC also, thus ordaining the women. Bourgeois knew what he was doing, and what would happen. It seems a shame that after 36 years of loyal service to the RCC, he gets booted for this. You'd think the RCC had an abundance of priests. Since the RCC treats women like 2nd class citizens and won't allow priests to marry, as well as other archaic ideas, not many men would be drawn to joining the priesthood or women a convent. Thinking for ones self isn't encouraged by the RCC.
Peter Mc
The ability of people to rationalize always amazes me.
"The church is not excommunicating ..."
Of course they are. They just dont have the courage to openly do it themselves. They are hiding behind superfluous verbosity. By implementing the self-excommunicating rule, they think they can avoid responsibility for their actions in the event their actions become embarrassing.
Lets take a look at the real issue here. If we look back at the recent excommunications even the women priest excommunications, they all have one common thread: the individuals could no longer in good conscience continue following the party line of the Magisterial Authorities. That is the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through them.
The Vatican is using its power and authority in an attempt to silence the voice of the Holy Spirit in order to protect their personal authority and posh lifestyle.
Interesting thing about this is that it is the same thing the scribes and pharisees did to Jesus. I am amazed at the growing number of similarities between the scribes and pharisees and the current Magisterial Authorities. Even more amazing is that those who are supposedly educated and versed in the scriptures cannot (or refuse to) see the similarities. Is this just rationalization at its extreme, or is it deliberate deception so they can continue to live in their posh lifestyle?
It is common knowledge that the Vatican arguments against ordaining women as priests are at best weak, at worst, flagrant deceptions. The growing number of clergy who are speaking out would suggest the latter.
Fr. Bourgeois is acting with integrity and conscience, an admirable quality that is pathetically absent from the majority of the Magisterial Authorities. Fr. Bourgeois is being excommunicated because he is being the voice of the Holy Spirit.
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