We Are Church!

US Catholic has collected some messages for Pope Benedict from women "leaders" in the American Church.

Yeah, they're leaders alright . . . rebel leaders.  If these women are representative of women Catholics in America then my mom and her friends must be anomalies.

Sr. Teresa Kane, Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Dolores Curran, Elizabeth Shussler-Fiorenza . . . it's a veritable who's who of the "I used to be someone important" society.  They should form a club, called something like the "Gray Haired Crone Association" or something . . . of course, that might be insulting to other Crones, and we don't want to be insulting . . .

Of course, there are others who are offer a feminine voice on things . . . but be forwarned:  These women aren't nearly as old or gray or angry!  Check out Women of the Third Millenium

Comments

[numquamsatis]

Oh, is that a picture of Medussa, the monster with snake-hair, whose gaze will petrify you? I thought Jason has her beheaded...
That must be "nothingness" this time, I guess?

[keir]

Well, I actually read as much of that link as I had time for...

...amongst the bad exegesis and media buzzwords etc I would say there are some very good and Catholic sentiments.

I realise that in the US things are a bit different and that every single issue gets "politicized" but I would say that it's possible to listen to what we might consider "failed" Catholics and learn something.

God knows that must be a skill for a Pope to have!

peace

k

[Therese Z]

Buried in among the good Catholic sentiments were the standard whines: let women be priests! let priests be married! let people act out sexually any way they want! Change the rules because we say so!

I'm ackin' like a cat with a big furball.

I'm dieting, so I thank you for ruining my appetite for a few hours with this link.

[Jessica]

I knew it was bad when the first comment was from "sister" Joan Chittister. Man, I want to puke now.

[a]

Some harsh comments! I'm not sure caricaturing people who have issue with the Church as cartoon monsters gets us anywhere fast. These are real people with real concerns and it IS important to *listen* to these concerns. Perhaps some of their objections seem tired and obvious - but is that simply because the media has harped on about it for so long?

Give these women the opportunity to ask their questions and make their concerns known. You don't have to agree with them, but you do have to respect them and you do have to listen.

[Stephen]

These women don't want to be listened to . . . they have been talking for the last 30 years almost ad absurdum . . . they want everyone to conform to their own private and pretty impoverished ideas of the Church . . . one that, quite frankly, looks nothing like Christ's.

[Nathan]

I don't necessarily disagree with the characterization of some of these women, but I think it would be better if we prayed for them rather than insulted them. Many of them are nuns, who obviously committed themselves to a powerful relationship with Christ, and we should be praying for them that they can live this relationship and appreciate it more fully.

[Stephen]

I used to think this way . . . then I met Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J.