We support the voices of Catholic women!
Last month Edwina Gateley, a Call To Action member and founder of the lay Volunteer Missionary Movement, was prepared to give a retreat to nuns in Phoenix, Arizona about the feminine dimensions of God in Christian tradition. Bishop Olmsted threatened to tape her talks at the eight-day retreat in order to monitor what she said. She courageously refused to allow the bishop's censorship to intrude on the spiritual space created for the women's gathering. In retaliation, the bishop mandated that the Franciscan Renewal Center cancel the retreat and they did.
In the spirit of gospel justice, Call To Action/Arizona in coalition with the Arizona Center for Theological Studies will sponsor a public talk by Edwina Gateley in June to remind the bishop that he cannot silence women's voices in the church.
No woman should have her voice silenced.
For details about Edwina Gateley's public talk in Phoenix, contact CTA/AZ 480.970.4288. A copy of this petition will be sent to Edwina Gateley and Bishop Olmsted.
To sign the petiton, go here
When I read about outrages such as this I am reminded of a sister I knew years ago.
ReplyDeleteShe was an expert on liturgy, hired by the Archbishop to bring his priests up to speed. But when he held workshops for the priests, many openly refused to listen.
Her credentials were never an issue. Even the priests admitted she knew more than they did. They resented her simply because she was a woman. Shortly afterward she resigned.
Her successor in the job was a priest. I don't know if his credentials were as good as those of the sister, but being male, he got along fine.
Sadly, I can't see this sort of thing ending any time soon.
Bishop Olmsted appears to be a man with something to hide. Why else would he want to keep the good sisters in the dark. Heaven forbid that they should hear something other than the party line. They might get ideas and there is no telling what will happen if a woman gets ideas. The first thing you know, they will want the vote, then they'll want to drive and be doctors, and lawyers, and, don't even say it, "priests".
ReplyDeleteWe have a new conservative RC college starting up in Lander - like we need more of those. But a similar thing happened to a woman here.
ReplyDelete