Rev. Roy Bourgeois, Catholic Priest, Faces Expulsion For Supporting Women's Ordination

By David Gibson
c. 2011 Religion News Service

(RNS) A Roman Catholic priest who has campaigned for the ordination of women has been told he will be expelled from his religious order if he does not publicly recant.

The Rev. Roy Bourgeois was issued a "second canonical warning" on July 27, and told that he would be dismissed from the Maryknoll order within 15 days if he continues to advocate for women priests and does not recant.

The warning letter from Maryknoll Superior General Edward Dougherty was obtained by the National Catholic Reporter and said that Bourgeois has "remained unmoved" despite being asked "to consider the effects of your actions on the Society and the Church."

According to NCR, Dougherty describes the dismissal as "based on your defiant stance as a Catholic priest who publicly rejects the Magisterium of the Church on the matter of priestly ordination."

Bourgeois said he would not retract his statements, however.

"What you are asking me to do in your letter is not possible without betraying my conscience," Bourgeois wrote in a response to Dougherty on Monday (Aug. 8). "In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe that God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I cannot do, therefore I will not recant."

Bourgeois has vowed to appeal to the Vatican, though he is not likely to get a sympathetic hearing. After Bourgeois participated in a service in 2008 in which a woman was ordained, the Vatican sent him a letter saying he had 30 days to recant or face automatic excommunication.

In March, after efforts to broker a resolution failed, leaders of his order said that they would give him one more chance to change his position and then they would send a request to Rome for his dismissal not only from the society but from the priesthood as well. The July 27 letter represented the final notice.

Comments

[Kathi Ryan]

02:54 PM on 09/01/2011

When I think about what the Catholic Church professes (being built upon Peter), I am amazed at the Church's ability to rationalize the New Testament. (Galatians 3:28 specifically). Perhaps "The Church" is not one Body? I guess I anticipate a church that states they are this old to be more effective as living examples of the Body of Christ, given they have more time than most Christian faiths.

[Kristen Kramer]

01:15 PM on 08/19/2011

I support this man in his attempts to bring about a sensible change within the Church. Maybe if enough of us who agree with him were to speak up, we could affect change.

[bryanzth]

04:15 PM on 08/16/2011

Come to the Episcopalian Church, Fr. Roy. We are human.

BZ.

[Weirdo]

06:10 PM on 08/15/2011

Religion is not the source of morality. Period.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:49 PM on 08/15/2011

I'm sure I'm the one millionith person to point out this irony. But doesn't it amaze you that priests who rape children rarely get booted from the Church, but those who advocate for gay rights or women's rights are shown the door quickly?

[bryanzth]

04:23 PM on 08/16/2011

Natch. It's orders from the top. Protect the organization, but ski rooo the people. Same thing with those who advocate for the poor. Oscar Romero was basically cut loose from the RCC by JP2 and then the rightists killed him at the altar. Read about Oscar Romero by Jon Sobrino. See the movie, Romero.

Essentially Leo XIII, John XXIII, John Paul I were visionaries that the RCC hierarchy realized were dangerous. Actually, the current pope was the head of the body that was once called the Holy Inquisition, which boiled university students alive for thinking for themselves.

Also, see Secret Files of the Inquisition, a PBS doco available through Amazon. It will clear your mind about any loyaty to the RCC.

BZ.

[SoutheastBeast]

04:59 PM on 08/16/2011

The Salesians did the same thing to Jean Betrand Aristide.

[Boots16117]

12:07 PM on 08/15/2011

Funny, the Catholic hierarchy sure works fast when a priest advocates women's ordination. On the other hand, if a priest molests children, that takes a lot more time.

[Weirdo]

06:10 PM on 08/15/2011

It's all about power and control.

[Catothemuchyounger]

10:39 PM on 08/14/2011

This is as it should be. Rev. Bourgeois believes that, as a matter of conscience, he must support the ordination of women. The Church says that goes against its understanding of the divine plan. There is obviously a divide here that cannot be papered over. I fail to see why his being expelled should be remotely controversial. If a church is going to have a theology and rules and regulations, it is going to find itself in conflict with good people who disagree with the official position of the church. There is nothing tragic, or reprehensible, or even unusual, about this. You are never going to have everyone agree with the rules.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:53 PM on 08/15/2011

If this were how disagreements within the Church were always solved, I would agree. But all manner of priests support conservative issues that are not in fitting with Church doctrine (capital punishment for example) and the heirarchy doesn't blink an eye. And I'm going to guess that raping children doesn't exactly conform to church doctrine. But few of the collared rapists were defrocked. It's the fact that these expulsions are undertaken selectively and always against those who harbor liberal points of view that angers many people.

[Catothemuchyounger]

08:25 PM on 08/15/2011

But the church has supported capital punishment in the past, and its doctrine on that issue is far more nuanced than liberal Catholics like to admit. But in any event, I am not aware of any priests who are outspoken in challenging the church's position on the issue.

Your reference to collared rapists is totally off base. There is no theological controversy over child rape or molestation. I know of no priest who has been running around claiming that it was moral and proper and in the true tradition of the Church to rape children. Everyone has agreed that child molestation was bad.

This priest has not been defrocked because what he did is particularly blameworthy. He is being defrocked for publicly repudiating Church doctrine. He could recant and stay in orders. It is his maintaining a position at odds with Church doctrine that is getting him defrocked. And rightly so.

[iLdoRight]

09:33 PM on 08/13/2011

I wonder how many "priests" would be expelled from their organizations if they started trying to promote "true" Christianity according to all the beliefs and rules as set out in the Holy Scriptures. If one is going to do something to get kicked out it may as well be for the best thing they can do. Do guys.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:53 PM on 08/15/2011

God forbid they actually start teaching the lessons of Jesus Christ. They'd all be expelled.

[Abdul-Halim Vazquez]

08:27 PM on 08/13/2011

Is there a text somewhere with the "official" Catholic argument for why only men can be priests? The argument I've heard most often is "Jesus only chose males as disciples" which seems problematic because:

a) There were various women mentioned in the Bible with disciple-like roles (Mary MAgdalene, MAry and Martha the sisters of LAzarus, Mary the mother of Jesus and others).

b) The gender of the disciples seems incedental but one could make a stronger Biblical argument that being Jewish is special and "Jesus only chose Jews as his disciples". (There were originally 12 because of the 12 tribes for example.) So how can there be Gentile priests today?

[santiago sherwood]

03:56 PM on 08/13/2011

How can an organization promote democracy but stifle open debate within it's self. This contradiction does weaken it's influence.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:54 PM on 08/15/2011

The Catholic Church doesn't promote democracy. It promotes Catholicism.

[Michele Somerville]

02:23 PM on 08/13/2011

For more on this, read: "Silence is Consent..." on http://tinyurl.com/34nz4zn

& "A Frock Does Not a Priest Make..." on
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-somerville/the-frock-does-not-make-t_b_909694.html

[yoyo1900]

01:56 PM on 08/13/2011

The Catholic Church is run by misogynists and bigots. I wonder if they have to take vows to hate women and be sexist.

[Moose Luck 99]

12:50 AM on 08/13/2011

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[MissRoseNylund]

02:58 AM on 08/13/2011

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42268

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[Rosie Green]

10:02 PM on 08/12/2011

Look at it this way Catholic Church...if More women were ordained as Priests there would be fewer child molestations. It would be extremely rare.What is wrong with the Catholics and all religions is men are ruling, not God.

[yoyo1900]

01:58 PM on 08/13/2011

Many of the laws in any religion are man made and yet we act as though they came from God himself or herself.

[Bill J4321]

07:59 PM on 08/12/2011

Clearly, the leaders of catholic church think girls are yucky.

Ask any alter girl.

[Kristen Kramer]

01:13 PM on 08/19/2011

My daughter prefers the term "Altar Server" when she's in the Sanctuary.