Saturday 20 July 2013

WOMNEN HAVE GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO PRIESTHOOD

WOMEN HAVE GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO PRIESTHOOD

WOMEN'S RIGHT TO BE ORDAINED AS DEACONS, PRIESTS AND BISHOPS IS NOT A FEMINIST ISSUE - IT IS A SCRIPTURAL AND SACRAMENTAL ISSUE

MOTHER FRANCES MEIGH AND BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY
I ORDAINED MY FIRST AND ONLY WOMAN PRIEST - MOTHER FRANCES MEIGH - ON THE 14TH SEPTEMBER 1998. 

MOTHER FRANCIS HAD BEEN A WIFE AND A MOTHER IN ENGLAND AND A MISSIONARY ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA, IN INDIA, BEFORE BECOMING A PRIEST.

AFTER INDIA SHE FELT GOD CALLING HER TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND SHE JOINED THE SISTERS OF SION.

AT SION SHE FELT GOD CALLING HER TO ANOTHER STEP IN HER SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AND SHE BECAME A HERMIT AT WHITBY, ENGLAND, UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MIDDLESBOROUGH. DURING HER TIME IN THE HERMITAGE SHE FELT GOD CALLING HER TO THE PRIEST - TO CELEBRATE MASS DAILY FOR THE SUFFERING WORLD.

THE HOLY SPIRIT BROUGHT HER AND I TOGETHER AND SHE BECAME A PRIEST ON THE FEAST OF THE EXHALTATION OF THE CROSS - SEPTEMBER 14TH 1998. WHILE IN RELIGIOUS LIFE SHE HAD BEEN CALLED SISTER FRANCIS OF THE CROSS.

SHE WAS ORDAINED AT SAINT ANDREW'S CHURCH, OMEATH, CO. LOUTH. IRELAND.

SINCE THEN SHE HAS LED THE LIFE OF A HERMIT PRIEST - CELEBRATING MASS EACH DAY IN HER CHAPEL OF THE SUFFERING WORLD, FORKHILL, CO ARMAGH. N. IRELAND. 

SHE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE LONDON ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART AND IS A PAINTER AND ICONOGRAPHER. 

ONE OF HER MODERN ICONS IS ENTITLED: "THE AIDS PIETA"

ANOTHER ICON WHICH SHE PAINTED FOR PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON IS: "CHRIST IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR".

FRANCIS BEING ORDAINED - THE CATHOLIC HERALD
SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN IS A FEMINIST ISSUE.

ITS NOT - ITS A SCRIPTURAL AND SPIRITUAL ISSUE.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SAYS THAT ONLY MEN CAN BE ORDAINED. THIS BASICALLY MEANS THAT TO BE A PRIEST YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PENIS

- EVEN THOUGHT PRIESTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CELIBATE AND NOT USE THEIR PENISES.

CHRIST INSTITUTED THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS - BAPTISM; PENANCE; EUCHARIST; CONFIRMATION; MATRIMONY; HOLY ORDERS AND THE SACRAMENT OF THE SICK.

THESE SEVEN SACRAMENTS ARE FOR ALL CHRISTIAN MEN AND WOMEN REGARDLESS OF THEIR GENDER.

WHEN YOU ARE ORDAINED THE GRACE OF ORDINATION IS BASICALLY CONFERRED ON THE SOUL.

SOULS ARE NEITHER MALE OR FEMALE.

THE REAL REASON THAT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WILL NOT ORDAIN WOMEN IS THAT THE CHURCH IS PATRIARCHAL AND HIERARCHY BOUND.

THE CENTRAL SACRAMENT IS THE EUCHARIST. IN THE EUCHARIST CHRIST GIVES HIS BODY AND BLOOD TO US THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF THE PRIEST.

IT WAS A WOMAN - MARY - WHO FIRST GAVE THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST TO THE WORLD - PHYSICALLY.

IF A WOMAN CAN GIVE THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST TO THE WORLD PHYSICALLY - THEN SHE CAN CERTAINLY DO IT SACRAMENTALlY.

I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE CATHOLIC BISHOPS WHO GOES AROUND ORDAINING ANYTHING THAT MOVES.

I AM VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHO I ORDAIN TO THE PRIESTHOOD.

I HAVE NEVER YET ORDAINED ANYONE TO THE EPISCOPATE.

BUT I AM VERY PROUD AND HAPPY TO HAVE ORDAINED MOTHER FRANCES. SHE IS A BETTER PRIEST THAN MOST


Bishop Pat Buckley 21.7.2013.



27 comments:

  1. Bishop Pat,

    I am a retired Irish parish priest who is still in parish ministry. I regularly read your blog and used to read your Sunday column in the News of the World.

    I completely agree with you on the ordination of women. If we priests had a vote on that topic I would vote for women's ordination in the morning. I know many other priests who feel the same.

    Unlike you we are afraid to speak out. The bishops would come down on us like a ton of bricks. In that respect I have to admit I am a coward.

    I greatly admire you for your honesty and integrity over the years. To me you are more a bishop that a lot of bishops I knew and served under.

    May God give you the grace of perseverance.

    Your Brother in the Faith and Priesthood.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mr Brother,

    Thank you for your kind comments. I know that there are so many priests like you out there who would support things like optional celibacy and the ordination of women.

    It means a great deal to me when a man of you generation has such an open mind.

    I don't think you are a coward. We all have our place in the orchestra :-)

    And your comment gives me strength.

    May God reward you for your service and your wisdom

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am an Irish religious sister and I have had a 25 year relationship with an Irish religious order priest. Apart from having children we are man and wife. Both our Orders know of our relationship and respect us.

    I have always felt the call to priesthood. My partner and I con-celebrate Mass together.

    I have celebrated Mass for groups of religious sisters. No one can tell me that Jesus is less present when I celebrate the Eucharist than when a male celebrates it.

    Sadly, Bishop Pat, we are the "underground" church.

    You are fortunate to be able to be so open

    Abelard and Heloise :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abelard and Heloise,

      This was an unexpected comment - in the very good sense.

      Obviously there is a lot more happening in the Church that many realise.

      I understand why you are "underground". But I wish more people were able to stand up and shout things from the rooftops.

      I know there is a high price to be paid for such openness.

      I hope the Holy Spirit will enable more and more to be open in the future.

      In the meantime I wish you both every happiness and blessing.

      Thank you for the comment

      Pat

      Delete
    2. Good on Ya! Its a shame you feel the need to be underground in holy ireland and that the blood our ancesters shed would appear to be shed in vain due to the narrowmindedness and superstitionalism of their sons & daughters. If as you say an order is "behind you" stand up and SHOUT. I did & it was the best thing I ever did. It was not/is all smooth sailing. I could never have planned my journey in advance but I would not change a minute of it. There journey so far is rounding me as a person & I am at peace within myself. I would be honoured to hear from you & Bishop Pat has my email should you wish to contact me-"Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the full" The future is now!

      Delete
    3. What a story! God Bless you both as you minister and bring CHRIST to the people of GOD.

      Delete
  4. This Abelard and Heloise above are a disgrace to the Catholic faith and to their vocations.

    They are both committing the sin of adultery if they are having sex - which I presume they are.

    They are also breaking their solemn vows of celibacy and chastity.

    In performing a Mock Mass the nun is guilty of a sacrilege.

    She might as well be eating a McDonalds.

    Is it any wonder the churches are becoming empty with nuns and priests like this around?

    Their superiors, instead of tolerating them, should be reporting them to the Vatican to be expelled from religious life.

    I am an ordinary wife and mother and I am scandalised.

    Aine in Dublin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ITS ALL DOWN To FEKN sex again. Sex sex sex...where would the world be without. PS mrs. Sex is not DURTY! Sex abusers are filth

      Delete
  5. Aine,

    I can understand that you are taken aback by Abelard and Heloise's comment and revelations.

    As they are not married they are not committing "adultery" as such. Certainly many would agree with you that they are breaking their vows of chastity.

    However I think at a deeper level does their situation not highlight the fact that the Church needs to deal openly and honestly with the issues of obligatory celibacy, women's ordination etc.

    When we have "bad laws" people lose respect structures and institutions.

    Maybe in another life - or church - Abelard and Heloise could be both ordained priests and married to each other ?

    Bishop Pat

    ReplyDelete
  6. Then let them join the Church of Ireland

    Aine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a load of sh**e! The Crurch RC or otherwise are not Gentlemen's or Ladies clubs. Put the denomination before Christ and Join the 21st Century Pharisees

      Delete
    2. Ordination of Women-Why not! In Heaven there is neither male nor female. Technicaly God is neither male nor female but Creator. To assign a gender to God would imply He is not infinate. The purpose of gender is to pro create. I never thought of it before but Homesexual orientation shows that there is more to man than a penis and more to woman than a womb! Ps While the RC Church is at it it needs to resolve the celibacy issue. As for the Church of Ireland, I would be happy to be a member of that community should it present itself. At the moment I am quite happy as a member of the Church of England Communion. Perhaps living in the North of Ireland highlights aspects of denominational allegience I have never fully experienced. Jesus did not come to be a Christian but to fulfill the Jewish law of the day.

      Delete
  7. Aine,

    They could do that.

    But maybe their "spiritual home" is the Roman Catholic Church ? Its hard to depart your spiritual home.

    Personally I would not want to join the Church of Ireland.

    Aine, why don't you and I pray for them for all our church's needs?

    Bishop Pat

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bishop Pat, I am from a rural Parish in the West of Ireland. I am a married man with a few children. Over the years we have had a few PP's and CC's, although only PP's currently. I do not see the problem with women priests, we have had them for years. I do not mean to be offensive to homosexual people, but the clergy we have had are nothing but big women and it is well known how they like things to settle.

    What i mean is that they are not men in a way. So why not ordain proper women, surly they have been doing it for years, they have sent us women priests for years at least. We the parishoers are respectful, we would love it if a women said are mass. It is about God and Jesus. Do it, make them priests becuae they have been priests for years to our parish in reality whilst thhe woman priest was to busy to be bothered to help the us.

    I am not gfreat for the writing but i love being catholic and i love to see women being equal and not being nasty to us in the parish.

    ReplyDelete
  9. God Bless the work of Bishop Pat and the Priest's of the Society. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I conducted some research and whilst I have unearthed the fact the Pat is a 'vaild' Bishop, he is indeed an illict (unlawful) one. As such the 'woman' you ordained is no more a Priest than if you were to follow the liturgical rite and lay hands on the kitchen table. The men you have ordained are 'valid' priest's but have NO lawful framework in which to minister. They have a duty to present themselves to their local 'lawful' Bishop ASAP.

    Why The Impossibility of Women's Ordination?

    In other words, it's not simply that the Catholic Church does not allow women to be ordained as a 'matter' of inequality! If a validly ordained Bishop were to perform the rite of the Sacrament of Holy Orders exactly, but the person supposedly being ordained were a woman rather than a man, the woman would no more be a priest at the end of the rite than she was before it began. The Bishop's action in attempting the ordination of a woman would be both illicit (against the laws and regulations of the Church) and invalid (ineffective, and hence null and void). The men in that 'Society' are valid but illicit. Go to Bishop Noel today if you can and become 'lawful' please.

    The movement for women's ordination in the Catholic Church, therefore, will never get anywhere. Other Christian denominations, to justify ordaining women, have had to change their understanding of the nature of the priesthood from one which conveys an indelible spiritual character on the man who is ordained to one in which the priesthood is treated as a mere function. But to abandon the 2,000-year-old understanding of the nature of the priesthood would be a doctrinal change. The Catholic Church could not do so and remain the Catholic Church.

    I would respectfully request Bishop Pat to show respect to his Valid Orders and be careful in using them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment. Thank you also that you present your arguments with rationality and charity.

      I would be interested in you providing me and the blog readers with the fruits of your research. Between 200 and 300 people from all over the world read this blog everyday.

      WOMEN'S ORDINATION:

      You say that I might have well as ordained the kitchen table. The difference between a table and Mother Frances is that she has a soul capable of receiving sacraments and grace and the poor kitchen table has no soul.

      When I studies theology I learned that ordination leaves an ontological mark on the soul that lasts for all eternity. Can I very respectfully ask you a few questions:

      1. What is the theological argument for the fact that a soul residing temporarily in a female body is incapable of receiving the grace of Holy Orders? I ask this question very sincerely.

      2.Mary, the Mother of Christ physically and literally gave the Body and Blood of Christ to the world. What is the theological argument for saying that if a woman can physically and literally give the world the Body and Blood of Christ - she cannot do so sacramentally?

      You give me excellent advice to respect my valid orders. I have always tried to do so. Of course I have made a couple of mistakes - but so do all bishops. We could say that the bishop who ordained Father Brendan Smyth made a mistake. But that was not the poor bishops fault. How was he to know the havoc that Brendan Smyth would cause.

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
  11. I apologise that I am unable to give a full response today, it is a busy one for me in my own place of ministry. I did not intend to compare a human being (Frances) in 'dignity', just in 'effect' to sacrament.

    The Church does not have the authority to ordain women. In his apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II declared "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women" (4).

    Some of the reasons cited include:

    1) The example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his apostles only from among men.
    2) The constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men.
    3) The Church’s living teaching authority has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God’s plan for his Church.

    The behaviour of a 'person' post-sacrament is not, in my view at least, a reason to put forward for the haulting or expending of that said sacrament. I have known many married people who have been in some way unfaithful to their marriage, they have picked themselves up, confessed and sought forgiveness - they then get back on the right road in the living out of the sacrament. I would never suggest changes to the nature of said sacrament in order to reflect those who fail to live up to the fullness of that sacrament. I would suggest 'confession' and grace that flows from it it.

    I would also suggest, respectfully, that you and your society seek reconciliation with your spiritual home to use your own words. It will be painful, not all people will like it, but then again doing the right thing often brings its own issues personally and otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your quick response. I hope you get the opportunity after your busy day today to elaborate further. This Blog welcomes rational, well informed and charitable comments - even those that are rationally critical.

      I fully accept that you did not intend any offence to any person.

      The fact that Pope John Paul 11 said that women cannot be ordained does not invalidate the theological argument on the topic.

      We must present water-tight scriptural, "Tradition" and theological arguments against the ordination of women. I am absolutely open to such arguments and if faced with those will admit that I have been in error.

      CHRIST CHOOSING ONLY MEN TO BE APOSTLES:

      It is clear from Scripture that "THE TWELVE" that Christ chose were men.

      However it is not clear from Scripture that THE TWELVE were the only "apostles".

      Nor is it clear that the "APOSTLES" were "BISHOPS" as the episcopate developed.

      In the early church the early Christian communities were very fluid and lacked organisation. As time passed a need for organisation arose as numbers increased and as the early Church had to take a stand against various heresies.

      In fact many good scholars, Catholic and others, argue that the early Christian communities took on the structure of the synagogue. Remember Jesus was a Jew and the early disciples were Jews who continued going to the temple and the synagogue as well as meeting in each others homes for the BREAKING OF THE BREAD.

      THE CONSTANT PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH:

      a. There is Scriptural evidence that there were women leaders in early Christian communities.

      b. There is reliable evidence of women being ordained at different times in Church history.

      CHURCH'S LIVING TEACHING AUTHORITY:

      The Church has the right to change its own living teaching authority - as it has done on the 1000 old teaching on only celibates in the priesthood.

      I accept your respectful suggestion on reconciliation. It is 5 years since I wrote to Bishop Noel Treanor for a meeting without any reply.

      A reconciliation requires the action of both sides.

      Warm wishes,

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
  12. Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene - an so I pray:

    Ever present God; open the hearts and minds of
    all people, and inspire us to use the unique gifts
    you have given us for loving service to each other.
    We pray especially now, for those women whose
    gifts are best suited to serve your Church as
    ordained priests. Empower them with courage as
    they answer your call and strengthen them for
    humble service, great compassion, and insightful
    wisdom. Support them through their ministries and
    enlighten the leadership of your Church to practice
    the equality that Jesus modeled to embrace all
    women and men whom you have gifted for
    sacramental service. Strengthen your Holy Spirit
    within those you have chosen for priestly ministry.
    May they answer your call and follow you with
    generous hearts. We ask this in the name of
    Jesus, who called Mary Magdalene and Phoebe –
    as well as Peter and Paul – to be ministers in the
    early Christian communities. Amen (RCWP, 2009)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. St Mary Magdalene is my favourite saint.

      I placed her image on my ordination card in 1976.

      I like to recall:

      1. That it was Mary of Magdala who "anointed" Christ before His death.

      2. It was Mary of Magdala who was the first witness of the resurrection and who brought the news of the resurrection to THE ELEVEN and Mary His Mother.

      Jesus obviously chose Mary of Magdala to play a very central role in His Church

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
  13. Mother Frances has been a personal blessing to me and my family.

    Years ago my sun was struck by cancer, three times.
    In my hour of desperation I reached out to (then) Father Pat Buckley.
    Father Buckley married Sharon and I in 1996 and we have remained friends ever since.
    I asked him to write a prayer to help me pray for the healing of my son.
    He did not only that but included Mother Frances, who has held both my son and I as well as my family in her prayers.
    I have felt enormous support from both servants of God.
    I am not a Catholic. Pat, Frances and I are fellow Christians.

    Wim , Canada

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wim,

      Thank you my friend. Thank God your son remains so well

      Pat

      Delete
  14. At school I was taught history as a series of objective facts. I first learned the facts through French eyes in Belgium. Then, at the age of nine, I went to an English boarding school. There I discovered that I was meant to see them quite differently. So I learned the dates of all the kings and queens of England. I also knew the great battles that were won: Crecy 1346, Poitiers 1356, Agincourt 1415, Trafalgar 1805, Waterloo 1815. These were all triumphs against those terrible Frenchmen.

    Very much later I discovered that for Russians, Chinese, Arabs, Zulus, and Polynesians, the English facts were of no significance at all. Even within a country facts have a different meaning for lords and serfs, generals and privates, mine owners and children working underground. Women perceive a war differently from their sons and husbands.

    In that sense the Old Testament gives us the facts of Jewish religious history as seen through patriarchal eyes. In the Gospels we see the facts as seen through the mind of the Son of God. And in the Epistles Paul describes the way he saw those facts as a result of his conversion.

    All these facts are given to us by God for our teaching, correction, and training (2 Timothy 3:16). I am unsure about the Ordination of Women, but we must challenge the way we have been taught to view the role of women in Church history.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Frances Meigh is my god mother and my aunt! My name is Paul Wright, I want everyone to know that I love my Aunt Frances! She was always very good to me when I was a little fella, she was a great artist, she made the best macaroni cheese ever! I know she found it hard to fit in with our "family". but as a god mother she has inspired me! Which I suppose is why my parents chose her to be my god mother! God bless you Auntie Frances!

    ReplyDelete
  16. My name is Paul Wright. Frances Meigh is my aunt and my godmother. I want her to know that I am very proud of her! I am proud that my aunt took a stand and became the 1st ordained woman priest! I live in Ireland, Wexford and I know that to do what she has done in this country took a lot of courage! I know she did not do this lightly! She did it through a fervent conviction that women should have an equal part to play in our religious upbringing! I want her to know that I am very proud of my Auntie Frances and that I am so glad that my parents chose her to be my God-Mother!

    ReplyDelete