The Sad End of the Priestly Ministry of Mr. Roy Bourgeois

11/21/2012

(Page 2 of 2)

also poorly written and failed to answer the clear teaching of the Church, choosing instead to engage in polemical advocacy.

So, by his own choice and action he incurred what is called under Canon Law a latae sententiae, or automatic, excommunication from the Church. The purpose of any excommunication is remedial. It is hoped that the one who incurs it will seriously consider their action, turn back to the Lord and seek full communion with His Church.

Mr. Bourgeois did no such thing.

On May 22, 1994, Blessed John Paul II released an apostolic letter, addressed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church entitled "On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone" (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis)
It is a short, succinct affirmation of the clear teaching of the Catholic Church which should be read by every Catholic - and any other Christian - who wants to understand the who, what, where and why of this entire question. There is no room for dissent, debate or disagreement on it.

The letter ends with these words:

"Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force."

"Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful."

The arguments against this clear and authoritative teaching sometimes come from people who do not understand that the priesthood is not a job and have succumbed to the "rights" mentality of the current age. Other times they come from people who have no understanding of the sacramental nature of the Church and the real meaning of the ministerial priesthood.

Both groups may include among them Catholics who, as in too many other areas of doctrine, have not been properly catechized. However, there are those who know the teaching and its authoritative nature but have willfully chosen to publicly dissent and lead others astray.

Sadly, that was the approach taken by Mr. Bourgeois.

The Superiors of the Maryknoll Religious community issued a Canonical Warning of his pending expulsion from the Religious Order. It contained these words: "Since the September 27, 2008 letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was received we have been in communication with you via letter, and at least two meetings where you were ordered to recant your public views on the ordination of women priests and clearly told not to participate in their meetings and public events."

"You were Excommunicated Latae Senteniae reserved to the Apostolic See because after a canonical warning by the Society in 2008 you failed to recant within the stated 30 days from contumacy and disregard for the Magisterium of the Church on the matter of women's ordination (of. 1347 CIC)."

"According to our documentation, you continued to speak publicly in favor of women's ordination in disobedience to the explicit instructions of your Superiors and recently participated (Feb. 12, 2011) in a panel of speakers following the showing of the film "Pink Smoke over the Vatican" at Barnard College in New York City."

"Sufficient time has now passed for you to consider the gravity of the matter. You are hereby asked one final time by the Superior General and his Council to publicly recant and accept the teaching of the Church on this serious matter concerning priestly ordination and the explicit teaching of the Church. If you fail to comply within fifteen (15) days of receipt of this first canonical warning, I will issue a second canonical warning."

"If you fail to respond to the second canonical warning, I will proceed with dismissal by submitting evidence of your contumacy as a priest who publicly rejects the teaching of the Holy Father (C. 1371), also a priest who acted illegitimately in "communic�tio in sacris"-such as participation in an invalid ordination ceremony of a woman (C. 1384). "Concelebrating" Mass with women analogous to simulation of the Eucharist (C. 1379), giving scandal to the Christian faithful in a serious mailer over a two-year period (C.1399) and Disobedience to the instructions and warnings of your legitimate Superiors and the Apostolic See (C. 601; Mk Const. 40). The dismissal will be submitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for confirmation with a request for laicization."

Sadly, he did not properly respond. He was dismissed from the Maryknolls for what the Superior General of the order called his "defiant stance". In a letter of dismissal the Superior wrote "Your numerous public statements and appearances in support of the women's priests movement continues to create in the minds of many faithful the view that your position is acceptable to our Church". Finally, the Superior noted that Fr Bourgeois had caused "grave scandal."

The priest then told the press, "They want two words: I recant...And they can't get that out of me. For me, the real scandal is the message we are sending to women: you're not equal, you cannot be priests, you're not worthy."

He hired a canon lawyer to defend him. The matter moved to the Vatican for his possible dismissal from priestly ministry. Now, the sad affair has come to an end. The Maryknoll Superiors showed him the respect and fraternal concern that all of those years of his participation and service merited.

These words, contained within the Press release, demonstrate the charity appropriate to this situation, "With this parting, the Maryknoll Society warmly thanks Roy Bourgeois for his service to mission and all members wish him well in his personal life. In the spirit of equity and charity, Maryknoll will assist Mr. Bourgeois with this transition."

We invite our readers to pray for Mr. Bourgeois.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Roy Bourgeois, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, School of the Americas, clerical state, congregation for the Clergy, priesthood, male priesthood, Maryknolls, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 34 Comments

Judy Claar
5 months ago
Emma, Again I say, Peace Be To You. Our Church needs visible unity. In order for that to be affective, it must be visible. "That is why the struggle for the visible unity of the disciples of Jesus Christ remains an urgent task for Christians of all times and places." -Pope Benedict XVI

Yes dear sister, you are most certainly entitled to speak your truth. If I have been perceived to have "a holier than thou" attitude, I sincerely ask forgiveness; for that was not my intent. I Know that the Church is a hospital for sinners. I am there all the time! Perhaps that is why the Church is slow on taking action against some. They wait and wait til they can wait no more, without a large body of the Church becoming affected and infected.
May the Sacred Hearts Of Jesus and Mary Pray For Us Always.
Emma
5 months ago
No Judy, it was not I who introduced the topic of pedophile priests, but Pam.. Follow the thread and you'll see that that is true. To get back to the topic at hand : it's funny how you mention church teaching seeing that Roy Bougeois did not follow church teaching, nor did he adhere to the constitution of the Jesuit Order. He was given ample opportunity to do so and instead chose to willfully disobey and in so doing led many astray. "I am full of hope seeing the Society at the service of our Lord, and of the Church, under the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth. May she keep going along this path " ....Pedro Arrupe, Father General SJ -1965-1983. BTW ... I also understand church teaching. It is this condescending "holier than thou " attitude by some in the church that turns many away, moreso than any other topic! We are or should be a hospital for sinners, not an exclusionary society of self appointed saints! And I have as much right to express my pov as you do. I will pray for you also.
judy claar
5 months ago
Emma...Peace Be To You. Let me assure you, that I was Not introducing a new topic which geared away from the article.

The Truth of the matter is: You brought up PP. And You, took us off the beaten path, with your supposed uncaring feeling, of what has, and is still is, a resounding issue within the Church. And you did so, with not the inkling of a thoughtful or humble opinion.
That my sister, is why I felt the need to respond.
My response was to reply to those who have suffered and are suffering, after what You so boldly brought up on this board. Pam was one of them.

May I offer a bit of advice that my Da taught me, and that I myself still fall short of everyday?
"Think Before You Speak. Respond. Do not re-act".

Lastly, Everything I have ever written on this board, has been in line with Church Teaching and Church Law. If it were the old days, I certainly could take offense at your accusations and demand a duel! I am being silly here...because for me to feel the need to defend myself, is indeed silly. Prayerful Blessings...
allain
5 months ago
it looks like that a certain judy has her or his bad experience with some of our priests and she/he is bitterly emphasizing them as pedophiles. well we are sorry that you were once a victim but never did the Holy see had condoned it but rather the issue or shall we say the scandal was taken with serious attention. if the response was made late as per human judgement let us consider that while we have the religious liberty we are still subjects of our democratic society therefore whether we are a clergy or not we are still entitled to due process. annual holy week retreats of clergies are conducted now in their respective dioceses, to serve as a constant reminder of their religious vows and sustaining their spiritual strengths. in every holy mass we are all requested always to pray for the pope, our bishops, priests and the religious (to include nuns). it is because while they are all living in supposed divinity they are all still humans made of earthly flesh, susceptible to temptations and their own weaknesses. we also condemn the acts (the sins) but we cannot condemn individuals (the sinners). let us forgive and yet as a community we must all be vigilant as well for our erring servants of the church. and while there are few bad eggs let us not throw the entire basket.
janusz
5 months ago
As a Polak I see this sytuation in my cantry as well, looks like from that time where was allowed more liberal “modernistic trend” in church we have to pay for that.Thats way I think more and more people are turning to the tradytional “Trident”mass or Latin.
Emma
5 months ago
As for the Crusades and Inquisition, anyone with a basic knowledge of world history knows that since mankind first walked the face of this earth, they have been warring with each other, enslaving each other and abusing each other. This is not the private domain of the Catholic Church. It continues to this day. I haven't heard of any Catholics practicing this recently, so why do we keep beating a dead horse? Oh wait! Could it be that we don't want to complain or draw attention to all the Christians now being tortured for their beliefs?
Emma
5 months ago
@Judy ...you're taking what I said out of context. Nowhere did I state that no harm had been done! so allow me to clarify : this article had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with child sexual abuse! Nothing. But, rather than stick to the topic at hand, those seeking to further unravel the Roman Catholic Church inevitably resort to it. This they do only to claim moral superiority and manipulate the conversation away from its original intent and place a guilt trip on the rest. One has nothing to do with the other.
judy claar
5 months ago
Emma, Indeed the two are not the same. But Both have done harm. And I venture to say, that as long as the Catholic Church let Pedophile Priest's for years have their way, how many? and to be transferred to other parishes so that they could inflict more Mental and Physical and Emotional damage to unsuspecting little lambs!.?... This, most certainly, has been more harmful to so many numerous Catholic families, that you can not even begin to count them. Because of PP, people still leave the Church today. We are still living in it's aftermath... so Huge was it. This will be a major scar upon the Church. Dare I say, almost as much as the Spanish Inquisition? The Spanish Inquisition was of course much worse in outward physical barbarism. Pedophile Priests however, attacked innocent altar boys, whose only intent was to be more holy and Godly. He followed that Trusting Holy Adult ...who betrayed him. I speak here Emma, for the wounded of PP. Who have been so injured, that they can not, find it in their heart to forgive. So damaged are they. And this includes the parents, extending out to relatives. And Yes, the PP hit this world Globally! I do not think the Inquisition did. Naturally, the sooner we stop mentioning this, the sooner it goes away. But in the ranks of Catholic society today, every time a PP is mentioned, that Past affected person or family lives it all over again.

Indeed, I agree with Pam. We have lost ? how many members in the Catholic Church due to PP. And, we are still losing them. This priest, to me, was a Radical priest who was left to his Ism much to long, and should have been removed before he Even got to this stage. He does not compare. Just as PP does not compare with the Spanish Inquisition.
Blessings...May we all pray for those harmed by PP. Especially those who can not find it in their heart to forgive their predator, or even God Himself. Let the predator, and the victim, find it in their heart to forgive each other and themselves. And for those who have lost their Faith, to find it once again. In the Loving Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Amen.
catholic14
5 months ago
Good to be in a Catholic faith, in a true faith. Since Peter the apostle received the earthly authority from the Christ, we are constantly under attack.

- And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (Mt. 16:18)

If someone not able to accept the Vatican teaching that person not belongs anymore to the Catholic Church. Have plenty of other man made religion where you able to satisfy yourself, where man and female can be priest or bishop. You can be married if you wish, or just live your sodomy lifestyle. Nobody hold you back, free to go if you are not anymore Catholic.
We are Catholics and sorry for you.
Emma
5 months ago
xyz...if anyone is sending the message to women that they are "not good enough ", it is being sent by those promoters of ordination for women! Do you mean to tell me that just because I cannot be a priest I'm of less value in the eyes of God? Sounds weird, but I entered the Catholic Church from the Assembly of Wicca, ultimate of feminine practices. Yet even their women clergy call themselves priestesses, not priests! I never heard a Wiccan Priestess complain because they couldn't be a priest! Bizarre how these Catholic Sisters whine over the one thing that they can't have, like children denied candy before dinner. Maryknoll is always recruiting for work in foreign missions. Oh, but wait, they don't want to "serve ". They want the title. By their aggressive nature they give proof of the lack of humility demanded of the priesthood. And, for the record, I have never been treated as a lesser person by anyone in the church, nor do I think of myself as one!

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