From our friends at FutureChurch...

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Novena to the Holy Spirit for an Inclusive Priesthood for the Church's Year for the Priest to be prayed on the first Friday of the month- January 1, New Year's Day

Dear Friends:

As you may know, the Pope has named this year the Year for Priests. When you look at your diocesan website, the Vatican website, the USSCB (United States Catholic Conference of Bishops) website and perhaps even your parish website, you become aware of the great amount of effort being put forth to support our priests and foster vocations.

We at FutureChurch want to support our priests as well, but also support all those called to priesthood but cannot serve because of current church teaching. By accessing our great tradition of intercessory prayer, we have written a Novena to the Holy Spirit for an Inclusive Priesthood.

We ask you to pray this novena on the first Friday of every month from October 2nd until the end of the Vatican Year for Priests in June, 2010.

Novena to the Holy Spirit for an Inclusive Priesthood to be prayed on the first Friday of every month during the Church's Year for Priests

Holy Spirit, I believe in your work among us and within us. I ask for your intercession in this month of January, the first month of our new year. eager anticipation of your coming. May this new year bring new beginnings for our church and the priesthood.

I come to you committed to the full expression of the gospel through the work of the church. I am saddened by the lack of priests to provide the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, especially in the developing world. I am one of many who hunger for an inclusive priesthood that allows all who are so called to discern ministry to the People of God as a deacon or a priest.

I ask your grace and intercession:

O Holy Spirit, may the fire of your love renew priests all over the world in love and service to the People of God.

O Holy Spirit, let our Church celebrate the gift of celibacy as a powerful grace and yet recognize that it is not given to all called to the ministerial priesthood. We pray for the day that both celibate and married priests serve you through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

O Holy Spirit, let our Church celebrate the powerful expression of love and commitment that is the gift of marriage, a gift that can only enhance the ministerial priesthood for those so called.

O Holy Spirit, continue gifting Catholic women with love, service, and trust that their faithful perseverance will one day lead to structures that mirror their full baptismal equality in the Catholic Church.

O Holy Spirit, open the hearts and ears of our bishops and our Pope to support and encourage the diaconal and presbyteral calls of both married and celibate Catholics.

O Holy Spirit, I bring to you my love and concern for the worldwide Church and ask for your guidance as we move ever closer to the reign of God where all have a place at the table of God.

Amen.

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In addition to praying the novena we ask you to send electronic or paper postcards postcard to Cardinal Hummes at the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome to open discussion of optional celibacy at the highest levels of the Church (you can also cc your local bishop at the same time if you wish).

Nearly 2,000 paper and electronic postcards have already been ordered and/or sent to Cardinal Hummes. Cardinal Hummes himself spoke in favor of discussing celibacy rules before he left Brazil. Also, it is likely that his office is already familiar with parishes closing because of the priest shortage since the burgeoning number of appeals (50 from the US alone, so far) from devastated parishioners land on his desk.

Over thirty people have ordered education/advocacy resources to begin educational programs and prayer experiences, and an additional 1,000 postcards have been ordered and sent to local bishops in the U.S.

P.S. Please visit our new online store: the Magdala Market, for paper postcards to send to Cardinal Hummes, packet resources, prayer cards and free downloads.

With gratitude for your prayers and actions towards a more inclusive priesthood,

the FutureChurch staff
www.futurechurch.org

Dear friends,

May the blessings of the Christ Child be with you!

Yesterday I began working on a Facebook group for www.womenpriests.org --- a good 'connector' site. I invite you to visit and/or join the group. It is here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=228215073865&index=1#/group.php?gid=228802543420

Also, I am doing a test drive of a prayer event through Facebook. Visit here to see details: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=228215073865&index=1

Briefly, the prayer event is simply this: at noon on January 1, whereever you are, join in the power of prayer by praying the Women's Ordination Prayer.

There are already several people who have signed up and it is great to see the faces of supportive people! If you decide to sign up, there is a feature that permits you to send invitations to friends. Please spread the word.

I am planning to host similar events in the future. If you have any comments, questions or ideas, let me know!

with love and blessings,

~Sophie~

Ireland confronts its sex abuse crisis
'Massive agitation ... a seething anger among traditional, ordinary Catholics'
By Tom Roberts
The National Catholic Reporter
December 30, 2009

Analysis

The recent government investigation into clergy sex abuse in Ireland, which produced a scathing critique of church officials and their role in attempting to protect the reputation of the institution at the expense of young victims, has resulted in the resignation of four bishops and sparked calls for cutting the number of dioceses in Ireland and for deep reform of the hierarchical culture.

The report of the government commission, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, severely criticized the church for being preoccupied with “the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal and the preservation of its assets.

. . .

For complete story, see here: http://www.womenpriests.org/circles/fb.asp?m=34666

The Sisters of Mercy aren't McDonald's By Meghan Murphy-Gill and Sandra Schneiders
USCatholic.org
November 24, 2009

Religious congregations are not franchises of the Vatican "central office." More like families than corporations, sisters have different missions, needs, and styles of life.
When the Vatican investigation of U.S. women religious is discussed, two questions are asked repeatedly:

1) If religious have nothing to hide, why would they object to being investigated by the Vatican?

2) Why should religious congregations be any more immune to surprise checks by the Vatican on their quality of life than a fast-food franchise is to a surprise check by the main office on the quality of its operations and products?

Though these questions are generally asked rhetorically, they deserve to be answered.

. . .

For complete story, see here: http://www.womenpriests.org/circles/fb.asp?m=34664

LIVE FROM AUSTRALIA: To view “A Conversation with Joan Chittister” at the Parliament of the World Religions, Dec. 3-8, Melbourne, Australia, click here: http://www.themonthly.com.au/women-and-progress-religion-joan-chittister-2203

Eastern Churches Ordaining Numerous Priests
Aid Agencies to Focus on Supporting Clergy
zenit.org
January 18, 2010

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Assembly of Societies for Aid to Eastern Churches (ROACO) will focus their next meeting on finding ways to support the clergy, especially in Europe and the Middle East.

A note from the Congregation for Eastern Churches, which oversees the assembly, explained that this 82nd session will take place Tuesday and Wednesday in the Vatican.

The focus on clergy was inspired by the Church's celebration of the Year for Priests.

The communiqué stated that "following the changes of 1989, the Eastern Catholic Churches of Central and Eastern Europe have had the joy of being able to ordain numerous young priests, including married ones, in keeping with the ancient tradition of their Churches."

It continued, "Because of the modest economic conditions of their countries, and the absence of self-financing ecclesiastical structures, the maintenance of priests has been guaranteed to a large extent by the Churches of the West through the aid agencies, members of ROACO."

The congregation stated that "after twenty years, the time has come for an evaluation of each effective projection for the future."

Regarding priests in the Middle East, this evaluation will particularly focus on health care and old age. The session participants also plan to give attention to the situation of the Eastern Churches in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Iraq.

The meetings will be held in the conference hall of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Representatives of some twenty Catholic agencies from ten Western countries will participate in the meeting along with the apostolic delegate to Jerusalem, Archbishop Antonio Franco, and the apostolic nuncio to Sudan and Eritrea, Archbishop Leo Boccardi.

ROACO is an organization that was founded in 1968 by the Congregation for Eastern Churches. Twice a year it brings together agencies committed to the support of these Churches in their dimensions: worship, clergy, pastoral formation, education, health care and social aid.

http://www.zenit.org/article-28084?l=english