Mother Mary McKillop
H/T to the Deacon's Bench for the link to this article by James Martin, SJ about a once excommunicated nun who is close to being declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church:
Mother Mary McKillop, the foundress of the Australian-based Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, was, in 1871, officially excommunicated by her local bishop, on the grounds that she "'she had incited the sisters to disobedience and defiance." That same church leader, Bishop Sheil, had earlier invited her to work in Adelaide, where she and her sisters would eventually set up schools, a women's shelter and an orphanage, among their many works.-ConcordPastor
But McKillop's independent spirit was a threat to Bishop Sheil, who had her booted out of the church. Yesterday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke with Pope Benedict XVI about McKillop's possible canonization, in a conversation reported in the Brisbane Times here. Just last year, the pope visited McKillop's tomb in Sydney during his visit to Australia for World Youth Day. Prime Minister Rudd said that the visit "left a deep impression on the Holy Father."
In April of this year, in an extraordinary gesture, Bishop's Sheil's successor, the current archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, made a public apology to the Sisters for their foundress's excommunication. Standing before her statue, said that he was "profoundly ashamed of the Bishop's actions in driving the Sisters out onto the streets." McKillop was beatified (the next-to-last step for canonization) by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
---(Read the complete article, including the story of a recently canonized "troublemaker," Saint Mother Theodore Guerin whose life and mission brought her to minister in Indiana)
"Profoundly ashamed of the Bishop's actions". That sounds very familiar.
ReplyDeleteThe vatican is at it again, investigating the sisters in America. They're looking for any deviations from church teaching and unacceptable lifestyles. There was a radio show about this a few days ago. Listen to:
http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/07/u-s-nuns-and-the-vatican
When will the pope get around to removing all of the bishops involved in the horrendous decisions that enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of our children? Which is the greater sin?
“..This scourge is found not only within your dioceses but in every sector of society. It calls for a determined, collective response.”
Benedict XVI, 16 April 2008, To American Bishops
It seems that the most determined response possible would be to remove the leaders who, by their actions of inactions, allowed this to happen.
Maybe that will come after his teaching moment with President Obama.
Still I pray for justice.
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: I live about two hours from Terre Haute Indinad where Saint Mary of the Woods is located. My wife went their her frehman year of high school. I have a number of St. Mary of the Woods Sisters as friends. I am a journalist and wrote for National Catholic Rural Life magazine. The editor of CRL for many years, and my editor, was fired by a lay exec. officer for becuase "he" had a "woman problem" about women holding important positions in the church. At a hearing five bishops backed up his firing of Sister. We remained good friends and for the past some 20 years or so she has worked with a non-denominational group serving the poor in Louisiana. When I was a contributor to Arkansas Catholic my female editor was fired for a similar reason. She went on to be a professor of religion at Loyola Univ. in Louisiana. Well that's my experience of how women are still treated in the church. Not all of them, but still too many. S. E.
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