PRESS RELEASE

Historic Ordination of Roman Catholic Womenpriests in Sarasota, Florida

Release date: January 19, 2010
Contacts: Janice Sevre-Duszynska at 859-684-4247
rhythmsofthedance@msn.com
Bridget Mary Meehan 941-955-2313, sofiabmm@aol.com
Press Conference information below

On Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 3:00pm Dena O'Callaghan of Ocala, Florida and Katy Zatsick of Lexington, Kentucky will be ordained priests. Mary Ellen Sheehan of Tucker, Georgia will be ordained a deacon. The presiding bishop will be Bridget Mary Meehan. The ceremony will take place at St. Andrew UCC at 6908 Beneva Rd, Sarasota, Fl. 34238. Dena has a Masters of Divinity and Katy, an M.A. in Pastoral Studies.  Dena and her husband, a retired Roman Catholic priest, co-pastor a house church in Ocala. Katy has worked as a hospice chaplain, pastoral minister and now serves the homeless in Lexington, Kentucky. Mary Ellen Sheehan earned an M. Div. from Notre Dame. She has worked with battered women in shelters in the Atlanta area and is presently an educator.
 
Roman Catholic Womenpriests advocate a new model of priestly ministry united with the people with whom we minister. We stand in prophetic obedience to Jesus who calls women and men to be disciples and equals. We disobey Canon 1024, an unjust law, that prohibits women’s ordination. Women bishops ordained in full apostolic succession continue to carry on the work of ordaining others in the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic male bishop who ordained our first women bishops is in a line of unbroken apostolic succession within the Roman Catholic Church in full communion with the pope Therefore, our bishops validly ordain deacons, priests and bishops. 

The movement began with the ordination of seven women on the Danube in 2002.  In 2006, twelve women were ordained in Pittsburgh in the first U.S. ordinations.  Other ordinations followed across the United States, in Canada and Europe. On April 19, 2009, bishops Patricia Fresen, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger, and Ida Raming ordained four U.S. women bishops including Bridget Mary Meehan. Today there are about 100 members of the RCWP community worldwide, and nearly 70 priests in the U.S. Before the ceremony at 1 p.m., Dr. Dorothy Irvin, theologian and archaeologist will give a presentation on evidence of women priests in the Early Christian Tradition. This will be followed by a press conference, then the ordination liturgy at 3 p.m. (To reach Dr. Irvin, call 612-387-3784, irvincalendar@hotmail.com ) Media are welcome to cover the ordination ceremony with still and video carmeras. Please be respectful as this is a sacred event. (We ask that the media contact us if you plan to attend and obtain permission from any guests attending the ceremony and reception before publishing their names or images, with the exception of nonidentifying shots from behind.)

Media are invited to a pre-ordination press conference with the
candidates (Dr. Dorothy Irvin?) and Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan on Friday, February 5 from noon to 2:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's. For questions regarding the press conference call Janice at 859-684-4247.

For more information, please contact
Dena phone jocallaghan001@cfl.rr.com
Katy phone katyzatsick@insightbb.com,
Mary Ellen phone sheehanme@earthlink.net
(Bridget Mary at 941-955-2313,
703-505-0004 sofiabmm@aol.com).

 PRESS RELEASE

Peace and Justice Activist to Be Ordained a Roman Catholic Womanpriest

Release  date: August 1, 2008

Contact:  Janice Sevre-Duszynska at 859-684-4247
rhythmsofthedance@msn.com
Bridget  Mary Meehan, media rep for RCWP-USA, may be contacted at sofiabmm@aol.com,  or call
703-671-6712 or 703-283-2929

Visit us online at http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/

On  August 9, 2008, a Lexington woman who is a peace and justice activist will  be ordained a Roman Catholic Womanpriest. Janice Sevre-Duszynska of
Lexington,  Kentucky will be ordained by Bishop Dana
Reynolds of California in the first  ordination in the South.

The  ordination will be conducted by Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), a movement  which is building a renewed model of priesthood for a renewed Roman Catholic  Church. Its goal is to achieve full equality of women and men, and to live with  inclusiveness, respect and justice for all in a community of open and affirming  equals. Janice  says she will be an itinerant priest, speaking out for the voiceless and  challenging the powers that be to hear the call of nonviolence and cooperation  in our world community. She says Jesus revealed a gracious, compassionate and  justicemaking God of abundance. "He was a radical, nonviolent egalitarian who  welcomed everyone to the table. He taught us to work for the 'kindom' on earth."

In 2008,  Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) are celebrating ordinations in eight  locations in the United States and Canada. Our most recent ordination in Boston  received worldwide coverage including the following television stations: ABC,  NBC, CBS, CNN, and Public TV as well as many radio stations. Presently in North  America there are 30 priests, 12 deacons, 18 candidates, 1 bishop and many  applicants. RCWP priests do not take a vow of obedience to bishops but rely  instead on an informed conscience. "We  are reclaiming our ancient heritage," Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP spokesperson  said. "Roman Catholic Womenpriests are following the example of Jesus who called  Mary of Magdala, the first witness to encounter the Risen Christ, to be the  apostle to the apostles, and the early Christian tradition of women leaders,  like deacon Phoebe, priest Vitalia, and bishop Theodora, who served the church  as deacons, priests and bishops. Scholars have documented that women served in  ordained ministry for the first twelve hundred years of Christianity." The  ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of  Lexington. Local and national peace-and-justice-makers will be there to support  Janice and RCWP, and to remember those who died in the bombings of Hiroshima and  Nagasaki on August 6 and 9,1945. Her ordination is close to the feast day of one  of her patron saints, Clare of Assisi (August 11) who, along with Francis,  worked for the people, the Earth and peace.

Media  are invited to a pre-ordination press conference on Friday, August 8 at 3 p.m.  at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, 3564 Clays Mill Road. (For  questions regarding the press conference call Janice at 859-684-4247). Media are  welcome to cover the ordination ceremony on Saturday, August 9, beginning at 3  p.m. Please be respectful; this is a sacred event.  An opportunity for the  media to ask questions will follow the ceremony. The press are also invited to  the reception and dinner following the ordination.