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As Pope Francis arrives in the United States, a parish priest is banned from ministry for following his conscience.
On Saturday, September 20, Fr. Jack McClure shared his support for women’s ordination during a panel held in Philadelphia, PA at the
Women’s Ordination Worldwideconference. Precious Blood Fr. McClure was joined by Tony Flannery, Roy Bourgeois, and Paul Collins, priests who have been silenced, dismissed, excommunicated or forced to resign based on their support for women in the church and refusal to tow the Catholic Church’s party line of discrimination against women.
Fr. McClure prayed and followed his conscience before participating in the event. He was aware that his participation could lead to serious sanctions by his diocese or the Vatican itself. However, Fr. McClure is no stranger to standing up against injustice. A long time advocate for the marginalized, Fr. McClure ministers at the Most Holy Redeemer Church in the Castro District of San Francisco, a parish where are all welcome, including LGBT Catholics. After receiving immediate sanctions from the office of Archbishop Cordileone and told he would no longer be able to minister in the parish, Fr. McClure has now officially resigned from ministry.
Despite Pope Francis’ call for opening more roles to women in ministry and increased dialogue, the hierarchy of Catholic Church’s actions continue to prove otherwise. As Pope Francis arrives in the United States today – a country where 88% of U.S. Catholics support the ordination of women – we pray that the hearts of our church leaders are transformed to welcome the gifts of all women – including ordination– during this holy gathering of Catholics in the US.
Women’s Ordination Worldwide stands with Fr. McClure against this abuse of power by Archbishop Cordileone and calls on Pope Francis and the institutional Roman Catholic Church to live out their mission of mercy and justice.
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