Young Catholic Feminists Compare Legacy of MLK and John Paul II
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 4, 2005
CONTACT: AISHA TAYLOR
office 703 352-1006
Young Catholic Feminists Compare Legacy of Martin Luther King and John Paul II on the 37th Anniversary of MLK’s assassination
Washington, DC — Today, two days after the death of Pope John Paul II and on the 37th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Young Feminist Network, a coalition of young Catholics who are working for change in the Roman Catholic Church, reflects on the legacies of two icons of faith.
“Both Pope John Paul and Dr. Martin Luther King dedicated their lives to the salvation of their people," asserted Aisha Taylor, Coordinator of the Young Feminist Network, "Dr. King worked for justice, in particular for African-Americans in the U.S., the poor, and spoke out against the Vietnam war; the Pope worked to end exploitation of the poor and end Communism, and spoke out against the war in Iraq.”
“Recently, Reverend James Lawson, civil rights activist, declared that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not assassinated 37 years ago today, but crucified, and this day should be celebrated as a holy day. Today, millions of people mourn the death of Pope John Paul II and reflect on his life, papacy and willingness to show the world his vulnerability," stated M. Carmen Lane, a black catholic lesbian feminist called to ordination in the Roman Catholic Church and member of the Young Feminist Network Leadership Team.
“Dr. King was crucified because he named the injustices that faced God’s people and dared to suggest we end this war against humanity,” Lane continued, “He named the ‘triplets of oppression,’ racism, materialism, and militarism. Our world continues to feel the destructive force of this triune power. While the Pope asked God’s forgiveness for the church’s sins against the Jewish community and admitted church guilt 94 times, he did not develop a plan to examine the entire impact of these and other wrong doings. What would our Church look like today if the Pope had implemented a global strategy to fulfill its call to accountability?”
"The legacy of Pope John Paul II is vibrant and extraordinary, yet painfully inconsistent,” stated Taylor, “The contradiction in his legacy lies in his teaching and actions on the dignity of women. John Paul II called for women to be included as decision makers in secular governments. However, when it came to bringing women into the decision making bodies of his church, he slammed the door in our faces, barring us from ordination and locking the door by stating the discussion about women’s ordination is closed."
“The Pope’s death is a shedding of the collective skin of the hierarchical Church, an opportunity to reflect on our history and envision our future. Let us name the injustices of the Church’s history of empire and imperialism; sexual violence against women religious and lay people; the physical, sexual, and spiritual violence against the Indigenous peoples in boarding schools; forcing the ‘call to celibacy’ on LGBT Catholics; denying women the ability to fulfill their callings; the inability of the Church to wrestle with the day to day pastoral struggles of Catholic people,” concluded Lane, “I want a renewed priestly ministry that is committed to ending violence against God’s people. The next Pope is called to not only speak out against racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism and all forms of oppression, but to actively, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., march in the streets fighting against injustice. It is time that our Church accepts and integrates the gifts of the entire Body of Christ and to not be afraid of the inevitable transformation of our Church.”
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The Young Feminist Network, a project of the Women’s Ordination Conference, is a national coalition of Catholic feminists who work to create a Roman Catholic Church structure that is inclusive and participatory, challenges racism, sexism, heterosexism and works to end all forms of oppression within Catholic communities and the world.