Bourgeois: They Got Him - Really?

Roy Bourgeois

I read with amusement the title of a column by Tom Roberts, editor at large of the National Catholic Reporter, entitled “Roy Bourgeois: They finally got him”.  Now I ask you, does anyone today seriously believe that the Church hierarchy sits around all day gleefully rubbing their hands and scheming about ways in which they can bring down fellow clergy?  That’s just bizarre!

The bottom line is that Roy Bourgeois “disobedience and preaching against the teaching of the Catholic Church about women's ordination led to his excommunication, dismissal and laicisation” after 39 years as a priest.

Quite frankly Roy Bourgeois was the author of his own demise, starting with his decision, in August 2008, to participate in the ordination of Roman Catholic ‘woman priest’ Janice Sevre-Duszynska.  In March 2011 Bourgeois was asked to publicly recant his support of the ordination of women, which he refused to do, saying: “In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe God calls both men and women to the priesthood.  This I cannot do, therefore I will not recant.”

Tom Roberts

So, lets not be as hasty and naïve as Tom Roberts clearly is, by laying the blame for the excommunication and laicisation of Roy Bourgeois on the Vatican.  The Vatican didn’t put a gun to Roy Bourgeois’ head.  He was never forced to participate in the ordination or to publically support the ordination of women.  In fact he was afforded nearly four years to take the appropriate action to avoid laicisation.  Yet he stubbornly refused, claiming it was “a matter of conscience that he'd arrived at over a long period of time”.

It really is unacceptable that an allegedly Catholic newspaper like the National Catholic Reporter can continue to claim to be Catholic while at the same time opposing all that is Catholic.  Enough is enough.  No one is forcing anyone to be a Catholic.  Roy Bourgeois does not share Catholic beliefs and so now he has been freed from having to do so.  Anyone else who shares Roy Bourgeois beliefs can equally choose to free themselves of the 'oppressive' Roman Catholic Church.

If you don’t believe what we Catholics believe, it is really easy.  Move on.  Go where your beliefs are shared by others and please stop your destructive activism, which is intent on disrupting and overthrowing the Church, all so that you can selfishly force others to submit to your demands, just like a spoilt child.