Under grey skies and low rain, between 500 and 1,000 Oregonians protested what they consider to be the offensive position of the Catholic Church hierarchy towards women.
They heeded the suggestion of 81-year-old Irishwoman Jennifer Sleeman of County Cork, to refuse to go to Mass on September 26th, and instead to protest the “voiceless” position of women in the Church.
Local organizers Gayle Bache, Mary Lou Stewart, and Sarah Granger emphasized that the July, 2010 “Normae de Gravioribus Delicti” document by the Vatican, in which the move towards ordination of women to the priesthood was considered to be a sin of the same gravity as the sexual abuse of children by priests, was only a “tipping point”.
They considered this a significant affront to Catholic women, which locally resulted in the formation of their group “One Spirit, One Call”, suggesting that Catholic women and their supporters “give public witness to the unjust and unequal treatment of women in the church.”
The organizers hurried to point out that the Vatican’s statement, which they considered “over the top”, was not the only reason for this protest and for not attending Mass.
Instead, they considered that the Vatican’s position statement, for them, was only emblematic of the larger negative attitude the Church has towards women.
SIC: DTIX/USA