After declining to recant his very public support for women’s ordination, Father Roy Bourgeois has been dismissed by the Maryknolls. The N.Y. Times reports that he was notified via a letter signed by the superior general and the general secretary of the Maryknoll order in the United States, which said his dismissal was necessary because of his “defiant stance” in opposition to church teaching.
” ‘Your numerous public statements and appearances in support of the women’s priests movement continues to create in the minds of many faithful the view that your position is acceptable to our Church,’ the letter said, adding that Father Bourgeois had caused the church ‘grave scandal.’ “
Father Bourgeois’ case will now be considered by the Vatican for possible “reduction to lay status.” He has hired Father Tom Doyle, best known for his work on the church’s sex abuse crisis, to represent him at the Vatican.
UPDATED (h/t Dan Horan): NCR’s Tom Roberts is reporting that the NY Times got the story wrong on Bourgeois and that he has received a “second canonical warning,” not a dismissal. The July 27 letter gives him another 15 days to recant and includes an opprotunity to defend himself against a dismissal from Maryknoll.
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