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Dear Bishop Wuerl,

A letter to be shared with the faithful

My name is Joan Clark Houk, the woman from the Diocese of Pittsburgh who is to be ordained a Roman Catholic Womanpriest in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2006. I want you to know who I am and why I prayerfully follow this path.

Mary A. Traupman

Attorney at Law

Three Gateway Center

401 Liberty Avenue Suite 1460

Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1004

To:    All interested parties

From:    Mary Traupman, CDP

Date:    May 8, 2006

Re:     “The Politics of Reaction,” by E.J. Dionne (P-G 5-5-06)

This op-ed, subtitled “Rick Santorum wants to be an un-Republican” contains the quote: “if you want me to be honest, I’m a Catholic.” He added: “How
many times did the nuns beat into your brains: the poor, the poor, the
poor, the poor?”

I encourage all to call or write or email or fax the office of Senator Santorum and express outrage at his insulting characterization of women religious (“beat?”) and demand that he apologize for his insensitivity. This is the Rick Santorum who, in January, 2005, at St. Paul Seminary stated, “Catholic schools are not Catholic.” The same Rick Santorum who publicly criticized the work of Catholic Charities. His latest remark is an affront to all women religious, to all Catholics, to all decent people.

The Thomas Merton Center and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released documents obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) showing that the Bush administration has been spying on peace activists since before the Iraq war began. These documents are explosive in that they conclusively show that peace advocates are being spied on primarily because of their political opposition to warfare. The FBI memo points out that the Merton Center “is a left-wing organization advocating, among many political causes, pacifism.”

Read more here at the ACLU web site.

The Pittsburgh Call To Action would like to
have a showing of the movie "In Good Conscience"
here in Pittsburgh in early fall. The film is based on the strong commitment
by Sr. Jaennine Gramick to her
ministry to the Gay and Lesbian
community which put her at odds
with the institutional church

To make this possible we
would need co-sponsors to help
defray some of the costs. If you
know any individual or group who would
like to help have them get in touch with Harry Orlando at
412-281-9030w, 412-486-9036h, or
harryorlando@comcast.net

The Women’s Ordination Worldwide, a worldwide movement to promote the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church, held a conference at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on July 22-24th. Participants from 23 countries were present to discuss and plan strategies for the ordination of women. Information on WOW and this conference can be found on www.wow2005.org.

On July 25th R.C. Womenpriests, an international organization carrying out the formation and ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church, held ordinations for five women deacons and four women priests on a boat on the St. Lawrence River near Gananoque, Ontario, Canada. This event was covered by NPR, CNN, AP, CBC and numerous other media. Approximately 250 people were in attendance. Information on this organization and this event can be found on www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org. Photos of the event can be seen on www.corpus.smugmug.com.

The following is an excerpt from an excellent commentary by Rose Marie Berger on Sojourner's web site. Read the full commentary here.

I have no doubt that Pope Benedict will uphold the consistent moral stance of Catholic social teaching to the world at large. He will continue to speak clearly about economic justice, a consistent ethic of life, and a strong opposition to war. He stated in his first homily a "determination to continue the commitment to implement the Second Vatican Council" - which will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year - and noted that the teachings are particularly relevant to the "new needs of the Church and the present globalized society."

What the church needs most is a pope who will apply the moral clarity and pastoral mercy of Catholic social teaching to the internal life of the Catholic Church. We do not need a reactionary leader, as Cardinal Ratzinger has proved himself to be, who misidentifies plurality of discourse as heresy, elevates gender apartheid to the level of sanctity, and who views accountability as an attack on authority.

Africa Action has just announced that H.R. 1424 has been introduced. This bill joins the Senate proposal (S. 495). They call for an expansion of the size and strength of the African Union force and the imposition of sanctions on the government of Sudan.
Please visit mobilize@africaaction.org for further information. You will find the phone number for your representative at another article on our page.