HAVING not really intended to enter the fray with Catholic feminists over the question of women priests, it nevertheless seems that I have no option but to throw a few verbal blows at them, before beating a hasty retreat.
The mild suggestion (that those who were so sincerely urging this fundamental reform upon the Church, might perhaps also let us know the time and place that their official i)rotest would appeal) was instantly rebutted by Ms Dora Turbin (July 31), co-ordinator of the DORCAS Group, which is affiliated to the Catholic Women's Network.
Martin Luther did not advocate women priests, she says (July 31) and then suggests that God himself may yet be doing so. Time will tell, no doubt.
Meanwhile, perhaps Ms Turbin ought to let more of us know a little more about her own particular hope for the future of the Catholic Church. I refer to the book Feminist, Action I published by Battle Axe Books in 1984, in which the editor Joy Holland reports: "Dora Turbin of the DORCAS Group (Roman Catholic Feminists) has the avowed aim of eliminating the clergy altogether. She also wishes to have a complete decentralisation of the Church, to have a diaspora, and to have everyone a celebrant." (p 104). Luther is beginning to sound quite reasonable! In another article, this time penned by Ms Turbin herself, in Broadside (March 12, 1980) the newssheet of the organisation "One for Christian Renewal", her opening paragraph declares: "In the euphoria surrounding Pope John Paul II it may not be realised that some Catholics are unhappy about trends he encourages in the Church. Roman Catholic Feminists especially have reservations about his views on contraception and abortion."
The sad thing is, that just before I came across these articles I had written to Ms Turbin asking her if the DORCAS Group or any other Catholic feminist organisation would be prepared to support the campaign for justice for parents and children, over the question of secret contraception/abortion for schoolgirls.
It would now appear that I was hoping for the unlikely.
Mrs Victoria Gillick Wisbech, Cambs.