What concerns me is the encouragement of divisiveness within the Catholic Church which CTU softly, but persistently, promotes in order to advance its agenda.

In a class session, Dawn Nothwehr told of a parish in New York which was vibrant and growing, thanks to the efforts of a few instrumental people, including a woman who wanted to be a priest. The pastor allowed her to act as the celebrant at a Mass. The Bishop’s response was consistent with Catholic doctrine. Ultimately, this situation divided the parish and a separate church was formed.

Dawn’s position was that the resulting division of the parish, taught the Church a lesson and, in effect, the Church got what it deserved – these are my words expressing my interpretation of Dawn’s comments.

My problem is not the issue of women priests. Nor that this CTU instructor’s personal opinion found it more acceptable to divide a vibrant growing parish, than to accept something which could not be changed, in favor of the good of the parish community.

The true issue is that, as an instructor at a Catholic school of theology, Dawn is openly teaching future priests and parish ministers that if they disagree with the Church, their pastor and/or their Bishop, then so be it – go ahead; act accordingly with a complete and total disregard of the overall good of the people of the parish, the diocese and of the Church, itself. There is no respect for the person in the pew, only her ideology.

As a side note: in 1985-1986, Dawn was a field organizer for 'Network', a Catholic social justice lobby based in Washington, D.C.

For more information about Network, click here

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