The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC) protests the Vatican actions taken against Father Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Gramick for doing precisely what as Catholics we are called to do: bring God's love into the world by ministering to those in need and subject to persecution.  Fr. Nugent and Sr. Grammick have spent decades in this most important work.  It is unfortunate that the Vatican has instead taken a step which aligns the institutional leadership of the Church with those who practice discrimination against our homosexual brothers and sisters and are looking for excuses to justify irrational hatred and deadly attacks.

In the spirit of the great Hebrew prophets and Jesus of Nazareth, the Church ought to be a beacon of justice for the oppressed and powerless and reward the kind of service exemplified by New Ways Ministry and its founders. The Vatican and all Catholics owe Fr. Nugent and Sr. Grammick a deep debt of gratitude for the fine work they have done over the years. 

ARCC regrets this hurtful action which appears to be meant primarily to enforce unquestioning obedience and  stifle voices of dissent.

ARCC calls upon the Vatican to rescind this unjustifiable action against two faithful Catholics who have brought the light of God's love to often despised brothers and sisters.

ARCC came into existence in 1980 in the wake of a series of  Vatican attempts to silence several Catholic theologians, including Edward Schillebeeckx and Hans Küng. It has since published a Charter of the Rights of Catholics in the Church , and more recently a proposed Constitution of the Catholic Church, requested by Pope Paul VI in 1965; ARCC has also sought to enter into dialogue with Church authorities both to vindicate the rights of specific Catholics whose rights have been violated and to work toward a deeper democratization of the Church.

ARCC is a national organization of Roman Catholic clergy, religious and lay people with affiliations in eleven European countries. ARCC works for the promulgation of those teachings which were stated at the Second Vatican Council. ARCC accomplishes this task through education advocacy, networking, and the circulation of its document A Constitution for the Roman Catholic Church to the Catholics of the world. For information about ARCC, visit our website at http://arcc-catholic-rights.org or contact our office, PO Box 912 Delran, New Jersey, (609)461-8960             (609)461-8960     . E-mail ccooperpt@aol.com.