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	Abuse Led Church's Female Assistant Pastor to Enter Priesthood By Shelby Parker Northumberland Today February 25, 2008 http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=916512 She's continuing her journey with God in a new church that will accept her as the shepherd of its flock. Marie Evans Bouclin, an ordained priest with the Roman Catholic Women Priests organization, was inducted into Christ the Servant Catholic Church in Cold Springs Sunday. "I wake up in the morning and I think, 'This is what I've been called for,'" said the Rev. Bouclin. The 66-year-old, who lives in Sudbury with her husband, Albert, was ordained last year. She was invited to the join the local church as its priest, but since she lives so far away, she couldn't accept it as a full-time position, but more on a basis of once every month or so. Now she is assistant pastor to Father Kevin Fitzgerald, who was also inducted Sunday. Christianity has always been in her life, Ms. Bouclin said. She spent seven years as a nun then later married and raised her children, teaching them about God and taking them to church every Sunday. "I drew a lot from the well of Christianity," she said. Then she learned something that made her want to take up her calling again. She heard about women who were being sexually abused by priests. "I felt a call to minister to these women," she said. "They felt betrayed in their faith and if they wanted to heal in their faith, they were forced to turn back to a man," she said, explaining that women seeking counsel within the church woould receive that counsel from a priest - a person in the very position by which she had been betrayed. It was then that Ms. Bouclin believed the Roman Catholic Church should also accept women into the priesthood. It was for these women, who would feel more comfortable being counselled by them. She even wrote a book called, Seeking Wholeness: Women Dealing With Abuse of Power in the Catholic Church. Ms. Bouclin said she still feels like a part of the Catholic Church, but is working in a renewed model in modern times. "It nurtures spirituality, it nurtures my prayer life, it nurtures my social justice," she said, adding she has found a wonderful parish in the Cold Springs church. Even though many wouldn't believe in what she's doing, she said, she doesn't concentrate on that negativity. "I've been told I'm not a good Catholic," she said. "What sin have I committed? What scandal have I caused to be excommunicated?" asked Ms. Bouclin, saying many people who are Catholic don't believe in all of the rules. What is most important, said Ms. Bouclin, is preaching the Gospel and taking the journey with people - asking what the meaning of life is, and wondering how to make the world a better place. "We get away from the boundaries of age and sex and denomination and build a community of people who want to praise God together and live a Christian life," she said. Contact: sparker@northumberlandtoday.com
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