December 2001 Call to Action News

New perils in Guatemala

Back in the '60s, when Miriam Therese Winter was "dancing on the edge" in the archdiocese of Philadelphia, she lightly referred to her ministry as part of an "underground church." But now she has met Ludmila Javorova, a Czech woman who knew the terror of a church truly underground during the Cold War years of Communist rule, and was even ordained a priest. "Our understanding of being on the edge of our church pales in comparison to the underground church that gave life to Ludmila's ordination," said Winter. "Ludmila's story is meant for today."

When Winter was invited by the Women's Ordination Conference to meet Javorova in Cleveland in 1997 she was concerned about exploitation. "I met a contemporary saint who happened to be ordained a priest. It was important to respect her story and to put our own filters and agendas aside," said Winter. Ludmila was reluctant to share her story, and only came forward to protect the name of Felix Davidek, the bishop who ordained her. Winter agreed to write her story. Working against geography, culture and language, Winter spent the next two years traveling to the Czech Republic in order to chronicle Javorova's journey.

Ludmila grew up in a devout family under the occupation of Nazis and then Communists, where religion and worship were punished by imprisonment and torture. When bombs went off and Ludmila ran scared, her mother assured her that "there is nothing to be afraid of. We will be together even if they kill us." In this chaos, a Christian community, Koinotes, was born, committed to preserving the sacramental church. In this secretive environment, Davidek ordained Javorova. "The agony and pain of it was the secrecy," said Javorova, in Winter's book, "Out of the Depths," published last May. "It was a secret within a secret."

After communism fell in 1989, much confusion ensued. Without a paper trail, the Roman Catholic Church did not accept the ordination and other developments of the underground church. They asked the male priests to be "re-ordained" and disregarded the ordination of the women. Javorova obeyed the order from Rome to "keep silent," until Davidek's name was threatened. She feels her final stage in her journey is "to stand up and say that this happened." Said Winter at the CTA conferences, "To be silent is at the heart of all kinds of abuse. Wherever you are, speak up, be brave. Do not let the prophetic voice stand alone!"