Nope!!! Mom would still be going to church and praying that rosary and hitting me for looking around in church just the same as her sister, Aunt Saint Mary in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland does when i visit her every year and go to mass at St. Patricks!!! NOPE, Maureen......you are wrong!! Maureen dose not know we have two cousins who are catholic priests over there in Co. Derry who curse worse than i and bet the horses and are so real and so so so much fun!!..........But.........no, maureen........mom was way too traditional catholic church........visit aunt saint mary........go to the pub at nite with uncle jimmy and sneak in before 5am......cuz you are going to feckin mass regardless!!! LOL

Thank you so much for the lovely book you sent! Instead of doing my farm work today I could not put this book down. I cried alot and I think this book is a *teasure* and I will give it to my daughter Sara to read. She will love this story as much as I do. I did not relize how much I missed in life as I do at this moment. Ann was someone I regret not getting to know better.

I have two very fond memories of Ann, one in the house in New Carrolton and one at the house in McLean. Both memories is how I will always remember her. She never changed.

Father.......you always will be Father Pie to me and always were! OK?

I had work to do today on the farm.......and i went to the post box to retreive mail and received your book!........i could not stop reading it and cried most of the day! Just joking! You made me think........made me reflect...made me cry...and those poor cows and horses havent a clue what is going on as i threw their pm feeding at them!....that poor great dane is in the room waiting for wee rosie to come in for the nite and instead she is online writing to Father Pie!....

Mom would be proud of you......i know....i go to northern ireland alot to visit her family and they are well.........fun........a wee bit daft.....??? no...mom was so traditional catholic church....i dont belong to the catholic church anymore....not for the last 30 yrs. I dont belong to any church....i just farm, race my thoroughbreds, raise my scottish highlands....and walk the feilds and praise the Lord! I have seen miracles!! I believe in God......i have a real problem with believing in man and the institutional church! But....i believe in you!! thank you so much for the book......cant wait to give it to sara this weekend to read!! She will find it inspirational in her life right now!

How I wish that I had met Ann. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and couldn't put it down. I read it in just two days. My daughter is a journalist in Vancouver, British Columbia and I am mailing her my copy to read and review.
Ella Perceval-Maxwell.

Brantford, Ontario,Canada.

The postman brought the book at 11am. By 1pm I had read it cover to cover. Reading this book left me sobbing - I identified with Ann Sultana closely.It was as if my own feelings were being exposed. It was poignant and heart warming.I know how strong the love of a woman can be and I believe God understands.

George, I arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon and your book was waiting. I started reading and could not put it down; finished it Sunday. It was beautiful; I am only sorry that I never met Ann. I hope your challenge for married priests and women priests is successful; it is long over due. Keep in touch.

Dear George,

Peace and all good to you!

Thank you so much for the book, ANN OF GREEN PASTURES.

What a wonderful love story of you and Ann. I received the book on Friday and had a wonderful reading over the weekend. You are on target with every word you wrote, George. How beautiful you expressed your sentiments. Your whole story was one of love. devotion, happiness and peace.

I really feel as if I knew Ann your dear wife personally. Of course there is the Franciscan connection, so how could I not relate to her. I am spreading the "good news" of your book to my friends. They are very interested, so I hope your ministry of a "married priesthood" can reach far and wide.

If I had a lot of money, I'd buy a book for every member of the hierarchy. But, as you said, "I was like a frozen popsicle," what else could you expect from all these males bishops who were formed in the freezer. As we used to say, they are part of the "frozen chozen."

God bless you and your family, George. Thank God and thank you for putting into words what needed to be said. Take care of yourself and keep spreading the love in your heart! Love and prayers.

S. Carolyn

George,

A few weeks ago, I had finished reading your remarkable book but I have yet to finish thinking about your amazing story. The love and kindness that you and Ann share with each other and the family of mankind far outweigh the rules of mortals, in my opinion. With the birth of my son recently, I have been reflecting on my faith, the many questions I have on this journey through life and how I will help guide my son on his journey. Your book provoked alot of deep thinking and the message of love is quite loud and clear. Your love of man, nature and especially each other is the essence of Jesus's teachings. If I can see this, why can't the church? In my mind, the miracles of Georgeanne and Aaron could only have happened by the union of Ann and George at the particular moment of conception tracing back to the beginning of time. How could any institution say that this priest should not have married this nun?

“True self is the part of us that does not change
when circumstances do.” – Mason Cooley.[/b]

George,
Sometimes categories or a subject come in waves. I recently re-read an excerpt from Tom Brokaw’s “Letters” which dealt with letters written during WWII…. now have Art Buchwald’s farewell column who recently died (a great writer). In his last paragraph, he states that he thinks he was put on earth for a reason and I believe it holds true for a number of people, including Ann. And is there someone out there who was not affected after reading Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl.”? A book written not for publication (but read by millions) but for herself…. to make sense of life and to make sense of her self. Last, but not least, About Alice by Calvin Trillin – two people I knew back in New York. Like you, he wrote about his love affair with a great and beautiful lady.
But the most intimate was your book about Ann. Finally finished reading Ann of Green Pastures and had many, many thoughts/reflections. Two things that popped up immediately were (1) one is never finished with Ann as she is so much a part of ones inner core and (2) the word “green” in the title should be “greener” as she truly frolicked in a field that was unique and on another level.

I think Ann did not care about right and wrong or fumed about the wrongs/rights of the church; rather she focused on doing good things/deeds and having a good time with life. That is why the quote of Mason Cooley is so her.

As to the written journey of so many years that you encapsulated in 130 pages, my compliments to you. When the seed for this endeavor first saw light, your main emotion was anger; the emotion I now see is one of love. Know that to write is to direct a movie and you have done this well.

For some, writing can make pain tolerable, confusion somewhat clearer and the self stronger. Be it for a loved one and/or friend, most of us would love to infuse them with strength and clarity. And for many, to put words on paper can do it.

For my parents and their parents (if capable), to put words to paper allowed them to describe life as seen through their eyes and the reader saw it as such. How sad that writing today is looked upon as something best done by a professional writer. Phones cut back on writing and perhaps e-mail will bring some of it back. For anyone who has lost a loved one, how great it would be to have written words that expressed their innermost thoughts --- it allows them to leave a little bit of themselves behind.

And ever so often, we come across writing that is more than just a legacy…. it is therapy that brings them to new heights of awareness. This you have accomplished.

Just as Calvin Trillin did in his book about his wife, you have written a Love Story ---- a book that floats with LOVE. Because both of you totally opened up to each other, a depth of love was reached that most never experience but read about in romance novels. And the love you had was not a love restricted to each other --- there was love of family, friends and those in need --- a love that bounced back and forth and each fueled within the other…. end result was a vine that delivered a growth of such each and every day (like a menu with unlimited choices).

I salute you on a journey of the heart that is well done!


Don Clark
2/24/07

Fr. Pie,

Arrived home last night, my husband is away for Navy Reserves weekend so Amy and I stayed up late to read. Stayed up till 2 a.m. reading your book.

I highlighted passages, re-read many parts, and cried over some of it too. IT IS SINGLY THE MOST MOVING LOVE STORY I HAVE EVER READ. How lucky you are to have had a marriage of 2 people who are truly one force of kindness, friendship, and most of all love to everyone you know.

Those who read Ann of Green Pastures will experience a spiritual catharsis as we relive many of the feelings with you regarding our faith, the church, pre and post vatican experiences, and most of all how we maintain our faith today.

When you told us you were going to marry Ann, do you remember me kidding you about "marrying a NUN!!!" given all my encounters with them. But after I met Ann, I knew why you chose to spend your life with her. Whenever I talked to her I always felt that I had her undivided attention. She looked into my eyes with genuine interest and insight; everything around us would not distract her or get her attention. Most of our conversations always ended with her laugh too. She loved to laugh. You know Fr. when the ladies (Ann, me and my four sisters, and my mom) were in the kitchen fixing the food, we also had some great conversations, probably on a higher intellectual level than you and the men had down in the family room. Smile!

Erin has started reading your book and I, as write this, I am glancing over at her. I'm sure we will spend lots of time sharing our feelings about the message.

One final personal remark, your recap of Ann's last hours brought back my memories of mom's too. Theirs were very similar, a quiet solitude of resignation to this life, realizing there was no more strength left in their once strong and vital bodies. But the most important part of them, their spirits, were struggling to escape and GO TO WHERE THEY WERE MEANT AND PLANNED TO BE.

I don't have a mom anymore. . .or, she sure would've enjoyed Amy. . .or,Erin and Lori would've been to Ireland and back every summer if mom would've lived," 'cause she always told me so.

But I have to believe that there is a God who is all loving and is watching out over us and he/she gives us our gifts of these wonderful people like our mothers, our wives or husbands, our kids and grandkids, ON LOAN! It's up to us to make the most of our time together. Love one another, enjoy one another, and love the life we have together.

Dear Maureen,

Thanks for your order through my Web site. Pay pal is a very secure system. And, your comments represent an urgent message.

You always had that Irish wit and subtle humor that cuts through the jungle of spin and deceit. And yet, at the same time, you seek development of self and maturity in ministry. I champion your story, attitude and freedom, as a woman, to stand up and defend your self-respect as equal to men and to voice your self-esteem that comes with Baptism.

As you mentioned you did not read the book. You are waiting its delivery. Ann of Green Pastures is exactly what you are hoping for. The whole book champions the complete role of women in the Catholic Church, in leadership and decision making positions. We need your authoritative opinion, directives, strong intuition, creative and magnificent love. We need a woman Pope and women Cardinals, Bishops and priests. We need "a housecleaning of belief!"

Do you remember the song, "Where have all the flowers gone?" I believe it was made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary. The word "Flowers" is a metaphor. It represents those, beautiful lives, killed in the Vietnam War. It was directed at the politicians with this catchphrase in the song, "When will they ever learn?"

"Green Pastures" in my title is a metaphor, also. It is similar to "Flowers." It represents those, beautiful lives, excommunicated, killed, by the clerical leadership, "Where have all the Green Pastures gone?" Where have all the Ann's and yes, all the George's gone? "And, why have they gone?" This book is directed at the clerical leadership, in the form of a Love Affair. My 37 thousand words constantly repeat: "When will they ever learn?"

The book's metaphore also screams, "Where have all the millions of Catholics gone?" They have abandon or dumped the Catholic Church. "And, why have they gone?" "When will the leadership ever learn?"

Dear Fr. Pie
Thank you for writing your note to me before Christmas. I just purchase your book from your PayPal system on your Web site. My daughter Erin and I are excited to read it. I read your Web site messages, also.

Yours is a beautiful goal which I am sure many withdrawn Catholics, like me, will welcome. We will appreciate your book and Web site and visit each for information and sustenance. I go to the Methodius church now (four years), because the messages I receive from the minister are what I have been hoping to hear from my parish priest. The priest's message are about my fiscal responsibility to the church instead of my christian development and ministry.

I agree with your analysis, but would like you to consider another topic to champion - the role of women in the Catholic church. You see, I feel that another point of view of the popes is that women are not worthy to play a role in christian leadership. You probably think I'm a Wacky ERA member (which I'm not a member, wacky may be true), but the role women were allowed to play in the church is demoralizing as well. Now they let us become Eucharistic ministers, but that's only because of the voices they wanted to stifle when women demanded a bigger role of leadership in the church. When there's a shortage of men to give out the host, we get to do it. In baseball terms we can pinch hit, but not play in the game.

I hope I'm not sounding like a malcontent or angry ax-grinding Catholic. But I AM HURT AND ASHAMED at how the church has been in the last twenty years. I DON"T accept the Pope as our infallible leader - and making JPII a saint would be hypocrisy! It was on his watch that all the sex and cover-up scandals got swept under the rug. The current Pope disgusts me too, a real loser. My dad doesn't say anything to me about my choice to attend a Protestant church, but I think my mother, from the earth of Ireland, would agree with me if she were here.

I would love to hear from you and look forward to continued correspondence.

Best of luck with your new book! Maureen

I have just finished reading your book about Ann and your 31-year love affair. It touched me so deeply, that I'm finding it difficult to put to words how the book affected me.

It is such a beautiful and loving tribute. I only knew Ann a few short years, but she was a glowing light of love to me. Her spirit was indomitable. Was? IS !!! Ann still lives, like the Christ she loved and served. Of this I have no doubt.

The beauty of Ann's spirit, which you brought back to me through your book, is a shining truth that manifests the Holy, and right now I am experiencing her truth and beauty once more...the tears that well up,
the lump in my throat, are testimony to the sacred that I experienced in knowing Ann.

I am so grateful to have this book, George, for it brings Ann back to a prominent place in my consciousness. Ann personified the God of Love, and she encouraged the rest of us to live in love, to help the less fortunate, to dwell in the joy of God's miraculous creation. Your book is a beautiful gift to me personally, and I can only thank you for that.

Regarding a married priesthood and women priests, surely these will come to pass. Unfortunately, that will probably be after my lifetime. You have my utmost admiration, and Ann also, for not capitulating to the uncaring Church establishment. You lived your truth, and those who know you, and knew Ann, are so much the better for it!

Much love, Mary Dixon

George, thank you for sharing yours and Ann's legacy. The book arrived a week or so ago and I have read about 3/4's of it. Your Ann was quite a woman and I can see how deeply you were loved. Her death must have left a large hole in your heart. I know the feeling because I lost my wife almost two years ago with a sudden heart attack. The journey of grief never ends.

Our married priest stories although unique do have many of the same elements. We were married in 1972 and she too was a nun. We had a wonderful life together raising our two boys. I appreciate your story because it brought back many wonderful memories of my own journey. It is important that these stories be recorded and I appreciate you taking the time to write this tribute to your Ann of Green Pastures. Thanks!

Peace, Stu O'Brian, Corpus Legacy Project

(The University of Notre Dame is storing in their archives the legacy stories of priests who for one reason or other left the Catholic institutional church. These stories will be essential documents when future historians try to surmise the context of the Church in its relation with the law of celibacy and the consequences on personal lives and parish life. Any questions about this Legacy Project email Stu O'Brian [corpus643@comcast.net]. George Pieczonka)

Congratulations! Your book is long over due.
I would loved to have met your dear wife Ann. She sounds like a very humble,caring,kind, and loving person. She is with you in spirit and will give you strength to continue your great work.
Hopefully, your book will reach the eyes and ears of the powers that be in the R.C. church. I think the church will go on forever if changes are made regarding married priests and women priests. It would be nice if this happened in my life time. The church has lost a lot of good men and women because of "man made" laws. We have been taught to love God and spread His love. It is in expressing this love to other human beings that we will be closer to God. May positive thoughts help us to see this change in our church.

Dear Jan,
Thank you for you your review of January 17, 2007. I like your targeted insight: "She was a priest. . . in the truest sense of the title." You have made me reevaluate my thinking about Ann. She was perhaps in essence of what ordained female priests will add to the male counterpart. I think what you are saying, and you can correct me, that Ann had her own priestly-independence. We cannot deny that both genders will be unique in their approach to Justice and Love, and be complementary. Salt and pepper to a good chef are complementary!

Dear George,
You said it much better than I could have, George. When I think of being with Ann, beside having a beautiful strong face, I also always think of her strong hands. I, of course, always admired the way she expressed herself with them but she was also "ministering" with them as far as caring and teaching in the most subtlest of ways. And that was just a part of her that was very natural. The two of you together were a team with the advantage of your intellect and profound thinking and Ann was the natural nurturing minister of the twosome. It was meant to be. God is still steering you, George. Keep the faith.
Love, Jan

Thought provoking and haunting.

When I first met Ann, she was Sister Eugene Grace working in Camden, New Jersey, helping all who needed her. A priest-friend of ours introduced my husband and me to the Franciscan nuns there and helped out when we could. Ann was charismatic and so easy to talk and be with. We also knew her through the years as Sister Ann and then Ann Sultana and Ann Sultana Pieczonka. Even though her name and garb changed, she didn't. She remained herself, loving and giving, fun to be with and always interesting and interested.

Ann was able to balance all the phases of her life through love and imagination. Something I'm sorry to say that is dreadfully missing from the Church hierarchy where man-made rules and laws are their only way of life. Ann had the advantage.

Ann was not only the wife of a priest. She was a priest...in the truest sense of the title.

Her whole life was a prayer- a prayer of love and courage. George's book has left me feeling sad for the Church that shut Ann and George out…for all the knowledge, love and awakening that is missed by it's practitioners in not knowing them for what they could add to their life. Ann and George have added so much to ours and all those who truly know them. However, in my heart, I know that Ann and George didn't live on the edge of the Church. They are the Church…the followers of Jesus.

I only have one more thing to say, his "church" did not envelop Christ either. And it was this liberation that made him free to communicate and follow God and show us the way. George, you and Ann freed yourselves and were able to spread your love as God wanted you to do, not the limited way the "Church" said you must. So for your life and Ann's and sharing so much with us through your lives and your book, I say bravo! Congratulations on a job well done!

Dear Fr. Pie,

You were blessed to find Ann and have her in your life, but she was equally blessed to have you. You are an exceptionally rare person.

We were very young when you came to Holy Spirit. [with the exception of some of those boys in the freshman class/67]! We were quite regimented and schooled in 'acceptable' behavior: walked in straight silent lines from class to class, uniforms/jackets and ties, rote memorization, rarely spoke out of turn.. We lived in fear! When you and the other priests showed up our sophomore year, it was like a breath of fresh air! You brought enthusiasm and honestly to the classroom. You were young, smart, and, most importantly, wonderful role models.

After graduation, news would circulate that this priest, then that priest left and married. It was jubilant news! We were all so happy for those who stood up and made the choice. We were somewhat surprised that things turned out the way we hoped, but we knew you were special.

By the way, you mentioned Karen Scanlon in your book. I remember when she said that you would probably marry! She was character! We couldn't believe she was that bold! She liked to push the envelope, question authority, a real 60's girl. We liked her very much. She passed away a few years ago, I don't know what happened. She lived out of state.

Although many of us have given up on the Catholic Church, it doesn't mean we have given up on God. If you were our parish priest, most of us would still be parishioners. The Catholic Church is far from a democracy. I always thought members had even less influence than the clergy. What can we do to promote the 'married priest' issue?

If you are ever back in our area, we'd love to see you. We live about 5-10 minutes from Barbara [Bubbles!] Malley-Martella.

Thank you for the book. Thank you for signing it w/ such kind words.

Kathy [Brooks/66] Whelan

Someday the Catholic Church will have a fully functioning married clergy. Someday it will have women priests. It WILL happen, the only question is when. When it does happen, the married clergy can well use the lives of Ann and George Pieczonka as models.

A Catholic Priest and a Catholic Nun working together to bring Jesus to the "least of his brethren," fell in love. The love was so powerful it could not be denied. The church they loved so much would not consent to their marriage and turned them away. They knew that they had to be together as man and wife so, with great pain, they left the establishment, but they never left the faith. They continued their mission and in the end they became more Christ-Like together than they ever could have been separately and the world is a better place because of it.

This is a love story that will, at times, bring tears to your eyes. But, it will refresh the soul of anyone who ever loved. George Pieczonka has done a remarkable job on his first book. I heartily recommend it to all.

Ann of Grenn Pastures. . .the Inner World of Ann Sultana
By George Pieczonka

This is a story of two people who devoted their lives to serving God and others. After years of experience and practice, they met and fell in love. Their union prevented them from continuing their service to the Church. For the rest of their lives they were outcasts by the very institution they loved. And they were not alone - far too many men and women have experienced this same frustration. This story points out what a tragedy it is for the Roman Church which is in dour need of servants! This is a reminder that it is time for a new era - one that allows married Roman Catholic clergy to continue their service.

The author describes Ann's inner world in this poignant love story of two persons who are dedicated to bringing the love of God into their lives and the lives of others. Their dedication is a profound sermon lived, instead of a spoken one. Unfotunately the very institution they loved and served would not allow them to do this. It is a reminder that it is indeed time for a new era - one that allows clergy and nuns to be married and to continue their service through the Church.

After reading this story, ask yourself: would our lives be better with George as our pastor and Ann as his associate?

Write to George on his Web site.