Women challenge Catholic Church ban on female priests

I dont understand why there is government in church. And why there are laws for that church that the government inforces. Seems to me that Christ came to set us free from the law.... I dunno. And if their only concern is doing work for the people, then what difference does it make what their title is. Mother Teresa did just as much work for the people as any pope, and she certainly wasnt a priest. If people want titles and positions given by man and honored by man, then doesnt that negate everything they said about doing their work for God. I doubt he's sitting around nixing them from the records for doing good work in this world and not fighting to be reconized as priests, i dont think he cares, as long as the work is done. It all seems prideful to me. If they feel that God has ordained them to be priests then what they know their God has made them is all that should matter. Because like they said, its between them and their God. Infact, if they disagreed so whole heartedly with the whole thing, why not excuminicate themselves fromt he church so they can do what they feel they should be doing.... But then again, this is a catholic deal, and most things catholic evade my understanding.

Just thought I would add, that i mean no disrespect to the Catholic faith. we all believe what our hearts tell us it right, and i dont mean anything against anyone of any faith, God deals with the hearts and will of man, not me. We should all know what we believe, because we're the only ones that answer to God no one else is gonna do that for us. but we all have opionions- thats the human condition.

I agree, I commend them for trying to make a change. I don't understand why women cannot become priests...its not anywhere in the bible is it?

Nope. Nowhere in the bible does it say anything like 'women cannot be priests.'

Have you heard the Church's archaic logic for preventing women priests? They've said that it's because those working in the service of God should model themselves after Jesus, who, if you'll remember, was neither a woman nor had any women apostles.

This logic has more holes than an Ayn Rand plot.

This is the same church, by the way, that preaches equality and forgiveness...but apparently not if you're female. You go to Hell. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Wouldn't it be nice if those in power, in both religious and governmental institutions, acted the way they tell people to act? There's no real downside to allowing priestesses, other than the fact that all the men running the heirarchy will now be threatened by people who have instinctive organizational abilities.

well said, it's so sad sometimes. Religion has great ideas, basics, fundementals, but so frequently they are twisted to suit our mission or arguement.

I think back then, gender roles were set and unquestioned. Even in the bible, it asks men exclusively to become ministers (I don't have any verses on me. If anyone asks, I can get it). But I believe things have changed. God can use ANYONE willing and humble. I'm just so suprised it took the Catholic Church so long.

I apologize in advance if my comments offend anyone, but nothing about the Catholic Church surprises me. They have a long, sordid past filled full of many misdeeds, which I won't list. That they would drag their feet on ordaining women as ministers is quite typical. They are not known for their enlightened attitudes.

this ordination happenend practically on our doorsteps. archbishop meagher of kingston issued a statement saying that it was not an ordination. what struck me though, was that he was rather careful in his language. there was no condemnation and he stated that women are an important part of the church. i don't think it's the last we have heard from these women. it'll be interesting to watch. here is part of what was reported :
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Though nine women will be ordained priests on a boat in the St. Lawrence River in July, Canadian Archbishop Anthony Meagher of Kingston said the ceremony will be neither Catholic nor an ordination.

"To attempt an ordination this way is to step outside the church. If someone decides they don't want to be Catholic, there is nothing we can do. There is no need for me to get out into a row boat and announce that what they are doing is wrong," he said June 7.

At the same time, Archbishop Meagher said that as a protest the actions have significance. "There is no doubt the church has to change. There has to be more involvement of women in leadership and in decision-making," he said. But staging an invalid ordination is not the way to do it, he said. "I think there are more effective ways to protest," Archbishop Meagher said.

An association of approximately 14 groups is coordinating the ordination ceremony under the name "Roman Catholic Womenpriests Program." The ceremony will take place July 25 in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, following a women's ordination conference July 22-24 at Carleton University in Ottawa.

To avoid the jurisdiction of the Kingston Archdiocese and the Diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y., the organizers have rented a tour boat that will float on the border between Canada and the United States. Among the nearly 500 seats available, 220 already have been purchased at a cost of US$85 each.

Archbishop Meagher said the jurisdiction is "irrelevant because there is no ordination."

The July event will mark the first of its kind in North America. It is modeled after a similar event that took place in 2002 on the Danube River, between Germany and Austria, where seven women were ordained by a schismatic bishop.

The women who took part in that ceremony were excommunicated by the Vatican less than a month after the ceremony. Two of the women priests have since been ordained "bishops" and will perform the St. Lawrence ordinations.

Father Thomas Lynch, dean of studies at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto, predicted the Vatican will respond quickly, as it did after the Danube River incident. "Individuals who have sought this path before have been excommunicated," he said. "There will likely be a public statement from Rome for the sake of the faithful."

Victoria Rue, a candidate for the upcoming ordination, said the threat of excommunication would not keep her from participating.

"I always felt no one could take my church away from me. If it (excommunication) happens, it happens, but it is not anything that would deter me," she said.

She said her desire to be ordained has to do with "understanding the inclusiveness of all images of God."

After the ceremony, the women priests will have no parish and will make only one vow of "co-authority," rather than obedience.

Another candidate, Michele Birch-Conery, 65, a former nun who lives on Vancouver Island, will continue to teach feminist literary analysis at North Island College while acting as a priest for anyone who calls.

"We could be called to the gay and lesbian community here on the island. They might call me to do a blessing or marriage. I probably could become a marriage commissioner for British Columbia," she said.

Birch-Conery said she would "present myself to the people as a Catholic priest."

Father Lynch said the church teaching stipulating that the priesthood was reserved for men is "not about women being less as persons."

"The church feels it has the right to only ordain men because it is a tradition that has been given to us by the Lord himself, and has been affirmed by the power of the Holy Spirit through the centuries," Father Lynch said.

In any action of the sacraments, it is principally Christ who acts, and only secondarily the priest. Christ's maleness, and by extension, the male priesthood, keeps alive the nuptial symbolism that is so much a part of biblical theology and Catholic worship, he said.

"Christ is the bridegroom of the church, and if a priest is ... to act in the person of Christ, he must be male," Father Lynch said.

Yes, indeed, it is interesting! Thanks for your post. I will follow-up if I catch any additional news.

I think it's great that they've challenged the Church on this. And it's so sad that the only way the Vatican can react is by excommunicating them. Rather than opening up and listening to their people, they will throw them out because they have different beliefs. I too am a Catholic woman, and I don't see anything wrong with what they are doing. I think it is an important step forward for us women in the world of the Church. Hopefully it makes a difference. I love God and I love my Church, but I don't think women were meant to be subhuman.

I know I shouldn't post this, but I just can't resist.

I recently ran across a pundit who writes under the pen-name of "Spengler" for the Asian Times (www.atimes.com). The headline of one of his articles was:

"Women Priests? Women Never Forgive Anything!"

Unfortunately when you talk about religion and what each "religion" ...."believe" you have to think to yourselves, what is the most important to me. If you believe there is a God and he is the "maker" then you have no need for a religion....Religions are man made, I am told there are over 30,000 different kinds in the USA.
You don't need to "belong" to a religion if you know there is a God... just belong to him.

You've made a good point. Thank you.

The women will eventually win. When the Vatican chases out all the homosexual priests (as has been put into motion), the place is going to be pretty empty - they will then need the women to fill all those empty posts.

Do we really need anybody to fill these posts? As 'lightfoot' says, if you believe in God, or a god, do you really need religion, or any yahoo priests, etc?

I can't remember who said this but it seems appropriate:
"Those who cannot think for themselves need religion"

I don't think that thinking and religion go hand-in-hand.

Is that where faith comes into it?