Activist Group Ordains Women Priests

Boston Organization Says It Wants To Pressure The Vatican To Recognize Women Priests

(AP)  An activist group hoping to pressure the Roman Catholic church into dropping its long-standing prohibition barring women from the priesthood says it ordained three women on Sunday.

Church officials did not recognize the ordination, and the Vatican has previously warned that women taking part in ordination ceremonies will be excommunicated.

The group known as Roman Catholic Womenpriests held the ceremony at the Church of the Covenant, a Protestant Church in Boston.

The group said the three women — Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore, Judy Lee of Fort Myers, Fla., and Gabriella Velardi Ward of New York City — are responding to a heartfelt call to serve the church as priests.

A fourth woman, Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, N.J., was ordained as a deacon, the group said.

The Archdiocese of Boston issued a statement decrying the ceremony.

"Catholics who attempt to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the women who attempt to receive a sacred order, are by their own actions separating themselves from the church," the archdiocese said.

The group says the women who are ordained remain loyal members of the church and will act as priests whether they are excommunicated or not.

Sunday's ordination ceremony was performed by two women the group describes as bishops — Ida Raming of Struttgart, Germany, and Dana Reynolds from California.

The ceremony "is not in compliance with their man-made rules, but it's certainly in compliance with the Roman Catholic ordination rituals because our bishops were ordained by all-male Roman Catholic bishops who are in good standing with the church," as provided by the church's ordination rituals, said Bridget Mary Meehan, the group's spokeswoman.

The group, which was formed in 2002, has conducted similar ceremonies in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

In March, the archbishop of St. Louis excommunicated three women — two Americans and a South African who were part of the Womenpriests movement — for participating in a woman's ordination.

Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, has rebuffed calls to change traditional church teachings on the requirement that priests be male.

Catholics who are excommunicated cannot receive sacraments. The penalty can be lifted if those who have been punished are sincerely repentant.

[harp1963]

All the best to all the women in the world, but 2008 years of tradition says keep the women out of the priesthood.

[thomas22ee]

Why would GOD want to turn away any person who offers themself to HIM? To be called and willing to be HIS disciple. I can''t believe that GOD is as petty as some human beings.

[hbevis]

All the best to all the women in the world, but 2008 years of tradition says keep the women out of the priesthood.

Posted by harp1963 at 10:38 PM : Jul 20, 2008

I have never understood why they will not let women be priest. A number of other religions have women preachers. I have heard some of them and they do about as well as the men.

[whiskyrocker]

Women have to be in everything. There will never be a woman priest. Nothing wrong with being a nun.

[hbevis]

They should change their way of doing things somewhat. Like, what is wrong with letting the Priest marry?? I don''t know of any other
that will not let their men marry?

I wish someone would post some answers to this post.

[rwsmith29456]

Our church would hardly be a church at all without its women leaders but I had to laugh at the ''pressure the Vatican'' line. I''m sure the Vatican really feel ''pressured''.

[soldat44]

They should change their way of doing things somewhat. Like, what is wrong with letting the Priest marry?? I don''''t know of any other
that will not let their men marry?

I wish someone would post some answers to this post.

Posted by hbevis at 11:27 PM : Jul 20, 2008

Come and learn the faith of the Roman Catholic Church and your questions will be answered. BTW - There are married priests. They are men who were married before they were ordained. But if their wife passes away before them they cannot remarry.

Peace be with you.

[soldat44]

They are not ordained. It''''s not recognized. They are only drawing attention to their own idiocy.

Posted by MyOpinion1 at 10:33 PM : Jul 20, 2008

Correct. They will be excommunicated.

[soldat44]

You go, girls. Although, I still do not understand why any self-respecting woman would even want to be a part of a made-by-men, made-for-men religion.

Posted by elicatlover at 10:31 PM : Jul 20, 2008

Obviously you are not Catholic. How about I come to your church and tell you how to run things. You do go right?

[nojoy01]

Why would GOD want to turn away any person who offers themself to HIM? To be called and willing to be HIS disciple. I can''''t believe that GOD is as petty as some human beings.
Posted by thomas22ee at 10:55 PM : Jul 20, 2008

It''s simple, oh doubting one. He has rules. And these rules are not like the ones you''re probably used to dealing with everyday. They''re non negotiable. It''s His glove, His ball, His bat, & His ballpark. You can follow His rules & live forever or just die. By the way, there is no He11, it''s an invention used to scare people into "being good". But it doesn''t work that way. You can follow His rules and live forever or ignore His rules & die. Forever. Your choice.

[nssherlock1]

The priests don''t want to share their choir boys with mere women! lol

[omded]

The archdioces of Boston is completly right in its statement saying that these women are separating themselves from the church. The question is, why should they care? As long as they aren''t separating themselves from God, then there''s no big loss. In fact, there''s no loss at all. "The Church" has nothing to do with God. It has everything to do with the people who invented it and those who run it. The biggest mistake people have made for the last several centuries is association "the church" with God. There is little, if any connection. "The church" was invented by men, to manipulate the ignorant masses into complete obedience to their will. If these ladies want to do something for God, and if they want to do something for the people around them, God welcomes them with open arms, regardless of what a bunch of selfish little men have to say about it.

[whiskyrocker]

I was an alter boy for about 7 years.I thought I''d never see the day they let girls do it but the church does.

[kamsack50]

Somehow, a woman as a priest is ridiculous. A lot of people who think otherwise have no experience with the Mass. Some things are male, and some are female. Monks and nuns are different, too. Each unique in their own way. If you have any experience with the Roman Catholic Mass, and active in that church, then you know a woman as a priest is like a joke. It''s just ridiculous, said and done.

[dmhphils]

All those candles, and statues of saints, and rosaries, and hand crossings, and kiss this and kiss that, read this in Latin, and say this and say that, wear this robe, and light this candle now, walk around the table and then walk back, repeat this, and sing this, and say that now....where the heck is Jesus in all that ritual? It is just an honest question.

[whiskyrocker]

noseonurface:
-------------
The gathering of the community
The proclamation of the word
The celebration of the eucharist

The mass is all about jesus and the gospels.It is very precise unless it is a special mass.

[jediservant]

You know that people left Europe and came to America to escape religious persecution from the Roman Catholic Church. It was clear to them at that time that this was a false system of religion and many thought the pope (that is to say the position "Vicar of Christ", not the man) was the Anti-Christ.

For many years the Catholic Church was not allowed in America but just like today we see that people%u2019s memory is very short and they forgot what the Church stood for.

This truly is a false system of worship. They bow to idols, the belief in transubstantiation; indulgences, purgatory and infallibility are just a few doctrinal examples that contradict the Holy Word of God as written in His Bible.

[soldat44]

You know that people left Europe and came to America to escape religious persecution from the Roman Catholic Church. It was clear to them at that time that this was a false system of religion and many thought the pope (that is to say the position "Vicar of Christ", not the man) was the Anti-Christ.

For many years the Catholic Church was not allowed in America but just like today we see that people%u2019s memory is very short and they forgot what the Church stood for.

This truly is a false system of worship. They bow to idols, the belief in transubstantiation; indulgences, purgatory and infallibility are just a few doctrinal examples that contradict the Holy Word of God as written in His Bible.

Posted by JediServant at 06:43 AM : Jul 21, 2008

Nice try....but wrong as usual.

[soldat44]

All those candles, and statues of saints, and rosaries, and hand crossings, and kiss this and kiss that, read this in Latin, and say this and say that, wear this robe, and light this candle now, walk around the table and then walk back, repeat this, and sing this, and say that now....where the heck is Jesus in all that ritual? It is just an honest question.

Posted by noseonurface at 04:24 AM : Jul 21, 2008

Jesus Christ is Very Present in the Most Blessed Sacrament...The Eucharist. You''d know that if you attend Mass and learn the Faith.

Come and See.

[cyberdjs4]

This issue further proves why religion doesn''t work; because it is a human concept and not a divine one.

People believe their faith gives them an entitlement that supersedes the written laws that govern humanity.

Stop praising God and start praising Nature.
Nature doesn''t choose sides and doesn''t require people or books to "spread the word".

[splicey4]

The Catholic church is not a religion and never was. First, it was a political entity bent on ruling the world (which it did for over 1500 years. Now it morphed into a business which is rapidly failing because it can no longer produce what the public needs or wants. Let them excommunicate the foolish women who want to be a part of it. They can start their own businesses and maybe buy some pretty statues and a few holy paintings but they still can''t give the masses (no pun intended) what they need.

[concerned222]

I am so amazed at how many people are really against women. I agree that women need to take care of children as mothers, but fathers do too. Both work today because of the economy and to get by.
Guess this is why we won''t have a woman President any time soon (to straighten out the mess the men have made-they havenn''t been to successful lately have they?) Not allowing women to follow their hearts and God''s call (excuse me, Goddess'' call) is awful.

[tootall10142]

Perhaps if thier more the sexual abuse ratio would drop.God ,i dont think cares who teaches his word as along as someone is listening .Im not catholic but i dont agree on some of the things that they tolerate in thier churches.Some people refer to the archdiocese as the great *** of the world.why so mant gay priests and how can they say they are holymen is this not sacrareligios?

[soldat44]

soldat44: You can say anything you want about any church, why would I care? Unlike most of the posters here, I don''''t get on my high horse about every little opinion that doesn''''t agree with mine. I''''m not sure why anyone would put that much negative energy into anything, let alone a comments section of a news story. What''''s the matter, did I hit a nerve? And why do you want to know if I "go?" Does that somehow make my opinion more or less valid to you? Am I only allowed to comment if I follow along with you in lock step?

Posted by elicatlover at 09:21 AM : Jul 21, 2008

If you are not Catholic, why do care? If you do not take Jesus Christ as your Savior, why do you care?

No one is asking/demanding you to go through life ''lock-step'' with any one. It''s your life. You have Free Will.

BTW - I do not comment on anything that is none of my business or on a subject that I obviously know nothing about or know enough about.

Peace be with you.

BTW - I have a right to my opinion as much as the next person and so do you.

Take care.

[akpals]

I think that if these women sincerely felt the need to teach the word of God they would not be so hell bent to only do so in the position as a priest. What is wrong with becoming a nun? Mother Theresa didn''t feel the need to become a priest to do the work she felt God put her here to do. Become a pastoral associate, or a religious education teacher. This isn''t about the priesthood, this is about power. This is about women who want something they can''t have. People need to realize that sometimes you can''t just walk in and change the rules to suit your own wishes. If what they want is to be a leader, then there are many positions in the Catholic church that would suit them. It seems that what they want is to be in control and call the shots, well they should start their own church where they can make up their own rules.

[perm3800]

soldat: the only ''married'' priests within the RCC are those who were ''absorbed'' due to schisms within their churches, where married clerics were accepted along with other clergy abandoning their own churches. The RCC accepted Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal and Byzantine Rite priests within my lifetime due to various schism. If the priest was already married (most of those faiths allowed married men to enter and a few allowed the ordained to marry,) the RCC accepted them. If they were accepted unmarried, they lost the right to marry. If they entered married, they could not divorce and they could not remarry upon the death of the wife. However, men reared or converted to RCC who are married MAY NOT become priests until they are widowed. To be a married priest in the RCC, you must have been ordained in a different faith while married and then accepted into the RCC clergy as a part of schismatic action (such as what is ocurring with the Anglicans and gay Bishops.)

[barbaram99]

It is men holding them back. The mass is meaningful. Not every woman is a wife,mother. I don''t have family ties. Not every woman is a Sister. I love the nuns. I was told I could not do this/that. Now ladies are in a war zone. Some man thinks he know what is best for us women,when he don''t. In America, the churches are businesses. Did the pope over look that. peace be with ye,

[perm3800]

The ordination of the three ladies is without meaning. It won''t be recognized by the Vatican and the ladies are self-excommunicated. They might as well have founded their own Church. That said, the validity of the Churches doctrine on the ordination of women is wrong. They state that Christ had only male Apostles but who knows? That book wasn''t written until he had been dead almost 300 years. Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha - sisters of Lazarus: these ladies are all mentioned in more than one place as being disciples of Christ and Mary Magdelene is the one to whom He appeared upon his resurrection (or maybe it was Martha''s sister? Nah, the Magedelena.) It was the ladies who hung around until His death, the ladies who kept watch - but the RCC doesn''t think ladies are good enough to perform the transubstantiation. Go figure. Confirmation, Ordination and Marriage are the only two sacraments wholey reserved for the clergy. The laity may perform Baptisms in extermis, hear confession in exteremis and provide last rites in extermis (meaning, on the death bed or when there is absolutely no posibility for the presence of a priest: say, being abandoned on a desert isle.) There is even a limited option on Marriage - it can be performed and then validated at the soonest accessible priest. Again, the desert isle analogy.

[perm3800]

Shucks, can''t count (actually, I edited in one place and forgot to do so in the other) THREE of the SEVEN sacraments are wholey reserved to the priest: Confimrantion, Ordination and Marriage. The remaineder have exceptions for exteremis and Marriage has a quasi-stated where the act can be performed but isn''t valid until it is blessed.

[minnick8-2009]

I''m quite certain that the Priesthood was taken off the Earth at the deaths of the apostles. After that, everyone in the Catholic Church as been self-appointed. That being the case, what difference does it make if the rites and ceremonies are performed by a self-appointed male or a self-appointed female in the Catholic Church?

I''m not Catholic for a number of reasons.

[kansas1946]

(AP) An activist group hoping to pressure the Roman Catholic church into dropping its long-standing prohibition barring women from the priesthood says it ordained three women on Sunday.

*****************************

Activist today, mainstream tomorrow. Watch out boys, the girls are movin'' up!! :o)

[xmanborg]

Its about time.

[barbaram99]

The witch hunt in the old days. Ye forget that. It came to America. New England. Today we know they were killed for being blind,epslipsy,psoratsis,palsy etc. Things they were born with. The dam churches allowed the killings in the name of well ye know..men..It still goes on..