Higher Calling
A woman is ordained to the Catholic priesthood. Not surprisingly, the hierarchy does not approve.
Last week 25-year-old Jessica Rowley became one of about a dozen women nationwide to make a highly unusual career move: she was ordained a Catholic priest. Rowley's ordination—which took place at Eden Theological Seminary, a progressive institution in Webster Groves, Mo.—is approved by the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, a group of churches that decline to recognize the authority of the pope but see themselves nevertheless as Catholic. This week Rowley—who is also married—begins working full-time as an associate pastor at Saints Clare & Francis, a breakaway parish in Webster Groves.
The Roman Catholic Church, not surprisingly, does not recognize Rowley as a priest. "The Church does not see itself able to ordain women, following the long and constant teaching of the church," says Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (It does, however, recognize the more than 100 already married men who became priests after a conversion to Roman Catholicism.) NEWSWEEK's Karen Springen talked with Rowley about how she views her role. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: What made you decide to become a Catholic priest?
Jessica Rowley: It was a long process that started at a very young age. I [grew up Roman Catholic and] was always attracted to the church and to things spiritual. I was always affirmed by my youth minister that I had gifts for ministry.
Your husband, who is Protestant, helped you realize that you wanted to be a priest. Tell me about that.
I began going to church with him, and he began going to mass with me. At his church there were female pastors. He's a member of the United Church of Christ. It's a progressive, mainline Protestant denomination. They ordain women, and they're open to gays and lesbians in their congregation.
That's when you thought the ministry might be possible for you?
That's when I decided to go to seminary. I figured I couldn't be Roman Catholic anymore. When I was in seminary, I found the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. It resonated with the sacraments I grew up with, and I knew this was the place I was called.
Have you heard from the Roman Catholic hierarchy?
The community I belong to hasn't felt anything from the bishop, but local Roman Catholic pastors have warned their congregations not to attend [ECC churches].
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Member Comments
Posted By: ncpatl @ 11/15/2008 12:29:40 PM
Comment: Women were ordained in the early church. For example, Phoebe, a deaconess, is singled out for praise by Paul-- not exactly known as a feminist kind of guy. And of course early priests were married, too. The Church has betrayed this Christian tradition and its own history by insisting on a heirarchy made up only of men trying to be celibate. The excuse you always get is that priests have to be men because Jesus chose men to be apostles. Well, Jesus chose Jewish fishermen and tradesmen, and the Church doesn't insist on that. Having a Y chromosome is equally irrelevant.
As a person who was raised Catholic-- CAtholic schools and an excellent Jesuit college-- I have seen first-hand the damage done when the Church restricts the priesthood to men, and to men who think they can manage celibacy.
Vatican II said "The Church is the peope of God." The Church's priesthood should reflect that. Especially because the US bishops have said that sexism is a sin.
My choice has been to worship elsewhere-- I can't deal with the hypocrisy of the Catholic church anymore. But as a cultural CAtholic, I cheer on this wonderful woman and others trying to change the church from within, or through splinter groups.
Posted By: dva_tsenta @ 05/09/2008 1:13:57 AM
Comment: +1 - This woman is not a Catholic at all, much less a Catholic priest. She is very mistaken and lost. I wish journalists would be more precise with their wording - misleading information like that in this article could lead those who know nothing or very little of the Catholic Church to incorrect conclusions. I must also object to the following comparison: "It [the Church] does, however, recognize the more than 100 already married men who became priests after a conversion to Roman Catholicism." It is very misleading to juxtapose the Church's recognition of married men (mostly Protestant ministers) who converted to Catholicism and were ordained priests with the woman in question here. The Church's tradition of the celibate priesthood is not written in stone as is the tradition, supported by well-considered theology, of only men being ordained as priests. I hope that the author, Karen Springen, will be more precise in the future.
Posted By: mmsiciliana@dls.net @ 05/08/2008 9:00:51 PM
Comment: Sorry, Jessica Rowley is not a "Catholic" priest. The community she "ministers to is Catholic" in name only. Unlike the Catholic Church, which is the Church founded by Jesus Christ, the organization she belongs to was founded by a human being. The Catholic Church is universal, worldwide, not simply for people who live in Webster Groves, MO. And Jesus did not "welcome everyone to the table." Read what he had to say to the Pharisees who thought they knew how God operated.