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.
Higher Calling
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How has your family handled your decision? Are they still Roman Catholic?
They are. They are actually incredibly supportive. My immediate family came for the ordination. My grandmother bought me all the vestments.
How many people are in your congregation?
We have 80 registered members. And we have a number of people who come who are also part of the Roman Catholic churches but who come to worship with us as a place to refresh their souls—a lot of Catholic sisters and ex-priests.
How does being married affect the way you do your job?
It's been nothing but a blessing in my ministry. It isn't so odd if we look at the Episcopal Church or other denominations that have had married clergy for a long time. Being exposed to those traditions made me see that it could be possible. Married priesthood was a reality in the Catholic Church in medieval centuries. It wasn't until later that celibacy was mandated. [In the Ecumenical Catholic Communion] we have married priests. We have women priests. We have out gay and lesbian priests in partnered relationships. We see the benefit of intimate connections. That helps us relate to couples. We also receive the kind of emotional support that so many Roman Catholic priests have to live without because they're mandated to be celibate.
Are you going to have kids some day?
We're really looking forward to this symbol. "This is my body given for you." To be a pregnant priest will just add a whole other dimension to those words.
So will you be the first-ever pregnant priest?
Probably the first Catholic pregnant priest. I'm sure there have been Episcopal priests who've been pregnant.
Do you know the other female Catholic priests?
In the Ecumenical Catholic Communion there are six other women priests. I know all of them. In the Ecumenical Catholic Communion we no longer claim that we're underneath the authority of the pope. [There's also a group called the Roman Catholic Women Priests, which ordains some women priests.]
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