Higher Calling
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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Member Comments
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.
Posted By: BATPAX @ 12/03/2007 7:58:55 PM
Comment: i have attended st clare and francis on and off for the past year. i have never felt a church environment so full of god's love. as jessica has stated, EVERYONE is welcome at the table there. the people of this church really live the words of jesus.......really live a life of faith that they joyfully share with everyone. it reminds me what the early christians must have felt---the joy, the faith sharing,the love.........all before organized religion highjacked christianity