Update: Fr. Bourgeois to appeal excommunication, but it doesn't matter

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, two pictures and a few words will suffice.

When you do this:

You'll end up like this:

Get the picture? I hope he does.

{more backstory here.}

Fr. Bourgeois' women priest activism to result in Vatican action

His case is one ripe for exommunication: he supports women's ordination, is obstinant in the face of Vatican reprimand, and seems ready to receive the sentence of excommunication.

Well actually, he might be facing more than that, as Canon Lawyer Ed Peters explains:

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has given activist Maryknoll priest, Rev. Roy Bourgeois, about a month to recant his support for women's ordination or suffer excommunication.

Without seeing CDF's warning letter to Bourgeois, it is impossible for me to comment on the precise grounds upon which his excommunication looms, but a related thought occurs to me: given the attitude that Bourgeois showed in his reply to CDF, I suspect that a penal decree here will not only impose an excommunication, it will also lay the groundwork for a fairly expeditious dismissal from the clerical state.

Signed, sealed, delivered.

And ya know, while we've got the official seals out of their boxes....

Picture: St. Louis Claims First *Pregnant* Catholic Priest

RiverFrontTimes:

"A little over a year ago, 26-year-old Jessica Rowley shattered the stained-glass ceiling, so to speak, by being ordained a Catholic priest. Now the St. Louisan is on the verge of giving birth to her first child, and a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for women’s ordination says that makes Rowley the world’s first pregnant Catholic priest."

Her husband is a United Church of Christ minister. So which church will the baby be baptized in?

"That's a good question," says Rowley, with a laugh. "It's a topic of conversation in our home a lot. We're going to baptize him in both churches."

Why, of course! Why didn't I think of that? I'm so narrow-minded with my solutions sometimes....

Pictures: Womanpriest in action

The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington DC recently hosted the "First Mass of Roman Catholic Womanpriest Janice Sevre-Duszynksa." I reported on it the day it happened.

Since then Call-to-Action associated, and self-proclaimed woman priest Bridged Mary has blogged about it.

Janice's storytime - oops, I mean "homily" - consisted of her reading an excerpt from her 1980 musical "Altar Girls" (which, wouldn't you know it, was never staged). The plot could not better fit my expectations:

"Set in 1962 during Vatican II, it is about a young girl, Bibbianna, who wants to become an altar girl. Every Saturday morning when she cleans the sanctuary and priests'sacristy with Sister Joan, she tells her about her desire to become an altar girl. As time goes by, Sister Joan decides to take on Bibbi's quest as a lark at first. Later, however, her consciousness rises and not only does she support Bibbi, but she is able to name sexism in the church. In doing so she finds herself in trouble."

It's so sad, really. Sad even beyond caricature, or trying to reason with individuals in such a state of mind. The great number of grey and white hairs present in this gathering reveal that such things are already on their way out without any assistance from us.

But the greatest danger I could see happening is that such people get away with convincing others that they have discovered truths (about the dignity of women, to name one) which are not already contained in the Catholic Church, or which somehow undermine her witness.

And yet such truths are contained in the teachings of Christ and passed onto his Church. So while prayer may be are only recourse we have for Bridged Mary and Janice Sevre-Duszynksa, they should raise our awareness of the misunderstandings that can drive other people from communion with the Church. Frankly, I think seeing the alternative can be one good deterrent.

Finally, what we must not do is condone these activities and retreat from the truth. There's a certain "Rev. Joe Irvin" mentioned in this post. There's a technical term for his involvement with women priests - "enabling."

Former Notre Dame Priest President, "that venerable fraud"

Diogenes caustically, but not untruthfully, comments on recent public statements made by Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, the former President of Notre Dame, who's been quoted as saying:

"I have no problem with females or married people as priests, but I realize that the majority of the leadership in the Church would. But what's important is that people get the sacraments."

With shepherds like that, who needs wolves?

Yikes: a "womanpriest" in my own backyard!

Fr. Joe introduces the situation to us:

Given my affection for Dorothy Day, this is a hard post to write. I was always afraid that the radicalism of The Catholic Worker movement might one day target the Church in such a way that it would sever its ties.

It looks like this will happen TONIGHT (September 5, 2008) at 7:30 PM. The so-called Roman Catholic “Womanpriest” Janice Sevre-Duszynska, who recently attempted ordination, will offer her first invalid and illicit Mass at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Northwest Washington, DC.

... The Archdiocese of Washington contacted members by telephone and in writing, stressing the incompatibility of the event with Catholic teaching and practice. However, they refused to cancel the event although it will probably forfeit their status as an approved Catholic organization.

Here's a picture ...

{update: actually, as a couple people point out, it's actually the red-headed woman:}

More details:

• Janice Sevre-Duszynska was "ordained" on July 31, 2006 in Pittsburgh through "Roman Catholic Womenpriests", the first event of its kind in the United States (source)
• The "RCW" website says she "writes essays, poetry, and plays, rides horses, keeps a lovely English cottage garden..." in addition to being the "co-chair of the Ministry of Irritation of the Women's Ordination Conference, the oldest and largest organization working for ordination of a renewed priestly ministry in the Catholic Church."
• The blog of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House advertises the simulated sacrament
• The MCITL blog decries "the heinous manner in which Dorothy Day's name is being dragged in the mire of disobedience and scandal."

The WDTPRS blog, meanwhile, has a scan of Archbishop Donald Wuerl's notice which lets "priests know that there won’t be a meeting with Christ in an upcoming [womenpriest] 'mass.'"

For myself, I'll be travelling the opposite direction, to a gathering of young Catholic professionals.

"Protestant pastor apologizes to Catholics over minister’s role in female ‘ordinations’"

So welcome to see this.

First, the context:

Just over a week ago, the dissident group Womenpriests claimed to “ordain” three women as priests at a Boston-area Church of Christ location. The move was condemned by the Archdiocese of Boston and now the Rev. David Runnion-Bareford, a Church of Christ minister, is apologizing to the archdiocese for his fellow minister’s sanctioning of the event.

On Sunday, July 20, Roman Catholic Womenpriests held an alleged ordination ceremony of three women at the Church of the Covenant, which is affiliated with both the Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ (UCC).

Now, the response:

Rev. David Runnion-Bareford, Executive Director of the Confessing Movement in the United Church of Christ, responded to the situation by sending an open letter to Boston area Catholics via Cardinal Sean O'Malley. In his letter, he apologized for the "division and confusion" caused by Rev. Nancy Taylor and the Church of the Covenant—the church were the ceremony was held.

"Please accept our deepest and sincere apology for the behavior of Rev. Nancy Taylor of Old South Church, UCC and the UCC related Church of the Covenant. They do not reflect the heart and mind of our United Church of Christ whose premise is 'that all may be one.' Those of us who truly value the unity of all Christians and treasure our ecumenical relationships with you as Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ are grieved,” Runnion-Bareford wrote.

Right, anytime a protestant minister facilitates such an action it is a slap in the face to the discipline and doctrine of the Catholic Church.

He continues:

The Confessing Movement UCC pastor also said that his movement is also “fully aware that this event was not motivated by a sincere desire to honor the call of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the ministry of committed Christian women.”

Rev. Runnion-Bradford further criticized the women for refusing to take a vow of chastity and for promoting a self-centered gospel, citing the “Body, Sex and Gender” section of the group’s web page.

“We know that 'Womenpriests' openly include candidates who are engaged in the practice of sexual license. It is significant that the participants would not take the vow of obedience or chastity. We are aware of the statements on their website proclaiming a false gospel of self and mutual affirmation, denying the fall of humanity and our need for repentance from sin and personal transformation through the atoning crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

"We note that it is not incidental that this event was hosted in Boston by a church that is prideful about its aggressive religious sanction of homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender relationships and same gender 'marriage.' We also note that the pansexual activist group Integrity participated and assisted with hospitality," Runnion-Bradford observed in his letter.

Would that the official Catholic response similarly took these women to task for these factors.

Update: "Archdiocese of Boston responds to attempted ordination of three women"

Blogged earlier, the AofB responds:

The Archdiocese of Boston has issued a statement in response to a group that planned and performed an ordination ceremony for three women in Boston on Sunday. In the July 18 statement the archdiocese’s vicar general, Father Richard Erikson, explained Catholic teaching on the male-only priesthood and said the group, which calls itself Roman Catholic Womenpriests, is “not an entity of the Roman Catholic Church.”

Roman Catholic Womenpriests held an alleged ordination ceremony of three women at a Boston-area Presbyterian church. (CNA)

No word about any sort of penalty being brought against these women. Has anyone heard different?

Boston Boondoggle: More "Women Priests"

[sarcasm] Oh wow, how radical [/sarcasm]:

Three aspiring Catholic priests will be anointed and prayed over this weekend in an ordination liturgy that will resemble the traditional in most ways but one: The three being ordained are women. (Boston Globe)

Photographic proof:

Pope Benedict's reaction:

Okay, seriously, Fr. Z has at the first report, then the follow-up, which is better and includes a Globe retraction:

Clarification: The main headline on a report in yesterday’s City and Region section may have led to the erroneous impression that three women will be recognized as priests by the Roman Catholic Church after their ordination tomorrow. As the report and a subordinate headline made clear, the women’s status after the ordination is a matter of dispute. Although the organization hosting the ceremony will consider the women to be Catholic priests, the Vatican and the Archdiocese of Boston will regard them as having excommunicated themselves and therefore as being neither Catholic nor priests.

The Curt Jester always has good comments about women ordinations. For instance, see his satirical post, "I am only a Newsweek reporter." Really, just re-read it. Everything in there still applies.

Ph/t: AmP Reader Steve.

[photo credit #1: Curt Jester; photo credit #2: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia]

Headline: "Vatican cracks down on attempts to ordain women"

I've been reading the headlines from last week, but suffice it to say that once again the media is trying to make a big deal about old news, or in this case, an old teaching that is simply being repeated.

Sometimes it helps to have a memory that extends more than a couple weeks. Like Carl Olson.

In fairness, something is new here, namely, how these things are treated by Rome:

As of today, though, all of that has changed: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has just decreed that those who attempt to confer holy Orders on women are excommunicated, as are the women who attempt to receive holy Orders. The decree goes into effect immediately.

Canon Lawyer Edward Peters gives us the details.

For a sociologist's take on this issue, see David Carlin at Inside Catholic.

Abp. Burke excommunicates three women involved in attempted ordination

update: Archbishop Burke has excommunicated two more persons today, more on that story here.

original story: Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis has today excommunicated three women of the archdiocese who participated in an attempted ordination on November 11th, 2007.

Burke, as his info page describes, is truly "one of the world’s foremost authorities on Roman Catholic Canon Law," and he has chosen to use the medicinal penalty of excommunicaton to "safeguard the unity of the Catholic Church and protect the souls of the faithful."

From the Archdiocese of St. Louis website:

As Archbishop of St. Louis, it is my responsibility to safeguard the unity of the Catholic Church and protect the souls of the faithful.

I have communicated with Ms. Fresen, Ms. Hudson, and Ms. McGrath, and informed them that if they participated in an attempted female ordination, they would be excommunicating themselves from the Catholic Church. In the apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed that the Catholic Church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women. This teaching is to be held definitively by all the faithful as belonging to the deposit of faith. Because they participated in the attempted ordination, Church law requires me to publicly declare the excommunication.

The situation is sad for the whole Church. It is cause of great concern for me as archbishop. Please join me in praying that both will be reconciled with the Church and that the great harm which has been caused to the Church, with the help of God's grace, will be healed.

• Declaration of Excommunication of Patricia Fresen, Rose Hudson, and Elsie McGrath (621.44 Kb PDF file)
• Questions and Answers Regarding Excommunication of Those Involved in Attempted Ordinations

update: expert commentary from Canonist Ed Peters:

I would like to say that Abp. Raymond Burke's excommunication of three women who recently participated in a pseudo-ordination in Saint Louis is a "text-book illustration" of how (non-judicial) excommunication is supposed to be applied in the Church today, but I can't say that: Why not? Because Abp. Burke's attention to juridic detail and his provision for the pastoral care of the people in his care so exceeds what the textbooks teach, that it is the textbooks that must copy from him, not him from the textbooks.

[Read why here]

Peters (my father) has also published a book on excommunication, entitled "Excommunication and the Catholic Church: Straight Answers to Tough Questions."

The Archbishop almost immediatly placed the women in question under interdict (AP) after the mock ordination.

He is also taking canonical action against renegade local priest Marek Bozek, who on March 5th refused to show at his hearing, opening him up to be dismissed from the clerical state by Rome. It's a long story.

St. Louis Catholic beat me to the punch on this story by about an hour, and with good coverage.

update: more background....

A picture of Fresen simulating an ordination of Hudson and McGrath:

The event took place, St. Louis Jewish Light reports, at a Jewish synagogue by the name of "Central Reform Congregation." However, "The Jewish Community Relations Council .... released a statement that CRC's decision to host the ceremony does not represent the greater Jewish community." Indeed, they've done everything they can to distance themselves from it.

Not so Pamela Schaeffer of the National Catholic Reporter, who was all agog at the development. Hudson and McGrath are listed on the "Roman Catholic WomenPriests" website as "ordained." At the time, Womens Ordination issued a press release which read: "Over 600 Cheer at Ordination of Two Roman Catholic Women Hosted by a Synagogue in St. Louis."

Finally, Bridget Mary, herself a "woman priest", notifies us that each of the excommunicated women received a decree at their respective homes by a courier. Some justifications for women's ordination she lists?

Recent scholarship affirms that women were ordained in the first twelve hundred years of the church’s history. The first half of the church’s history provides us with images and accounts of the inclusion of women in Holy Orders that contradict the later prohibition. The evidence provides a tradition we reclaim.

With facts like this one, I wonder how they can claim that the Catholic Church is out of touch.

In all seriousness, we should pray for these women that they may realize the gravity of their actions, the peril of their souls, and joyfully be reconciled to the Church. What's really going to get me is when the media reporters chime in and support their delusion. That's no help.

We should support Archbishop Burke because he is bravely performing the duties of his office.

update: the first AP "breaking news" report is accurate and balanced. We'll see what follows it.

Woefully pathetic reporting by the AP on "women priests"

Two women who made Roman Catholic religious history say they are ready to be the new face of the priesthood, even as Archbishop Raymond Burke moved to formally penalize them for violating church law. [- Associated Press]

Really, where to begin? Carl Olson, luckily, has a stronger stomach than I.

Related: Fr. Z comments on a revealing remark caught by an open mic at today's USCCB midday press conference.

"Archbishop Burke places interdict upon women who underwent "ordination" ceremony" - CNA

CNA:

Two women who took part in a ritual they claimed was an ordination ceremony have been placed under interdict, the Associated Press reports.

Rose Marie Dunn Hudson, 67, and Elsie Hainz McGrath, 69, underwent the ceremony at a St. Louis synagogue. The ceremony was led by a South African former nun who claimed to have been ordained a bishop by a German bishop in communion with Rome. The two women plan to "co-pastor" a community, starting December 1, in a space offered by a local Unitarian church.

Archbishop Raymond Burke of the archdiocese of St. Louis sent a three-page letter to the women after they underwent the ceremony. He ordered the women to "renounce any attempts" to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, or officiate at any other sacrament. The letter summoned them to appear before a church tribunal on December 3.

In the archdiocesan newspaper on Friday the archbishop wrote that the women would confuse and lead astray the faithful by their "sinful action."

Watching Abp. Burke, you'd begin to think that the body of the Church's Canon Law is actually a living organism and not a dead letter (as so many bishops, sadly, seem to think).

When people refuse to let reality get them down...

... they get featured in Newsweek.

Via the incomparable Diogenes.

Update: I was thinking about this story a little bit more and I've decided something: I work for Newsweek. I've always felt like I deserved to work there and, well, now I do. I intend to submit my first article tomorrow. If they reject it, or make the absurd claim that I don't, in fact, work for them, I'm going to go public and proclaim:

"I work for Newsweek. Not Surprisingly, the Heirarchy of Newsweek does not approve."