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PDF versionFranciscan ready to accept consequences for joining woman-led liturgy
Fr. Jerry Zawada says excommunication has yet to be discussed
Nov. 30, 2011
Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada, right, leads a Nov. 19 liturgy with Janice Sevre-Duszynska.
Despite rumors that Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada would be excommunicated and expelled from his order for his participation in a liturgy led by a female priest, Zawada and the leadership of his order say that has yet to be discussed.
Zawada participated in the Nov. 19 liturgy while attending the School of Americas Watch in Fort Benning, Ga.
Fr. John Puodziunas, provincial minister of the Franciscan Friars of the Assumption BVM Province, told NCR that he has not received any contact from the Vatican on the matter.
"There have been no official contacts from anyone," Puodziunas said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Zawada and his lawyer also said no contact had been made.
Zawada, a well-known peace activist, told NCR he met with Puodziunas on Nov. 29 at the Franciscan friary in Franklin, Wis., and said some of the discussion focused on the liturgy held during the SOA Watch weekend.
"[Puodziunas] was reassuring me in many ways," Zawada said. "He was not harsh, he was not antagonistic in any way. He's been very respectful, very kind and very understanding."
Zawada's lawyer, Bill Quigley, also described the talks as a "very mutual, respectful dialogue."
Puodziunas declined to comment on the matter.
Zawada joined Janice Sevre-Duszynska, who was ordained as a priest in 2008 in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, in leading a liturgical service for more than 300 people at the annual SOA Watch in Columbus, Ga., north of Fort Benning.
Zawada said he has pondered the issue of women's ordination for "quite a long time," adding that there's "something unjust" with the current structure.
"Our structure needs reshaping," he added.
For him, the opportunity to follow his conscience and to join others to "support the movement" toward female ordination presented itself in the liturgy at SOA Watch.
"[It's what] the Holy Spirit is calling us to do," Zawada said.
Previous cases involving support of women priests have resulted in latae sententiae, or automatic excommunication. Attempted ordination of a woman was added to the Vatican's list of "grave crimes" in 2010.
Quigley, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, said Zawada and others in the church are entitled to due process and a right to a hearing. Quigley said Zawada did not want an adversarial situation, but did want a transparent process.
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When asked about a possibility of excommunication, Zawada said the thought was "hurtful on some levels" but told NCR he does not plan to challenge any disciplinary action.
"Whatever consequences come for me, I'm willing to accept," he said, adding he has no intention to retract his opinion and has "no intention of leaving the Catholic church."
Zawada has been involved in a variety of social justice causes. He has been arrested several times for trespassing at previous SOA Watch protests as well as for trespassing while protesting the construction of a nuclear weapons facility in Kansas City, Mo., in 2010.
In 2009, he was a member of the "Creech 14" who peacefully protested the U.S. military's use of automated attack drones, leading to his arrest at Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas. In July of that year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers charged Zawada and others for littering after they allegedly left gallon jugs of water along trails for passing migrants.
Recent years have seen the church take action against several church figures who supported women's ordination. In May, the pope removed Bishop William M. Morris of Australia for a 2006 pastoral letter indicating his openness to ordaining women as well as married men.
Fr. Roy Bourgeois continues to fight to remain a member of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers after his 2008 participation in Sevre-Duszynska's ordination. Bourgeois is a friend of Zawada's.
"I think what [Roy] did was courageous and admire him to this day," Zawada said.
Zawada said he hopes to return to his home in Tucson, Ariz., where he and two fellow friars aid migrant workers, on Dec. 10. It is possible he will meet with Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson upon his return.
Zawada said he will not fight any prospective charges and said he plans to continue working for those in need of help.
"I believe in the struggle for truth and for justice for people," he said. "I want healing. I want hope. I want compassion."
[Brian Roewe is an NCR intern. His email address is broewe@ncronline.org.]
"Excommunication said the
"Excommunication said the doctor. Excommunication said the nurse. Excommunication said the lady with the alligator purse!"
Out of the order said the doctor, out of the order said the nurse, out of the order said the lady with the alligator purse!
Miss Lulu knew a priestess, she called her Father Jill. She pushed her in the water to see if she'd stay still. She swam about the water, she came out for some air. Then she preached a sermon which was quite debonair! But Lulu wasn't buying it & kicked her in the rear!
"Excommunication said the doctor. Excommunication said the nurse. Excommunication said the lady with the alligator purse!"
Thanks for the morning laugh.
Thanks for the morning laugh.
"Latae Sententiae" In simpler
"Latae Sententiae"
In simpler terms, nobody has to take personal responsibility. Which means they can be neither challenged nor held accountable.
So true. When a bishop
So true.
When a bishop "lataes" somebody out of the Church, the bishop is taking the easy way out.
Just like Bishop Olmsted in Phoenix when he "lataed" Sister McBride out of the Church. He was not required to take any responsibility for his public announcement. Kind of like getting the desired results without having to do any of the heavy lifting.
Episcopal laziness, pure and simple.
(and the good hierarch has yet to apologize: no cojones)
And just what would Bishop
And just what would Bishop Olmsted apologize for? Sister McBride as a woman religious represents the Church when she made a medical decision that was counter to the Churches position on abortion. Now she is free to take what ever stand she wishes to take.
By the way, she excommunicated herself at the moment she made the decision to go through with the abortion. The bishop only formally recognized the fact that an excommunication had occurred.
The faithful bishop has nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all.
“Wherefore, in order that all
“Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.” (Apostolic Letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, of John Paul II to the Bishops)
The fact that a
The fact that a pope--Innocent III, John Paul II, John XII, or Alexander VI--or even a Vatican tribunal says something does not make it, ipso facto, a sin to disobey. Where did we get that idea? Obedience to religious authorities is more problematic than those of us growing up in the 50s (such as myself) tend to think. On matters of Faith and Morals, speaking ex cathedra--that is something altogether different. letters, encyclicals, public statements--we need to listen respectfully, but, like Galileo and others, we may need to express the truth as we and our conscience work through it.
There's your truth and then
There's your truth and then there is my truth and his truth and her truth and their truth and John's truth and Myra's truth...
All God's chillun got their own truth!
Below is the response by then
Below is the response by then Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to a general dissent from Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. It was distributed under a cover letter here.
Resp ad Dubium Ordination.
Dubium: Whether the teaching that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women, which is presented in the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to be held definitively, is to be understood as belonging to the deposit of faith.
Responsum: In the affirmative.
This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium (cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium 25, 2). Thus, in the present circumstances, the Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32), has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held always, everywhere, and by all, as belonging to the deposit of the faith.
The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul II, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved this Reply, adopted in the ordinary session of this Congregation, and ordered it to be published.
Rome, from the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the Feast of the Apostles SS. Simon and Jude, October 28, 1995.
+ Joseph Card. Ratzinger, Prefect
+ Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop Emeritus of Vercelli, Secretary
Many Catholics who do not
Many Catholics who do not want to see women priests refer to the Responsum to the Dubium as proof that John Paul II issued an infallible statement against the ordination of women priests.
This is an error made by these Catholics. Theologians determined at that time that this statement does not meet the necessary conditions for being infallible. Infallible statements must be made clear without a doubt that they are infallible - but such statements must come solely through the Pope - not through another bishop - as was the case with Cardinal Ratzinger.
This is only one of the reasons why the Responsum is not infallible - but this one reason is all that it takes to make it not infallible.
Read your Code of Canon Law and you will see why.
Siberian
I am not sure which is
I am not sure which is worse:
1. The blind obedience which some give to anyrhing said by the pope and hierarchy.
or
2. The sad fact that often the worst enemy of women is other women.
And that, really, is all that
And that, really, is all that needs to be said. The door is closed, the bell has rung. Roma locuta est - causa finita est.
Except that those who believe
Except that those who believe otherwise have outlived JPII and will outlive all those who agree with him. I predict change within 10 years, if not sooner. Indeed, if the people refuse to stop saying "and also with you" at Mass, I expect an English language Galatian Catholic Church to reemerge under an autocephalic patriarch, who will have full freedom to allow the ordination of women, first to the deaconate and then to the priesthood and to accept the ordination of anglican women. You will likely live to see this unless you are very, very old.
Bring it on baby! Hallejuyah!
Bring it on baby! Hallejuyah!
You'd have to be under the
You'd have to be under the influence of hallucinogenic substances to see this ever take place in the Catholic Church. Surrender.
Rome may have spoken, but you
Rome may have spoken, but you still need $3.00 for a tall latte at BigBux coffee store down the street. Roman pontifications don't purchase squat anymore.
I believe squat is of
I believe squat is of somewhat greater value than a Roman Pontification.
Sez who?
Sez who?
and what has Rome said on
and what has Rome said on this alleged event? cowardly, nothing, the velvet glove . . .
causa non finita
non locuta est
Now that you've quoted JPII,
Now that you've quoted JPII, please be advised that his conclusion (and the premises on which it was based) have been shown to be false.
Not only *can* the Church ordain women to the Catholic presbyterate and episcopate, the Church *has already done so*.
Good try.
But no cigar.
(or perfume, etc.)
And my theory is that the
And my theory is that the reason JPII and the Vatican so vigorously opposed allowing women into the priesthood is that then women would be part of the clerical culture and they would not, for one minute, stand for the subculture of pedophilia that is still embedded in the clerical priesthood of the Roman church, the women would be blowing the whistle bigtime and cleaning up the clerical house...
The scourge of sexual abuse
The scourge of sexual abuse of youth is not restricted to the Catholic Church nor is it restricted to men.
The Judaizers in the early
The Judaizers in the early church did not believed that Gentiles could fully be members without circumcision. The Holy Spirit proved them wrong when She came upon the family of Cornelius in the pressence of Peter.
It's a sign of weakness when
It's a sign of weakness when one has to quote self-serving documents written by those who benefit the most from what is being written.
I also believe that, in this day and age, to incur excommunication for doing now what is most likely a thing of the future is a badge of honor!
A brave and loving priest,
A brave and loving priest, this Father Jerry. He is of course, one hundred percent correct. This is about the struggle for truth and justice for all people, including women. The Church of Rome must change or die. A woman Bishop of Rome would be a great way to demonstrate the Church gets it!
A priest in name only. When
A priest in name only. When he is supposed to be a sign of unity, he is becoming a cause of disunity, strife, hate ... a priest in name only.
I think the priest is,
I think the priest is, indeed, a sign of unity. He is just unwilling to be a sign of uniformity. Also, just how do you come up with "hate"?
Disuinity, at the same time,
Disuinity, at the same time, implies and generates distrust, which leads to fear and strife, which are the foundation of hate. If you don't know this from experience, you are living in lala-land.
Anonymous, you are supporting
Anonymous, you are supporting your reference to "hate" based on your interpetation of the word "disunity". Yet, as explained in my post, what we disagree on is whether Father's action is promoting disunity. Until that is agreed upon, your defense of using the word "hate" is not a defense at all.
Peace and Prayers,
John David
You don't help our cause by
You don't help our cause by withholding your name.
I am not here to help either
I am not here to help either "our cause" or "their cause". I don't know who the "us" and "them" are. I can ony see the divided, pitted-against-each-other "we", hopelessly entangled in mutual rejection and hate. Only when we think as "we", together, do we have a chance for the truth. What is going on here and what is glorified in this article is a rejection of unity or communion, and an abomination of truth.
Gutless and weak. If you want
Gutless and weak. If you want to sow discord and inject "hate" into the conversation, please have the courage to give your name. What are you afraid of?
Listen to yourself, and read
Listen to yourself, and read the comments here. I don't need to 'inject' hte here, it is already thriving and well. It is funny, how you cannot hear even yourself.
I don't see, how my name could help or hinders here. My name is irrelevant if you are intrested in discussing facts and issues. If you engage in name calling and ad hominem arguments, as you feverishly do, to know my name would only help you to baypass the facts and issues and you would be even more busy who I am. There is no need for that.
"A priest...when he is
"A priest...when he is supposed to be a sign of unity." I find very little sign of unity in the priesthood today. I feel only exclusion and power struggle. As it is today, the sign value has been diminished and no longer yields to me a call of oneness with the church.
Who hates whom? I don't hate
Who hates whom? I don't hate this priest or the woman he celebrated a liturgy with, do you? I don't think this priest hates the church; he has no desire to leave it.
People who would like to see the church hate don't hate the church. Why do traditionalists always assume that they do?
WE are the church.
If he's ready to accept
If he's ready to accept excommunication, that's good. On your way, now. In every period where there are successful heresies—arianism was no different—the biggest obstacle to our discharging the duty of making disciples is the delusion that someone is already a disciple. You can't make someone a good Catholic if they're convinced that they're already one, which is why excommunication is considered a medicine not a punishment. It's a medicine that should be used more often.
I also think it's difficult
I also think it's difficult to make a good Catholic out of a mature Christian.
Here, here! More often than
Here, here! More often than not the hierarchy relies on canon law to justify and support its decisions, pastoral letters, papal bulls, apostolic letters etc., etc., etc. A good friend who is both a canon lawyer and a civil lawyer once said "civil law is corrupt, without doubt, but caon law is absolutely corrupt." The Church has and can do whatever it wants to do and canon law will continue to support their actions. Perhaps when there are so few priests left to celebrate sacraments--which is happening more quickly than most realize--the Church and its canon lawyers will find a way to stop this misogynistic, unjust and demeaning practice that alienates women.
I also think it's difficult
I also think it's difficult to make a good Catholic out of a mature Christian.
- - - -
Ame to that.
Yes I too think I would
Yes I too think I would rather be a mature Christian than a "good" Catholic. The latter seems today to call for unthinking obedience. Since God is TRUTH I feel bound to use this wonderful God-given gift of reason to try to understand what I really can and do believe. I do find that it deepens my faith to do so. It is only by really questioning something that we can truly believe and accept something as true.
Yes I too think I would
Yes I too think I would rather be a mature Christian than a "good" Catholic. The latter seems today to call for unthinking obedience. Since God is TRUTH I feel bound to use this wonderful God-given gift of reason to try to understand what I really can and do believe. I do find that it deepens my faith to do so. It is only by really questioning something that we can truly believe and accept something as true.
Where is the hierarchy when
Where is the hierarchy when our cardinals and bishops transfer and hide abusive clergy. They should be held accountable and be excommunicated as well, not transferred and/or left in leadership roles. No this does not happen....protection of the institution is always inherent in the Vatican decisions. Shame on us for castigating a priest for fighting for equal rights and then we hide the abusers in the name of our institution. God help us. We need redirection not excommunication and institutional protection.
Absolutely! I have been
Absolutely! I have been waiting a long time for the bishops to be held accountable for the sex abuse scandal. But no, instead Rome is more interested in excommunicating priests and others who believe women should have equal rights in the church and consequently be ordained.
Then why did they - the
Then why did they - the Church Hierarchy - not use this on sexual abusers and their supporters? Is destroying a person by abuse OK while denigrating half of the population is not? I wonder what Jesus would do?
Oh, pooh.
Oh, pooh.
Amen, SimonB. Amen and well
Amen, SimonB. Amen and well said.
Perhaps excommunication
Perhaps excommunication should be applied to a leadership that is in effect in schism with the People of God on so many issues. The leadership in so many areas beginning with episcopal behavior in the sexual and financial scandals has caused the de facto implosion of the church from within. They in effect are crushing the Catholic Church into many pieces. How will they be put back together. Thinking people will not tolerate the authoritarian model as the majority of this church reinvents itself over the next hundred years or so.
The real question that the People of God are asking of this leadership is: Are they even Christian? Do they believe in Christ in His Sermon on the mOunt or do they believe in the Old Testament God of reward and punishment. They have shown that they believe in the latter.
The facts show us that the laity must now apply a medicine to form a more responsive leadership for all the popes men can never put a pre Vatican II church back together again.
May the People of God use grace to make better decisions about who will lead.
R. Dennis Porch, MD
The are certainly trying
The are certainly trying their best with the new old translation of the Roman Missal. I wonder if the people will ever start saying "and with your spirit." I have my doubts. We will see in a few weeks whether they are motivated by habit or protest.
Thank you Fr. Zawada for your
Thank you Fr. Zawada for your courage and conviction. I had a chance to meet Rev. Janice Sevre-Duszynska at Call to Action this year. She is a wonderful person, filled with the Holy Spirit. I can't wait until more male priests in USA & Canada concelebrate masses with RCC womanpriests and challenge the Bishops' and Vatican's very harsh feminaphobia. Everyone should really go to Amazon and purchase PINK SMOKE OVER THE VATICAN. It is a wonderful documentary about female ordination (all the way back to the earliest church--turns out St. Augustine may have had female priests on staff at church at Hippo) and the vibrant, wonderful RCC womanpriests who currently are in service. These women are fabulous! They are naturals at the priesthood and at the table. One can feel the Spirit flow at their liturgies and it is the same Jesus we all know/love who is consecrated in the sacred species.
Jesus allowed women to touch him (even when it was against jewish purity rules) and minister to him. Menstrual blood just cannot make Chris's body unclean. "Woman nor man, no more am I" We really need to get over some very irrational 5000 year old taboos. And as far as excommunication goes, "Nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ."
I hope Franciscans show dear St. Francis's courage/conviction--and stubbornness!
Ronda, I know that I can't
Ronda, I know that I can't prove it, but of all the reasons given as to why a women cannot be a priest, I have always suspected that, at the core, was the clinging to the old Testament thinking that a women is "unpure" during her menstrual cycle. We have seen 2,000 years past since that was an issue, but, as I said, I wonder if it still is an issue for many of those in power.
I applaud Fr. Jerry Zawada.
I applaud Fr. Jerry Zawada. May he inspire many others to show the same courage of faith-conviction.
===============================
Faith is in common. If we believe in divine even-handedness and that alienation is hell, then we have to believe in female/male equivalency in the Order of Natural Sacrament.
www.WordUnlimited.com
The threat of excommunication
The threat of excommunication for such a thing portrays a very fear based structure. There are married priests in rites under the Catholic umbrella, no? Married priests and women priests: what makes that a valid vocation and call? The Holy Spirit and the needs of the People of God to be fed and ministered to? Or custom and tradition that doesn't really hold up? Yes, the 12 apostles were all men. Maybe at the time that was a cultural divide that even Jesus couldn't cross. And yet we speak of Mary (mother of Jesus) as "the first disciple".
What would make us the witness in the world we are meant to be? See how they love one another - there are no poor among them... all have Eucharist available, all can receive the sacrament of reconciliation, all can receive the anointing of the sick...
You are forgetting Mary
You are forgetting Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles.
He is automatically
He is automatically excommunicated for simulating the sacraments and sacrilege.
Are our children who have
Are our children who have their own "masses" in the backyard with a fig newton, saying "body of christ" excommunicated automatically? Nothing (not even RCC) can separate us from the love of Christ.
No, but invoking the image of
No, but invoking the image of children at play is perfectly appropriate here.
Except in the case of this priest and his ilk, they are very naughty, stupid children.
Fr.Zawada's closing comments
Fr.Zawada's closing comments pretty much said it all."Hope.Healing.Compassion".These qualities sum up the very heart of who our beloved,blessed Saviour was and is,the Saviour who dwells deep in the hearts of all authentic men and women of Almighty God.I have often posed this question to my pupils:Why do you think multitudes of lost,sick,hurting,despairing souls flocked to Jesus everywhere He went? Because they could sense deep within themselves that from Him flowed the healing,tender,infinite,delivering love of the True and Living God,their True Shephard who had come to take them home,bind up their wounds,and heal their sin-sick souls.Obviously,they were'nt receiving much from the so-called"heirarchy"of their day! But I don't fault their leaders too much;as the saying goes,"you cannot give what you do not got".Fr.Jawada is a treasure,catholics.Keep him.The thought of casting aside such a gentle,saintly,courageous servant of your Church,who loves you even in the face of the pain his beloved Church may cause him,ought to fill all right-thinking catholics with horror and disgust.I'm fighting for him on this post,don't know him from Adam,and I'm a(are you ready?)-Protestant!!Fight for him,Church.Your Church is already dying the death of a thousand cuts every day;you literally need people like him to bring hope,healing,and compassion.-Peace in Christ.
"Quigley said Zawada did not
"Quigley said Zawada did not want an adversarial situation, but did want a TRANSPARENT PROCESS."
Getting that in itself will take a MIRACLE!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/us-vatican-bank-transparency-i...
Hope, however, springs eternal:
http://www.zenit.org/article-31377?l=english
There have been priests
There have been priests concelebrating liturgies with women for a long time and they (we) haven't been excommunicated because we haven't sought out publicity. Our interest was sharing an authentic experience of Eucharist, not making a point in the press. Fr. Jerry chose to take a different path. I think he's aware of the consequences and prepared to accept them. I wish him well, but I believe this battle is going to be won in the long run, not through acts that prompt reactions.
I guess that the Roman
I guess that the Roman Catholic Church should put this into practice at Baptism and change that Rite to be separate for Boys/Men and Girls/Women. The present Rite Consecrates and Anoints all as Priest, Prophet and King. If a women cannot be Priest, why should we open the door at Baptism?
Maybe we should also go back to the pre-vatican practice of listening to Mass, instead of participating in (would that be celebrating) the Mass?
It appears to me that the Roman Catholic Church needs to make some major revisions to exclude women from any participation in the church or include them fully.
How did Saint Paul put it? There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(Galatians 3:28)
An eon D.M. is too long a
An eon D.M. is too long a run!!!
I recently visited the
I recently visited the exhibit on the King James Bible at the Folger Library in Washington DC. Included was a history of how the Church was excommunicating people and burning them at the stake for translating the Bible into English. About 30 years later the Church had its own translation. It seems to me that this is analogous to what is happening today with the ordination of women today.
Apt.
Apt.
Sooner or later there will be
Sooner or later there will be a moto propio (or some other Church Ladyish hen scratching) that will begin: "As Holy Mother Church has always taught ...." which will tell us that down has always been up, wrong has always been right, and, of COURSE the majority of members of this church are eligible to be ordained. A secret letter from Fatima will magically appear justifying it all.
Why do we continuously refer
Why do we continuously refer to "Holy Mother Church " if this Church cannot be sacramentally served by women? Especially at the Eucharist.
Would it not be more proper, in the current climate being dispensed from the Curia to call it "Holy Father Church" - since only males can confect and dispense the chief sacrament of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ?
And while we're about it, since Fatima has been mentioned, shouldn't we challenge the JP2 pronouncement on this matter, and ask were the Fatima visionaries actually commanding the Holy Father of the time along these lines of female sacramental ministry all this time? And warning of dire consequences if this vision were not implemented?
Come to think of it, what would happen if the Gospa at Medjugore come out with a pronouncement in favour of female sacramental ministry? Or perhaps Garabandal, or Knock? Or Lourdes?
Fr. Zawada wants a
Fr. Zawada wants a transparent process from the Vatican? He has a better chance of turning the COA into a Montessori school!
Of course, what really
Of course, what really happened in 2008 was that Sevre-Duszynska pretended to be ordained as a priest.
EllenN, your characterization
EllenN, your characterization that she "pretended" to be ordained suggests that the only valid ordinations are those in the RCC. The Anglicans, Lutherans, and others have been ordaining their priests, both male and female, for quite some time, without the approval, intervention, or participation of the RCC. And still their ordinations are quite valid in their faith traditions. If you mean to distinguish between RCC ordinations and all others, then do so, but don't go the further step and claim that ordinations other than those in the RCC are invalid. That is quite myopic and precludes any serious discussion of what priesthood means. Obviously someone not validly ordained in the RCC cannot legitimately celebrate a RCC Mass, but that does not mean that a person ordained a priest in some other faith tradition cannot celebrate Mass. Of course she can. And what you or the RCC think about the validity of that Mass does not alter its validity. Please. Get your terms and facts straight!!
Jay, methinks she was being
Jay, methinks she was being sarcastic...
let's try to keep a sense of humor, can't we? It certainly would help us weather the storms better and is more in keeping with our duty to always give our fellow Catholics the benefit of the doubt.
Then I stand corrected!
Then I stand corrected!
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