Independent Catholic parish to ordain woman

[struggle4progress]

Scripps Howard News Service
January 18, 2008 02:36 pm

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Elizabeth English is a mother of two, a partner in a four-year relationship, a social worker .... will be the first woman to take priestly vows at her Sacramento church. She knows this will likely upset many Roman Catholics ....

English, who typically wears traditional priestly clothes, describes herself as “Catholic to the core.” She was confirmed to the faith in 2004 but left the Roman Catholic Church eight months ago to attend Good Shepherd Parish, an independent congregation. About 30 people worship at the church, which meets at the Spiritual Life Center in downtown Sacramento.

English’s ordination will be held at Atonement Lutheran Church in Sacramento and is open to the public ...

“They’re not part of our church,” says the Rev. James Murphy, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. “They do what they feel is right for them. Certainly, that would not be a valid ordination in the Roman Catholic Church.” ...

http://www.joplinglobe.com/weekend/local_story_018143631.html?keyword=secondarystory

[saltpoint]

1. Good for this indy group and congratulations to Ms. English.

Let those misogynist old toads in the Vatican stew in their own huffiness.

[Sinistrous]

2. "Independent Catholic" is an oxymoron..

[struggle4progress]

6. The adjective "catholic" means "universal," and it is used with this meaning

in many entirely traditional churches which do not recognize the authority of the Vatican

There also appear to be a number of small autonomous groups that call themselves "Catholic Church" but do not recognize Vatican authority

See, for example, http://www.ecc-usa.org/

[regnaD kciN]

7. There are indeed many "Independent Catholic" denominations...

...including the Apostolic Catholic Church in America (ignore the weirdly stretched photo of our bishop on the home page), of which I am a priest.

Most of these denominations originated in the "Old Catholic" denomination that split from Rome at the time of Vatican I (and its declaration of "papal infallibility").

P.S.: We've had women priests for some time now.

[struggle4progress]

8. Thanks. I hadn't been aware of this tradition

[gateley]

3. This is wonderful news!

I'm sure God is smiling and nodding His approval.

[midnight]

4. There were women doctors, professors,

and popes pre-Rome in Ireland. God Bless and watch over this very special women Elizabeth.

[HughMoran]

5. Good for them

Don't listen to the misogynist priests who only care about their little fiefdom. Not be valid my ass - Jesus would kick these misogynist bigot priests out of the idiotic church they made anyway. Jesus would be so angry if he saw what the right-wingers did to his message.

[Book Lover]

9. Well, that was something I was never taught in my 12 years of catholic school....

Independent catholics following the apostolic succession but apart from Rome concerning the new (comparatively) doctrine of ex cathedra infallability... Holy cats! Yet one more thing to add to the list of what the catholic church forgot to mention to me. This really has opened my eyes. Not even when I was interested in liberation theology did I hear of these people!