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LOS ANGELES, Aug 11, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The Roman Catholic church may excommunicate 15 women in the United States for performing priestly functions after their "ordination."
The women had taken up these functions to challenge the all-male priesthood, reports The Los Angeles Times.
Jane Via, a San Diego county prosecutor who was ordained in June and had planned to say her second mass on Sunday, told the newspaper, "I'm scared of being shut out of the church and not even being allowed to be buried in a Catholic cemetery. But I'm breaking an unjust law and I will accept the consequences."
Three women in other states have received letters from diocesean officials warning they had chosen to excommunicate themselves when they participated in an illicit ordination near Pittsburgh in July, the report said.
Aisha Taylor, who heads the Women's Ordination Conference, told the newspaper many more women are similarly preparing to be ordained in the future. The ceremonies are conducted on chartered boats, which are theoretically beyond the jurisdiction of local dioceses. The original ordinations were conducted by three women ordained in Europe by five male bishops, whose identities are being kept secret.
Church officials say under canon law only baptized men can be ordained. The U.S. Conference of Bishops has not yet taken a formal position on the issue.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
