French Woman to Ordain Herself a Catholic Priest, Facing Automatic Excommunication The Associated Press LYON, France Jul 2, 2005 — A French woman defied a threat of excommunication by the Roman Catholic Church and held a ceremony proclaiming herself a priest on Saturday. In a small ceremony on a boat, Genevieve Beney was joined by other women from around the world who have taken similar dramatic action to draw attention to the church's policy against women priests. "This is not a rupture with the Roman Catholic Church," Beney said in a statement read aloud before she boarded the boat.. The...