Posted on 05/28/2007 1:29:56 PM PDT by NYer
An ordination ceremony that openly defies Roman Catholic doctrine has taken place in Toronto.
Five women and a married man, all Roman Catholics, have been ordained as priests and deacons by a female Catholic bishop.
However, the Vatican says it will not recognise either the ordinations or the group carrying them out.
The ordination ceremony was held at a Protestant church on the outskirts of Toronto known for its liberal views.
Priestly 'sacrament'
The building was packed with an enthusiastic congregation.
They watched as Bishop Patricia Fresen, one of the most well-known figures in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement, led the five women and one married man through a number of rituals to mark their ordination.
Bishop Fresen was herself ordained in a secret ceremony in Spain in 2003.
But the archdiocese of Toronto said that the organisation responsible for the ordinations had no affiliation or any dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.
It said that ordaining men into the priesthood was a sacrament that cannot be changed.
But the bishops in the Womenpriests movement claim they are part of the Church's valid apostolic succession, because Catholic bishops in good standing ordained them secretly.
Have they held an "ordination" in the U.S.? I'll bet they could get a United Church of Christ to host one!
VATICAN CITY, JUL 10, 2002 (VIS) - Following is a declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which warns seven Catholic women who have received priestly ordination from the hands of the founder of a schismatic community. They are required to comply with certain conditions before July 22 if they do not wish to incur excommunication. The declaration (monitum) is dated today and is signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., prefect and secretary of the dicastery.
"On June 29, 2002, Romulo Antonio Braschi, the founder of a schismatic community, attempted to confer priestly ordination on the following Catholic women: Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger, Adelinde Theresia Roitinger, Gisela Forster, Iris Müller, Ida Raming, Pia Brunner and Angela White.
"In order to give direction to the consciences of the Catholic faithful and dispel any doubts which may have arisen, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wishes to recall the teaching of the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis of Pope John Paul II, which states 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' (n. 4). For this reason, the above-mentioned 'priestly ordination' constitutes the simulation of a sacrament and is thus invalid and null, as well as constituting a grave offense to the divine constitution of the Church. Furthermore, because the 'ordaining' Bishop belongs to a schismatic community, it is also a serious attack on the unity of the Church. Such an action is an affront to the dignity of women, whose specific role in the Church and society is distinctive and irreplaceable.
"The present Declaration, recalling the preceding statements of the Bishop of Linz and the Episcopal Conference of Austria and in accordance with canon 1347 § 1 of the CIC, gives formal warning to the above-mentioned women that they will incur excommunication reserved to the Holy See if, by July 22, 2002, they do not (1) acknowledge the nullity of the 'orders' they have received from a schismatic Bishop in contradiction to the definitive doctrine of the Church and (2) state their repentance and ask forgiveness for the scandal caused to the faithful."
Why don't they just go join the Episcopalians and quit bothering Catholics?
You beat me to the punch.
Yes. I believe it was in Pennsylvania. You can read more here.
OH, yes, the ones on the barge.
There was once an Australian TV series, kind of like Ironsides, I think, named for the lead character’s nickname:
BARGE-ARSE
With apologies to Snakes on a Plane, seems to me some of those “ordaining prelates” could have appropriately be called
BARGE-ARSES ON A BARGE
Rosie O’Donnell’s self-description during her rant on last week’s The View (”Big Fat Angry Lesbian”) also comes to mind as singularly appropriate!
LOL! I do often think that the ladies would benefit from Weight Watchers.
(Barge-Arse ... that’s just so Australian!)
Of course, Robert Service already rhymed it with "on the marge of Lake LaBarge" . . .
Large on a barge?
No thanks, honey, these nuts are all yours.
Women’s ordination does not cause a Latae Sentia excommunication. There is no canon directly punishing the “ordination” of women. In the past they have been formally excommunicated by their Bishops. Canon 1379 which threatens “a just penalty” for the simulation of a sacrament and a Bishop can excommunicate based on this. Canon 1319 also applies.
There is a separate penalty for simulating the Mass. (1983 CIC 1378 § 2, n. 1) calls for an automatic interdict and this can be increased to excommunication by the Bishop depending on gravity.
Canon 794: “The offense involved here is that of a lay man or woman, or even a deacon, who goes through the rites prescribed for the Mass in an attempt to celebrate the Eucharist, whether publicly or in private.”
is that you, Thomas? Thanks for the correction.
No it me Jeff (AKA The Curt Jester)
Not any more!
Marge, who is large, on a barge ...
Somehow I don’;t think they got the memo.
Drat this keyboard! Will I ever get used to it?
don’t
I believe you’re wrong. In the case of schismatics like SSPX and Orthodox churches, there is a valid line of apostolic succession, and so they are merely schismatic; any sacraments are legitimate, valid sacraments in spite of the schismatic nature of the priests conferring them. But these women are apostates, not mere schismatics.
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