Free Republic

Waukesha resident Kathy Sullivan Vandenberg faces excommunication for seeking the priesthood in an unsanctioned ordination ceremony, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan said in a statement handed out at weekend Masses at Vandenberg's home parish. Dolan wrote to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Waukesha that it was his duty to notify the Vatican of Vandenberg's action. Dolan said her excommunication could come soon. The Roman Catholic Church prohibits women from becoming priests. Vandenberg, 64, said Monday that she was "startled" by the letter and surprised that Dolan had "spent so much time and energy" on it when "other important...

What is the ceremony that will take place on July 31? According to an organization called “Roman Catholic Womenpriests,” a ceremony will take place on the rivers of Pittsburgh on July 31 that is represented to be an “ordination” to the priesthood. Among those taking part in the ceremony is Joan Houk, currently a parishioner at St. Alexis Parish in Wexford. What is Roman Catholic Womenpriests? It is a group founded in Germany that in June 2002 had excommunicated Argentine Bishop Romulo Braschi, founder of the schismatic Catholic-Apostolic Charismatic Church of Jesus the King, conduct an ordination ritual for seven...