Rabbi hosts Priestessing
8 November 2007 - 28 חשון 5768 by Huw
I wanted to say “Rabbess” but I didn’t think it would make any sense. Over at the National Catholic Reporter, we find a St Louis Reform Temple is hosting two WomanPriest ordinations. This Rabbi welcomes sinners and eats with them!
Two Catholic women are being ordained by Roman Catholic Womenpriests here Nov. 11, prompting outrage from Catholic officials — outrage that, surprisingly, is directed less at the women aspiring to the Catholic priesthood, or at the movement ordaining them, than toward a rabbi who agreed to host the event.
The women to be ordained are Elsie Hainz McGrath, a retired writer and editor for a Catholic publishing house, and Rose Marie Dunn Hudson, a former teacher. Bishop Patricia Fresen, who was for many years a Dominican nun, ordained the women as deacons Aug. 12 and will perform the ceremony here. The women are among a growing number of deacons, priests and bishops ordained in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement. Based on responses to formal invitations, Hudson said organizers are expecting 300 to 400 to attend.
I like this. A Roman Catholic publication using words that might imply, to the uninitiated, that these folks are Roman Catholics with whom the Pope would consider himself in communion. It that’s not confusing enough…
Wait! There’s more.
Noting that ordaining women is forbidden by Catholic canon law, St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke wrote to Rabbi Susan Talve, senior rabbi at Central Reform Congregation — the synagogue host — urging her to revoke her offer of hospitality. Meanwhile, the director of the archdiocesan Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Fr. Vincent A. Heier, has excoriated Talve for her role, likening it to a Catholic pastor inviting a Holocaust denier to speak, and describing Talve’s action as a major setback to the area’s strong, hard-won Jewish-Catholic relations.
This part I don’t understand at all. If these people are not Roman Catholics (ie are out of communion) then why is the Roman Catholic Hierarchy not simply saying “Hey, they’re not really Catholics… they can do whatever”? If these folks are pretending, in your opinion, why not say so? The article makes this clear towards the end, but the reaction of Burke and Heier is over the top. They wouldn’t care if the Rabbi hosted an Anglican ordination. Would they?
In other words, at least as far as the story goes, me thinks the Menfolk doth protest too much.
Sadly, in a divide-and-conquer move, they’ve also caused the Rabbi’s allies to rally against her. A Jewish agency has distanced itself from the Rabbi’s decision. But her congregation is 100% behind her.
I love this one:
This isn’t the first time Heier, the archdiocesan official, has found Talve’s values misguided. “She has done a number of things in the past few years that I think are borderline in terms of sensitivity, pushing an agenda I don’t always agree with.”
She probably has hosted Dignity or maybe done some gay weddings? Or maybe she’s come right out and said somethings about the political action of Archbishop Burke and his tax exempt status? (As I add that last I wish to make it clear: I think all religious groups should give up such status in order to be as political as they wish.)
(Props to Carl.)
While sympathetic to the WomenPriests, I really really really wish they would stop using the label “Roman Catholic.” By accepting ordination outside the usual channels, they have excommunicated themselves under Roman Catholic canon law. I think they can still offer an example to the RCC while not misleading people. I prefer to call myself “Independent Sacramental” rather than using a term with “Catholic” “Orthodox” or “Anglican” in it - as I think people almost always (rightly or wrongly) hear those terms as references to the big denominations. Good post.
can’t feel much sympathy for the assorted looniness of the people in Womenpriests or the bungling of church officials.
The poor rabbi though.
John - I’m with you 100%. I really wish people would get their lines straight.
I see today that Abp Burke is threatening everyone with Excommunication. I want to know why they can still be in communion with Rome (as they evidently are now) and still be WomenDeacons?
Is he saying that yes, there are Women Deacons in the Roman community? Is he saying that “Deacon” isn’t real but “priest” is? Is he saying, “This would have all been ok until you got the media involved. Now see what you made me do?”
Eh. When the Romans come around what they will say, a la Orwell, is “As the Church has always taught, women may be priests…”
May we all live to see such a day!
Huw - By accepting their deacon ordination, these women have already incurred automatic excommunication under canon law. (The whole code is on line and you can look up the section easily enough.) I guess what the Archbishop is doing (other than blustering about) is (perhaps) threatening to issue some kind of formal, public decree of excommunication - like they did for the guys ordained and consecrated by Milingo.
I’ll be heading over to AVL in the morning, for the weekend. Who won the flag contest?
Finalists to be announced on Monday.
Up for coffee?