Ottawa, Canada, Jul 25, 2005 / 22:00 pm
On Monday, nine women had themselves ‘ordained’ as Catholic priests aboard a boat near Ottawa, Canada, an act, which one local archbishop fears, could mean automatic excommunication.
The women, who include seven Americans, a Canadian and a German living in the U.S., were falsely ordained, according to Church law, by Austrian, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger and German, Gisela Forster who were ‘ordained’ bishops in 2002.
The ceremony, reportedly sponsored by a group called, ’Roman Catholic Womenpriests’ was held aboard a boat in the middle of the St. Lawrence River near Gananoque, Ont., so as to avoid any diocesan jurisdiction.
According to Catholic teaching, only men can be ordained to the priesthood, a doctrine which it argues is not sexist, but respects different vocations created specifically for men and women.