As a devout Catholic schoolgirl in the 1950s, Judy Dahl was certain that she had been called to become a priest.

She was, of course, dreaming the impossible dream. For centuries, the Catholic Church has insisted that the priesthood is restricted to men. Even Pope Francis, the popular reformist, has made it clear that “the door is closed” to women.

Last weekend, however, Dahl’s dream was fulfilled when she stood at the front of the Cape George Colony clubhouse and, in a solemn and ancient ceremony, was ordained a priest by nearly 200 friends, neighbors and fellow Catholics.     continue reading

CALIFORNIA: Joanna Truelson took a big step in her spirituality when the Orinda resident was ordained a Roman Catholic womanpriest at a ceremony at the Orinda Community Church June 25. 

The ordination, the first of its type in Orinda, was under the auspices of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, an organization founded in 2002 in Germany. The officiant was womanbishop Olivia Doko of San Luis Obispo, who was ordained a womanpriest in 2006 and a womanbishop in 2010. During the ordination Bishop Doko stated, "We are not restricted by the past."  continue reading

Despite the disapproval of some fellow Catholics and her likely excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church, Susan Vaickauski says she must answer the "call."

"For me, 'call' is this inner presence and movement that pushes me in a certain direction, and it is a presence and movement that I have no control over," Vaickauski said. "So when I say I am called to priesthood, I am saying there is this profound 'something' that is more than myself that says, 'Yes, this is what I am asking you to do.'"  Continue reading

In the rest of the city, people are trudging through the rain and struggling to keep their umbrellas from flipping inside out. But inside Chicago’s Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, it’s warm and bright. A small choir and a guitarist are warming up, the sound of their hymn barely filling the open space of the nave. Soon they’ll have the voices of the congregation to bolster them.

Most of the guests have arrived at least half an hour early for the ordination ceremony. Weaving through the family and friends of the ordination candidate, a group of middle-aged women chat with each other, greet guests and help set up. They’re not hand-shakers, they’re huggers, and everyone they say hello to gets pulled in. These are the Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP), a group of women who, in defiance of Roman Catholic Church law, have become priests. They have come from across the country for this ordination ceremony, a chance to put another woman on the path to priesthood by ordaining her a deacon.  read full article

Donnieau Snyder knew she had to answer the call to priesthood, even though it meant she would be excommunicated from the faith she grew up in.

Snyder, who is currently a deacon, will be ordained as a reverend in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement on April 30 at Trinity Lutheran Church in central Fresno. Snyder and a fellow deacon, Donna Shaw of Southern California, will be ordained as the 125th and 126th women priests worldwide.

The Roman Catholic Womenpriests began in Germany in 2002 and is an initiative that seeks to promote equality for women in the church, including the right of women to be ordained into the priesthood.

Clare Julian Carbone was ordained to the priesthood Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City by the group Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP). The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize the ordination of women and any woman claiming to be ordained is automatically excommunicated. However, according to a 2012 New York Times study, 59 percent of practicing Catholics in the U.S. favor the ordination of women.  continue reading