Friday, September 14, 2007

Higher Calling

Karen Springen at Newsweek posts an interview with Jessica Rowley, who asserts she was ordained a Catholic priest.
Rowley’s ordination—which took place at Eden Theological Seminary, a progressive institution in Webster Groves, Mo.—is approved by the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, a group of churches that decline to recognize the authority of the pope but see themselves nevertheless as Roman Catholic.

The Ecumenical Catholic Communion says its roots are in the Old Catholic Church, a fact glossed over in the article. I note that Ms. Rowley's parish managed to pick a fittingly schismatic Dismembered Body of Christ icon.
How does being married affect the way you do your job?

... Married priesthood was a reality in the Catholic Church in medieval centuries. It wasn’t until later that celibacy was mandated. ...

Even I, an untrained catechist, know the eastern churches in communion with the Pope are Catholic Churches which ordain married men. I suppose we shouldn't expect that just because someone covers religion for Newsweek they would know the distinction between Catholic and Roman Catholic. On the other hand, shouldn't Ms. Rowley, who claims to have a masters in divinity, know this?

(via Diogenes at Off the Record)

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