Roman Catholic Womenpriests to be ordained in St. Louis

                 On November 11, 2007, two women will be ordained as Roman Catholic priests in a historic ceremony in the city of Saint Louis. Rose Marie Dunn Hudson of Festus, Missouri, and Elsie Hainz McGrath of Saint Louis, will be ordained by Bishop Patricia Fresen of Germany.

                   T he ordination is part of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) movement. This movement is building a renewed model of priesthood for a renewed Church, so as to achieve full equality of women and men and live with inclusiveness, respect and justice for all in a community of open and affirming equals.

                    Rose Marie and Elsie have both earned graduate degrees in theology and ministry, and have been engaged in active ministry for many years. Rose Marie is a retired school teacher, a wife, mother and grandmother. Elsie is a retired editor, a widow, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Prophetic obedience, a hallmark of the RCWP movement, led them to make this life-altering commitment and “walk the talk” of clerical reform in the Roman Catholic Church. As priests, they will continue to exercise a variety of volunteer ministries.

                     They will also co-pastor the Thérèse of Divine Peace Inclusive Community on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. beginning December 1, 2007. The Thérèse community will meet in Hope Chapel at the First Unitarian Church of Saint Louis, 5007 Waterman Avenue.

                      The RCWP movement began in 2002, when seven women (“The Danube Seven”) were ordained by Bishop Romulo Braschi of Argentina. Bishop Braschi did so by the power vested in Roman Catholic bishops who are in full apostolic succession from Jesus Christ. The following year, several male bishops, in full communion with the pope, ordained two of those women as bishops. These same male bishops, along with the two women bishops, ordained Patricia Fresen a bishop in 2004.

                       The ceremony will take place at 3 o’clock in the afternoon at Central Reform Congregation (CRC), a Reform Jewish congregation in Saint Louis. CRC’s Rabbi Susan Talve says that the congregation’s Board of Directors agreed to host the ordination because “our building was built to be a Sukkat Shalom – a shelter of peace – for those who need it.”