FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 12, 2007

CONTACT: Aisha Taylor: (703) 352-1006, ataylor@womensordination.org

Over 600 Cheer at Ordination of Two Roman Catholic Women Hosted by a Synagogue in St. Louis

WASHINGTON, DC - November 12 - On Sunday, November 11, Rose Marie Dunn Hudson and Elsie Hainz McGrath were ordained as Roman Catholic priests by Bishop Patricia Fresen. The ordinations took place in St. Louis, Mo. at the Central Reform Congregation (CRC), 5020 Watermen Blvd, at 3:00 p.m. Over 600 people from across the country attended the ceremony.

“We support these ordinations as one way to move toward full equality for women in the Catholic Church,” said Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference (WOC). “While the hierarchy does not even allow us to discuss the issue, women are actively challenging the system by creating new ways of ministering that respond to the needs of their communities.”

Before the ordinations, Archbishop Raymond Burke pressured the Congregation’s Board of Directors to cancel the ordinations, but they, represented by Rabbi Susan Talve, have remained strong in their message that “our building was built to be a Sukkat Shalom—a shelter of peace—for those who need it.”

Founded in 1975, WOC advocates women’s full equality in the church, representing the 64 percent of U.S. Catholics that support women’s ordination. WOC supports women called to ordination through a national network of support and resources. WOC also educates Catholics about the reasons why women should be ordained and the new perspectives on ordination that call for more accountability and transparency and less separation between the clergy and the so-called laity.

The St. Louis ordination is being organized by Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP). RCWP has ordained a total of 37 women in North America, and 62 total worldwide. Fresen, a theologian who used to train Roman Catholic seminarians in South Africa and who currently lives in Germany, has presided at most of these ordinations. She was ordained a bishop in 2004 by several male bishops in full communion with the pope, and two women bishops ordained through RCWP.

After their ordinations, Hudson and McGrath will co-pastor an inclusive Catholic church on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. beginning December 1, 2007, which will meet in Hope Chapel at the First Unitarian Church of Saint Louis, 5007 Waterman Avenue.

“Hudson and McGrath are not waiting for Pope Benedict XVI to give them permission. They are taking risks to live out their call right now, and they will form a vibrant, inclusive community of faithful Catholics. We thank them for taking this brave step and we bless their ministry,” Taylor concluded.

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Women’s Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest national organization working for women to be included in all ordained ministries of the Catholic Church and for structural change in the priesthood. For more information, visit www.womensordination.org.