FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2005

CONTACT: Aisha Taylor, work: 703 352-1006

WASHINGTON, DC — On July 25, 2005, nine North American women will be ordained as priests or deacons in the Roman Catholic Church in a boat on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), the largest and oldest organization working for women priests in the United States, avidly supports these ordinations.

“We affirm all the ways women are courageously living out their calls from God,” stated Joy Barnes, Executive Director of the Women’s Ordination Conference. “The women who will be ordained on the St. Lawrence Seaway are Roman Catholic, and they are following God’s call to service. They are taking a prophetic step in the path of Jesus Christ, who was also silenced by his own religious leaders.”

In 2002, at least two Catholic bishops ordained seven women, known as the “Danube Seven,” on the Danube River between Germany and Austria. Within two weeks of the ordinations, Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — formerly known an as the Inquisition — led the charge to excommunicate the women.

“These women are not creating a schism in the church; they are working from within to transform it,” continued Barnes. “The swift Vatican response in 2002 demonstrates that the Vatican itself views these women as Roman Catholic. If they were an independent group, the Vatican would not have acted so quickly or so thoroughly, releasing three separate documents about the ordinations and excommunications.”

Two of the original Danube women, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger of Austria and Gisela Forster of Germany, were ordained bishops in 2003. This summer, Mayr-Lumetzberger and Forster will ordain the four priests and five deacons on the St. Lawrence. Of the women to be ordained, seven are US citizens, one is German residing in the US, and one is Canadian.

“I believe I am called to the priesthood in a reformed Roman Catholic Church,” asserted Regina Nicolosi, a woman who will be ordained as a deacon. Nicolosi is also the Vice President of WOC’s Board of Directors. “These ordinations appear to be the only way to follow my call at this time without leaving the church I love.”

“We honor and support women who are breaking the male-only boundaries within the Roman Catholic hierarchy. We also call on all Catholics to continue to transform the dying patriarchal systems by living and sharing their faith in community — what we call a ‘discipleship of equals.’” Barnes concluded.

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Founded in 1975, the Women’s Ordination Conference promotes the voices of Catholic women excluded from official church structures. WOC can arrange interviews with the women to be ordained on the St. Lawrence. For more resources on women’s ordination, visit www.womensordination.org.