WUNRN
TWO FEMALE PRIESTS BURIED AS CHURCH
OUTSIDERS
May 30, 2010
Female Catholic priests, deemed excommunicate by
CHICAGO (WOMENSENEWS)--Two funerals this month find women
ordained as Catholic priests buried outside the church they were striving to
change from within.
Mary Styne, 70, of
Janine Denomme, 45, of
The women, both of whom died of cancer, are the first
members of Roman Catholic Womenpriests to pass away. The group now has more
than 100 bishops, priests and deacons worldwide, mostly in the
Women presided over both funerals.
While Styne's death and
funeral were quiet, Denomme's drew renewed media attention to the battle lines
running through the Catholic Church over women's ordination.
While Styne knew the Catholic hierarchy would never allow
her funeral in a church and arranged for services at a nonsectarian chapel,
Denomme's survivors asked to hold her funeral at St. Gertrude, the local parish
she loved.
The Chicago Archdiocese refused.
"Those who willingly separate themselves from the
church cannot be granted a church funeral unless they gave some sign of
repentance before death," it said in a statement.
The Chicago Archdiocese said Denomme's excommunication
resulted automatically from her participation in a "simulation" of
ordination on April 10, five weeks before her death. The church's decision to
refuse burial upset many members of the progressive North Side parish, as did
the fact that many of the conservative Catholic websites and blogs covering the
story dwelt on how Denomme was a lesbian. Some of the parishioners will meet
Tuesday to discuss how or whether to formally respond.
"She followed her conscience," said Barbara
Zeman, a Roman Catholic female priest in
Denomme expected to have her funeral at St. Gertrude,
Zeman said. She went into the hospital almost immediately after her ordination,
so she never had the experience of being excluded from the life of the parish
that other female priests know.
Denomme was ordained to the deaconate in July 2009, a few
months after being diagnosed with colon cancer. Over the next year, she
chronicled her disease in a blog, which she saw as her ministry. The site
attracted more than 23,000 visitors.
Bishop Joan Houk, of Roman Catholic Womenpriests'
Houk said the priests in her region thought the
archdiocese's refusal to bury Denomme was senseless but unsurprising.
"I see the constant denial to the women," Houk
said in an interview at the wake. "Denial of community, denial of
ministries such as lecturing or Eucharistic minister. They deny us the
opportunity to pray on Catholic property."
Denomme's funeral was held at
Styne's funeral was held in the Chapel of the Chimes at
In
Denomme's case, some parishioners said the archdiocese had told Rev. Dominic
Grassi, pastor at St. Gertrude, that if he celebrated the funeral Mass at the
parish it would be the last he'd ever say. Grassi declined to speak publicly
about his conversation with Bishop Francis Kane.
"There was no way that our pastor could just go
forward with a funeral," said Valency Hastings, a parishioner at St.
Gertrude for eight years. "He would have been punished."
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the
Denomme's path to the priesthood began in her hometown of
She came to
"I remember her wearing a T-shirt: 'JVC – Ruined for
life,'" said her friend Rosie Gianforte in the eulogy. "She would say
that her life was 'ruined' because she understood in a whole new way the
inequalities and injustices in the world and once her consciousness had been
raised, she was never the same again."
Friends and fellow parishioners at St. Gertrude described
her as "gentle," "a peacemaker" and possessing the gifts of
mediating disagreements and drawing out the talents of others. She was heavily
involved at St. Gertrude: singing at Mass, volunteering as a spiritual director
and religious teacher and preaching in the church's lay preaching program.
"She was really well-liked in the parish,"
Grassi said. "Loved."
Parishioners and female priests reacted to the
archdiocese's decision with a mix of anger, sadness and forgiveness.
The day Denomme's partner, Nancy Katz, broke the news
about the funeral on Denomme's blog, Susan Lersch resigned from St. Gertrude.
Lersch, a parishioner for eight years, voluntarily
brought communion to the sick at a local long-term care facility; as such, she
was officially representing the parish to the secular world. But after the
parish chose not to bury Denomme, she didn't feel she could go on as the
church's representative.
"I did not feel comfortable representing that
decision," she said. "It was time to go. A line had been
crossed."
Other parishioners said they struggled to extend
forgiveness. Ruth Giles-Ott, a parishioner for 15 years, said she attended a
faith-sharing meeting on May 10 where the group members discussed the
archdiocese's decision. Christians are called to "radical love," she
said, and that includes Cardinal Francis George.
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