Canadian archbishop says women's ordination ritual will not be valid

Published: 2005-06-08

TORONTO (CNS) -- Though nine women will be ordained priests on a boat in the St. Lawrence River in July, Canadian Archbishop Anthony Meagher of Kingston said the ceremony will be neither Catholic nor an ordination. "To attempt an ordination this way is to step outside the church. If someone decides they don't want to be Catholic, there is nothing we can do. There is no need for me to get out into a row boat and announce that what they are doing is wrong," he said June 7. At the same time, Archbishop Meagher said that as a protest the actions have significance. "There is no doubt the church has to change. There has to be more involvement of women in leadership and in decision-making," he said. But staging an invalid ordination is not the way to do it, he said. "I think there are more effective ways to protest," Archbishop Meagher said. An association of approximately 14 groups is coordinating the ordination ceremony under the name "Roman Catholic Womenpriests Program." The ceremony will take place July 25 in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, following a women's ordination conference July 22-24 at Carleton University in Ottawa.

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