Swiss priest says woman claiming to be ordained faces excommunication

Published: 2006-06-28

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A Swiss church leader said a lay Catholic theologian faces automatic excommunication after she claimed she was ordained to the priesthood June 24. "If she's been a Catholic before, she is clearly aware of the church's discipline and knows it isn't possible at present for a woman to be ordained," said Father Agnell Rickenmann, secretary-general of the Swiss bishops' conference. "Such women have tried to attract publicity by provoking as many reactions as possible. But in acting this way she's leaving the Catholic Church, so we ourselves are not directly concerned." Monika Wyss became the first Swiss woman to be declared a priest after a ceremony aboard a passenger ship on Lake Constance, between Switzerland and Germany. Father Rickenmann told Catholic News Service June 28 that women's ordination had been "much discussed" in Switzerland since the 1970s and had caused disagreements with the country's Protestant denominations, which officially admit female ministers.

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