Italy to have first woman priest<\/p>\n
A married teacher is poised to become Italy’s first woman priest when she is ordained later this month in an Anglican church close to the Vatican.<\/p>\n
Maria Longhitano, a member of the breakaway Old Catholic Church, says she hopes her ordination will break down “prejudice” in the Roman Church.<\/p>\n
The event may energise the debate among Roman Catholics about the role of women, a BBC correspondent says.<\/p>\n
Pope Benedict is implacably opposed to women as priests.<\/p>\n
His predecessor, John Paul II, even banned official discussion of the issue, BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott notes.<\/p>\n
Although Mrs Longhitano will not be a Roman Catholic priest, her ordination in the borrowed Anglican church will be acutely uncomfortable for the Vatican, he says.<\/p>\n
When seven Roman Catholic women were unofficially ordained in 2002 they were promptly excommunicated.<\/p>\n
Mrs Longhitano, who says she has always wanted to be a priest and played with communion wafers as a child, has accused the Vatican of preventing women from fulfilling their vocation.<\/p>\n
She said she hoped her ordination would galvanise debate among Roman Catholics about modernisation.<\/p>\n
Some Catholics believe reform is necessary to reverse a decline in numbers and influence and an Austrian bishop said this week that the Church should eventually consider the ordination of women.<\/p>\n
The Old Catholics broke away from the Vatican in the 19th Century, rejecting belief in the immaculate conception and the infallibility of the Pope.<\/p>\n
Their Church – which leaves issues such as homosexual relationships and contraception up to the individuals’ consciences – has ordained women since 1996.<\/p>\n
Story from BBC NEWS: Published: 2010\/05\/13<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a9 BBC MMX<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Italy to have first woman priest A married teacher is poised to become Italy’s first woman priest when she is ordained later this month in an Anglican church close to the Vatican. Maria Longhitano, a member of the breakaway Old Catholic Church, says she hopes her ordination will break down “prejudice” in the Roman Church. … Continue reading Italy to have the First Woman Priest – and She’s Married<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-misc","category-religion"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/go\/pr\/fr\/-\/2\/hi\/europe\/8681779.stm<\/a><\/p>\n