THE PONCHO LADIES ARE AT IT AGAIN!

RSCT to the Catholic Caveman. Story from the California Catholic Daily, from - where else? - California, nutcase prelate capital of the USA.

Sometime on Sunday, April 19 (Low Sunday, as in "how low can they go?"), somewhere in Santa Barbara, four women were “ordained” as “bishops” by the group Roman Catholic Womenpriests (Poncho Ladies) USA. The exact time and place of the event was intentionally kept secret (for reasons of guilt, shame, etc., obviously), a spokeswoman for the group said.

“One of the major reasons for not revealing the place is that we wanted a prayerful, quiet, non-media event,” (free from protesters, hecklers, and snarks) said Womenpriests national spokeswoman Bridget Mary Meehan in an email to California Catholic Daily. “Our focus is not on the bishops ordinations but on servant leadership to the Catholic community.” Meehan was one of the four women “ordained” as a “bishop” on April 19. (Kudos to the California Catholic Daily for the use of quotes in this last sentence, as there is no such legitimate event in the Roman Catholic Church.)

In a statement provided to California Catholic Daily, Roman Catholic Womenpriests USA did not even name the city in which the “ordinations” (play dates) occurred. But a separate news release from CORPUS, which describes itself as “the national association for an inclusive (now there's a blatantly over-misused word if I ever heard one - "inclusive") priesthood,” identified the city as Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara “ordinations” represented the latest in a series of acts of defiance against the Vatican on the subject of women priests. On May 29, 2008, the Vatican declared that any women who attempt “ordination” or any bishops who attempt to “ordain” women are automatically excommunicated from the Church by their actions. The decree from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was absolute, universal and immediately effective. (Go CDF!)

“Roman Catholic Womenpriests USA is pleased to announce the ordinations of Joan Mary Clark Houk, Andrea Michele Johnson, Maria Regina Nicolosi and Bridget Mary Meehan as Roman Catholic bishops,” said a statement dated April 21. “These ordinations took place on April 19, 2009 in California. Officiating at the ceremony were Bishops(-wannabe): Patricia Fresen and Ida Raming from Germany and Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger from Austria.”

Joan Mary Clark Houk will serve as “bishop” in the Great Waters Region, one of six Womenpriests regions in the U.S. According to the group’s statement, Houk has been married for 48 years, and has six children, eight grandchildren and a great-grandchild. (Those poor descendants!) She had the words “Faithful Servant” inscribed on her (gumball machine) “bishop’s ring,” the statement said. Houk received a Masters Degree in Divinity from the University of Notre Dame (aka "Notre Shame" or "Notre Damned", home of the infamous forthcoming Obama scandal), according to a biography on the Womenpriests website.

Andrea Michele Johnson of Annapolis, Maryland, was “elected to serve as bishop for the Eastern Region,” according to the group’s statement. Johnson, married for 39 years and the mother of three, “was pastoral minister (Please, Lord, not one of THEM!) in a priestless Catholic parish in the mid-1980s and also served as a former director of the Women’s Ordination Conference,” said the statement. “Andrea currently works in hospital chaplaincy.” (Would she be the mental patient there?)

“Maria Regina Nicolosi was elected by the members of the Midwest Region to be their bishop,” said the statement. “Regina was born in the Rhineland, Germany, close to the Abbey of St. Hildegard and before she moved to the USA, she was a teacher. After raising her family, Regina worked as a senior housing manager and a nursing home chaplain. Currently, she celebrates Eucharist with small faith communities and has served as the program coordinator for the Midwest region. In this role she has helped prepare several women for (their play dates) priestly ordination. Regina is married and has four children and eight grandchildren. She and her husband Charles live in Red Wing, MN.”

Bridget Mary Meehan will serve as “bishop” of the Southern Region, where she “presides at inclusive liturgies and sacramental services for vibrant faith communities in Sarasota, Florida and Falls Church, Virginia,” according to the statement. “For fifteen years, Bridget Mary served as a pastoral associate at Ft. Myer Chapel in N.VA. She is the author of eighteen books including Praying with Women of the Bible, Praying with Visionary Women, and co-author of Praying with Celtic Holy Women(, as well as 157 Ways to Twist the Catechism).”

Another day, another game of "Pretend". Ho-hum!
Peace,
BMP