"Father Anne", born Anne Tropeano, is a Catholic who was ordained as a Catholic Priest through the Womanpriest Movement. Upon her ordination, Father Anne accepted excommunication from the institutional Roman Catholic Church, as a sign of her respect for the Church, and a peaceful protest of the historical injustice of men's only ordination in her church. [1] She uses the moniker "Father Anne” to point to the theology that supports a person of any gender being able to serve in persona Christi as a priest and minister to the people. The Roman Catholic Church has always held, as a matter of divine revelation, that women are incapable of receiving ordination to the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and therefore, her ordination is not recognized by the Catholic Church. However, she was ordained by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, a movement springing from the Roman Catholic Women Priests movement, which originated with the ordination of seven women by a Roman Catholic bishop. Roman Catholic Womenpriests maintain that their ordination is not legal, but is valid, due to the injustice and errant theology underpinning the teaching that only men can be priests.
Father Anne | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anne Tropeano |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Jesuit School of Theology |
| Occupation | Catholic Priest (disputed) |
| Organization | Catholic Church (excommunicated) |
| Known for | Women's ordination, Catholic feminism |
| Movement | Women's Ordination Movement |
| Website | https://www.fatheranne.com |
Call to the priesthood
editFather Anne was born in Massachusetts[citation needed] and resides in New Mexico.[2] She earned a Master's degree in Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.[2] Father Anne had a varied background working in nonprofits and small business administration. She studied marketing and promotions and earned a Master's degree in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from San Diego State University. She managed an independent touring band for five years. Father Anne received Catholic sacraments when she was a child but she only began to be an active Catholic in her late 20s.[1]
Ordination through the womanpriest movement
editThe trend of advocating for the ordination of women by a minority of Catholics, began during the 1960s.[3] Father Anne's work is part of this movement as she works within the womanpriest movement.[4] She attempted ordination in her home state of New Mexico at the Cathedral of St. John in Albuquerque,[2] an Episcopal church, in October 2021.[5]
Father Anne is celibate and presents herself in the typical dress of a Catholic priest.[4] She has said God called her to the priesthood saying, "God is asking me to do this and so it came down to either being obedient to the church teaching or being obedient to God, and we all know the church has changed its teachings over time on other issues."[6] In 2020, she was a recipient of the Lucile Murray Durkin[7] Scholarship, named after a visionary Catholic activist.[8]
The Catholic News Agency reported promptly on her "supposed ordination" and her "simulated Mass" at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Albuquerque the following day. Glennon Jones, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, confirmed the impossibility of the Church to ordain women.[9]
According to National Catholic Reporter, there are about 250 self-proclaimed Catholic women priests around the world.[1] Many of these women were ordained through the womanpriest movement. Pope Francis has maintained, as a matter of revelation, the impossibility of ordination to the Catholic priesthood for any women.[6]
BBC documentary
editIn December 2022, the BBC World Service published a documentary about Father Anne titled "The Women Fighting to Be Priests" which included film of her ordination.[10][11] After the release of the BBC documentary, Father Anne called upon Pope Francis to meet with women who want to be recognized as Roman Catholic priests.[11]
Ministry to the LGBTQ community
editFather Anne is an open supporter of LGBTQ Catholics and has been quoted as saying, "I especially want to minister to the LGBTQ community."[1] In June 2022, she marched in the Albuquerque pride parade.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Future womanpriest 'Father Anne' blames God for leading her towards ordination". www.ncronline.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ a b c Ruggles, Rick (October 16, 2021). "The Faith of 'Father Anne'". The Santa Fe New Mexican.
- ^ "Mary Jeremy Daigler, Incompatible with God's Design: A History of the Women's Ordination Movement in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Toronto, and Plymouth, 2012". History of Women Religious of Britain and Ireland. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ a b "The Women Who Want to Be Priests". The New Yorker. 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ McElwee, Kate (2021-09-23). "Media Advisory: Roman Catholic Woman Becomes "Father Anne" on October 16 in Albuquerque". Women's Ordination Conference. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ a b Golightly, Chase (2021-10-16). "New Mexico woman ordained as priest, calls for church reform". KOB.com. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ "About Lucile Murray Durkin". Women's Ordination Conference. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ "Becoming Fr. Anne". Women's Ordination Conference: The Table. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ CNA. "Woman's attempted ordination invalid, says archdiocese". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ The women fighting to be priests - BBC World Service, 100 Women, 10 December 2022, retrieved 2022-12-12 – via YouTube
- ^ a b "Father Anne Calls Pope Francis to Have Audience With Women Called to Priesthood Following Release of BBC Documentary" (Press release). 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-12 – via EIN Presswire.
- ^ "Marching with pride". FATHER ANNE. Retrieved 2022-12-20.