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Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the Problem of Women’S Ordination

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Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the Problem of Women’S Ordination TRANSGRESSIVE TRADITIONS: ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMENPRIESTS AND THE PROBLEM OF WOMEN’S ORDINATION Jill Marie Peterfeso A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Religious Studies. Chapel Hill 2012 Approved by: Laurie Maffly-Kipp Julie Byrne Todd Ochoa Tony Perucci Randall Styers Thomas A. Tweed ©2012 Jill Marie Peterfeso ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JILL MARIE PETERFESO: Transgressive Traditions: Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the Problem of Women’s Ordination (Under the direction of Laurie Maffly-Kipp) Although the Roman Catholic Church bars women from ordained priesthood, since 2002 a movement called Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) claims to have ordained approximately 120 women as deacons, priests, and bishops in Europe, North America, and Latin America. Because the women deliberately break Canon Law—and specifically c. 1024, which reads, “Only a baptized man can validly receive sacred ordination”—RCWP acknowledges that its ordinations are illegal, but the group claims nonetheless to perform valid ordinations because they stand in the traditional line of apostolic succession. They retain the modifier “Roman” to signal their lineage within Roman Catholic tradition, yet RCWP’s stated goal is not simply to insert women into the existing Church structures, but rather to “re-imagine, re-structure, and re-shape the priesthood and therefore the church.” This dissertation investigates the following: What does it mean that RCWP calls itself Roman Catholic? Why do these women seek ordination and what can they do as priests within a Catholic tradition that claims it has “no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women”? And, as a twenty-first century reform movement, how do Roman Catholic womenpriests affirm, amend, and/or complicate contemporary notions of Catholic priesthood and Catholic Church reform? Using interviews, ethnographic methods, documentary film footage, and internet resources from a wide range of Catholic reform groups, this dissertation contributes to the academic fields of Roman Catholic studies, American religious history, women’s religious history, feminist critical theory, and iii performance studies. The project examines the movement’s twentieth-century lineage, RCWP’s ordination ceremonies, the group’s sacramental economy, the womenpriests’ ordained ministries, and the women’s embodied performance of ordained, Catholic priesthood. Throughout, I demonstrate how RCWP is, paradoxically, faithful to Catholic tradition while transgressing institutional rules about male-female difference and ordained authority. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Finishing a dissertation means more than just churning out 300-plus pages of scholarly research and analysis. A dissertation culminates the long, arduous, often anxiety- filled graduate school experience. The dissertation becomes the expression of one’s grad school process, from coursework to conference papers to conversations in the department hallway. I could simply not have written my dissertation without the support of scores of individuals whom I encountered from 2005-2012. First, I thank my committee. Perhaps strangely, I never dreaded my defenses—not for my doctoral exams, dissertation proposal, or dissertation itself. Instead, I relished the opportunity to hear brilliant scholars and thoughtful teachers push my thinking, hone my arguments, and illuminate perspectives I had not before seen. Working with each of these people has been a gift. My advisor, Laurie Maffly-Kipp, seems to know always the right things to say and the right questions to ask. Over the years, I would invariably leave her office feeling more confident about my work and more committed to the PhD program. I thank her for timely and well-placed support. Julie Byrne never hesitated to work with me, encourage me, and challenge me. She has been a constantly bright source of guidance throughout this dissertation process, and I pledge to “pay forward” the kindness she has shown me. Todd Ochoa is a gifted listener who speaks with thoughtful reflection, and I aspire to infuse my ethnographic scholarship with his influence. Tony Perucci constantly pushed me toward deeper theoretical reflection, and my scholarly brain is all the better for it. Randall Styers brought not only wit and humor to our discussions, but also a welcome ability v to speak volumes in few words. Tom Tweed has a talent for holding simultaneously the long view and the short, and I appreciate the ways he pushed my present thinking while helping me keep my eye on future goals. Other talented faculty have contributed to my intellectual journey, and they merit mention. Robert Orsi was my advisor at Harvard Divinity School, and he instilled in me a love for American Religious History and Catholic Studies. Every time I encounter him, at a conference or lecture, I am newly reinvigorated. Grant Wacker expanded my passion for American religion and helped me think about American Christianity more expansively. He has also modeled a genuine scholarly generosity that I aspire to. Mark Jordan is similarly generous, gracious, and genuine. I thank him for his kind support, and even more I cherish the way he models theoretical thinking and poetic prose. Bart Ehrman has been both challenging and encouraging in all the best ways, and I thank him sincerely for showing such dedication and enthusiasm for teaching graduate students and undergraduates alike. Della Pollock’s oral history course demonstrated for me the importance of listening and of contextualizing socially active faith communities, and I thank her heartily for introducing me to the art of interviewing and performance. Graduate student colleagues likewise guided me, supported me, and challenged me. It would be impossible to list every classmate who has helped me think differently, or has modeled for me academic behavior. Suffice it to say, there are many, and I hope our exchanges have been as beneficial to you has they have been for me. As part of our grad student community, I have participated in a variety of writing groups. I want to thank Anne Blankenship, Brandi Denison, John-Charles Duffy, Carrie Duncan, Shannon Harvey, Cynthia Hogan, and Shenandoah Nieuwsma for invaluable help, not only with meeting vi deadlines (which should not be understated), but also with sustaining my enthusiasm for this project. I believed you when you cheered, “this is really good!” and because of that, I have a completed dissertation. I want to mention also the participants of the 2011 Seminar on Debates over Religion and Sexuality. You gave me so much to think about, for this project and beyond, and I thank you for your energy and encouragement. I also have a dissertation because UNC’s Writing Center introduced me to the concept of Dissertation Boot Camp. Perhaps because I respond well to fitness metaphors, the Boot Camp format fueled my writer’s muscles and pushed my production stamina. Boot Camp works because it demands and builds a community of likewise-invested writers, and so I must give my love and thanks to fellow boot campers, particularly Carrie Duncan, Marc Howlett, Claire Novotny, and especially Dan Guberman. This particular project was possible because of the openness and generosity of the Roman Catholic womenpriests. The women provided hours and hours of their time in interviews. Many also shared with me articles, personal essays or poems, and photographs. Also exceedingly important for this project was filmmaker Jules Hart, who selflessly made available to me the documentary footage for Pink Smoke Over the Vatican. How much this dissertation would be missing without Jules’s contribution! The graciousness and commitment of these spiritual and socially active women made this dissertation what it is, and I am deeply grateful. Lest we forget, librarians are essential for scholarly research. I need to thank the reference librarians at Davis Library and the staff of UNC’s Media Resource Center. I also want to thank archivist John Waide at St. Louis University for his kind help in this dissertation’s early research days. vii The contemporary Catholic world is one of rich and intersecting networks, and I am grateful to those people who helped me connect with interview subjects, groups, and worship communities. Here I think Janet and Leo Dressel, Joseph Laramie, and Anne Perkins. Within this Catholic network, I was fortunate to meet Allison Delcalzo, a fellow graduate student asking rich questions about RCWP, and I am grateful for our conversations. I received some research travel support that proved invaluable. I wish to thank both the Perry family and UNC’s Graduate and Professional Student Federation for funding research trips. With these funds, I purchased a digital voice recorder and made trips to St. Louis, Missouri; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Rochester, New York; and two trips to Baltimore, Maryland. I presented parts of this dissertation at various conferences, and I want to thank the individuals who asked questions or offered feedback. I always marvel at how intelligent and attentive listeners can hone in on important issues I had not yet considered. At UNC, I want to thank my students, especially those from my RELI 440, 140, 104, and 207 courses. I must also acknowledge my American Christianity 28 precept students at Duke Divinity School. You all inspire me and make me love what I do, and you show me why a lively research agenda is essential for strong teaching. I want to give a “shout out” to my Connected Learning Program 2011-12 participants for making life so much fun during my final year of graduate school. I must also thank Franklin Street Yoga and the UNC Club Field Hockey team for helping to keep me sane and strong for the past seven years. Multiple relationships have seen me through my graduate school career. I am forever indebted to the good friends who have helped me—with support, encouragement, laughter, viii a shoulder to cry on, and a good meal or a glass of wine.
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