Woman ordained to priesthood in breakaway Catholic church

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A woman who played a prominent role at the altar in a Roman Catholic congregation that was banished in 1999 for violating Vatican rules was ordained as a priest Saturday by an independent Catholic bishop.

"There are many women who are called to be priests and that people are ready for that. There's no need to be afraid of it," the Rev. Mary Ramerman said after a three-hour service.

For a dozen years at Corpus Christi Church, under the guidance of the Rev. James Callan, Ramerman had lifted the communion cup and recited prayers at Mass in defiance of traditions regarding the role of women in liturgy.

The 46-year-old theologian and mother of three will take on the extra duty of consecrating Communion when she celebrates Mass on Sunday at the breakaway Spiritus Christi Church, which claims 1,500 members and includes Callan as an associate pastor.

Bishop Peter Hickman of the Old Catholic Church ordained The Rev. Mary Ramerman.

The Old Catholic faith, which rebuked the doctrine of papal infallibility in 1870, boasts more than 600,000 followers nationwide. Over the last decade, "between all of the various independent Catholic and Old Catholic faiths in the United States, as many as a dozen women have been ordained as priests," Hickman said.