Iowa City womanpriest reacts to Vatican revision

An Iowa City woman ordained as a priest by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests last month said it was “outrageous” to compare the ordination of women to the abuse of children by clergy.

“Part of me thinks they can't be thinking logically, it seems almost like an act of desperation,” said Mary Kay Kusner, 50. “It's another fear tactic that I'm not sure who it's geared toward. Is it geared toward those who are supporting us?”

The Vatican on Thursday released its first significant revision of church law since the sex abuse crisis, extending the statute of limitations for victims of clergy sex abuse. In the same document, the Vatican said the ordination of women is “a crime against the faith” and was to be considered one of the “most serious crimes.”

Roman Catholic Womenpriests, founded in 2002, calls itself “a new model of ordained ministry in the Roman Catholic Church,” although much of the Roman Catholic hierarchy does not recognize the organization as representative of the church.

Kusner's June 12 ordination made her one of 11 ordained women in the organization's Midwest region.

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