Roman Catholic Womanpriest celebrates Masses in Western Washington

 

By Leo N. Egashira

Communications Committee Chair

Dignity’s Board of Directors, http://www.dignityusa.org

(Dignity/Seattle, http://www.dignityseattle.org)

 

 

During the weekend of March 29-30, Roman Catholic Womanpriest Toni Tortorilla of Portland, Oregon came up to Seattle and Lacey to preside at two Masses for the Second Sunday of Easter.  While officially billed as “ecumenical Eucharistic Liturgies” to which all were invited to receive the Eucharist, for all intents and purposes, the liturgies were Roman Catholic Masses. 

 

The Seattle liturgy was held at Ravenna United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 29th.  Deacon Ruth Broeski, also of Portland, was scheduled to assist Toni, but was unable to attend due to illness.  Two married Catholic priests, Fr. Philip Knowles (affiliated with the Ecumenical Catholic Communion) and Fr. Umberto Lenzi (affiliated with the International Federation of Married Catholic Priests), served as co-presiders.  The husband & wife team of Tom and Betty Hill, who lead Call to Action-Western Washington in Olympia, served as cantor and pianist.  All the acolytes--readers, gift bearers and communion ministers--were women.   

 

Three dozen people braved an unseasonably cold, rainy or snowy Saturday afternoon to gather in celebration as Easter people. They represented “regular folks in the pews,” nuns & priests, people of faith who are working for a more inclusive, welcoming Church, and a wide spectrum of the Catholic reform movement, including Call to Action, Dignity, Catholic Parents Support Group and others.  Demographically, women represented two-thirds of the people present. 

 

What was exceptional about this Mass was its normalcy.  Like most liturgies in reform faith communities, the language was both ecumenical and inclusive.  Toni’s homily touched upon the parallels among Christ’s Resurrection, the transfiguration of a Hindu guru after his death nearly 60 years ago, and the reality of Christ’s presence in our own lives today.  The non-patriarchal Creed, which was recited, was excerpted from Sr. Joan Chittister’s writings; the Lord’s Prayer was gender-inclusive, as well. 

 

After Mass, the congregation was invited to stay and engage in a casual question-and-answer period with Toni.  She was asked about her faith journey and how she became a priest.  “I was called to the priesthood at age five.  I always knew that, but I could not be an altar boy!  In 1964, I was in junior college, during the Vatican II ferment.  That led me to get a B.A. in theology.”  Since she obviously could not become a Catholic priest, she pursued a career in counseling.  In 2005, at the Call To Action Conference in Milwaukee, Toni was exposed to Womanpriest and was put in contact with Bishop Patricia Fresen.  With a Masters in Divinity and seminary training under her belt, Toni was ordained as a Roman Catholic Womanpriest in July 2007 in Portland and has fostered & led faith communities that meet for once-a-month liturgies in Portland and Eugene. 

 

The Olympia Liturgy on Sunday, March 30, was held at St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church. The parish’s vicar, the Reverend George Ann Boyle, concelebrated the mass with Toni.  It was the coming together of two faith traditions in a kind of Eucharistic liturgical dance.  It provoked the realization, for the 36 people who attended; this is what it means to be church.

 

Like all priests who function outside official diocesan and order structures, Womenpriests such as Toni are “worker-priests” who need to support themselves.  The model of church they embody is communitarian, ecumenical, non-hierarchical and democratic.  In recognition that leaders are necessary in any community, there is a collaborative model of leadership that is developing.

 

Toni mentioned two upcoming ordination events.  In April 2008, the first U.S. woman priest will be ordained as a bishop in Europe, since three, current, willing officiating bishops need to be present for a bishop’s ordination.  When Dana Reynolds becomes a bishop, she will be the sixth woman bishop in the Roman Catholic tradition.  Then, on June 7th, Deacon Ruth Broeski will be ordained as a priest in Portland. 

 

In a lighter vein, someone asked Toni, “What do people call you?”  She replied, “I prefer just being called ‘Toni,’ but when I was working out of a Lutheran Church, I was called ‘Pastor Toni,’ since that’s what they call their clergy.”  She continued, “I’ve also been called ‘Priest Toni,’” which elicited much laughter.

 

For further information, please visit:  http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org.