Mary Kay Kusner says it was a sense of social justice that drove her to become Iowa's first Roman Catholic womanpriest.
But
there was a consequence to her ordination, beyond even the
excommunication from the church in which she we grew up, and one she
hadn't thought
much about.
"I had never planned to grow a church," she said.
A
year later, the 51-year-old Iowa City woman is doing just that. Kusner,
a married mother of four, marked the first anniversary after her
controversial ordination by leading Mass for about 20 people Sunday
afternoon in Coralville.
What started as a small faith group of
about 10 people meeting regularly in homes now has grown into a
community called Full Circle, with 25 to 30 core members who attend the
twice-monthly Masses led by Kusner, and another 50 supporters on the
mailing list.
Regenia Nicolosi, a bishop in the Roman Catholic
Womenpriests movement, ordained Kusner in June 2010 at a ceremony
attended by nearly 300 people at First Christian Church in Coralville.
About two dozen clergy members from churches throughout the Iowa City
area were in attendance, Kusner said.
"I can remember having fear
and trepidation of what it was going to mean," said Kusner, who works as
a chaplain at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
"But actually,
it's been a real affirmation that people are really ready for this, that
so many people who grew up Catholic are ready for this."
The
Davenport Diocese issued a statement in the weeks preceding her
ordination reaffirming the church's condemnation of the practice.
Bishop
Martin Amos said that any ordained woman or anyone involved in the
ordination of women automatically is excommunicated, echoing the
Vatican's stance.
More than 100 women have now been ordained in
the worldwide movement, which reportedly began with the secret
ordination of seven women in 2002 in Germany by Catholic bishops.
The
organization says those first ordinations gave its subsequent
ordinations legitimacy by following "apostolic succession."
But just
last year, the Vatican added the ordination of women to a list of the
most serious crimes against the church.
'A difficult leap'
Since August, Kusner has been presiding over Sunday afternoon Masses
at New Song Episcopal Church in Coralville, which Full Circle rents out
for services twice a month.
For many Full Circle members, the
community has become their primary church. For others, it's a supplement
to Sunday morning Mass elsewhere.
"I experienced it myself; it's a
difficult leap for people to go from a sanctioned, traditional Catholic
church to something that is unsanctioned, uses inclusive language and
has a woman pastor," Kusner said.
"It's a big jump. So we have some
people who actually go to traditional church in the morning, and our
liturgy in the afternoon. They're still trying to figure out where they
are."
Mary Nappi grew up Catholic, but she said because she is
gay, she had been "sort of ushered out" of her church. She has been
attending Full Circle services since September and has since become
close friends with Kusner.
"The church is a wonderful community
that she's gathered," said Nappi, who lives in Coralville.
"I had a
double lung transplant in November, and she personally and the community
itself has helped both my partner and I get through the surgery and
everything afterward. They've been very special to us."
Kusner,
who grew up in a devout family in Ohio, said she had long struggled to
balance her personal beliefs with the stances of the church.
"I
was feeling hypocritical for a long time that I wear this hat of
Catholic, but my beliefs are very liberal," Kusner said. "I was
certainly raised very traditional, my parents were very traditional, but
I always believed that women should be ordained, gays should be able to
marry -- things that are big no-nos in the Catholic tradition."
'A long time coming'
Full Circle's Masses follow a format traditional enough to be
familiar to Catholics, but with some notable differences.
After her
homily, for instance, Kusner engages the congregation in a dialogue
about the readings, with Sunday's Father's Day discussion revolving
around people's memories of their fathers.
After growing up
viewing priests as the final authority on spirituality and people to be
revered, Kusner said she takes a different approach.
"Now what I
feel like I embody is a very approachable human being who in no way is
judgmental or wanting to convey that image, because I believe our God is
an incredibly loving, open God," she said. "So if I can embody that
kind of a priest, that for me is deeply satisfying."
Jerry and
Mary Nixon hosted meetings for the faith group in their Iowa City home
before Full Circle began to grow in size, and they were among the
members who encouraged Kusner to pursue her ambitions of priesthood.
"We
try to be very inclusive," Jerry Nixon said of Full Circle. "God never
turned anybody away that I know of, and God has no religion, that I know
of. ... I think that's how Mary Kay is, she's very open to people. And I
really enjoy her homilies; they're from her heart."
After her
ordination, Kusner was braced for negative reactions from critical
Catholics.
But with the exception of one email saying she was "doing the
devil's work," she said she has been met with acceptance.
"People
are deeply appreciative that this movement is happening and that women
continue to be willing to take the risk to be ordained," she said.
"People feel like it's been a long time coming, and time is now. What I
see in that is people are becoming more and more responsible for their
own faith, and that is very exciting."