According to the Women's Ordination Council, a St. Louis woman has become the world's first Catholic priest to give birth.Ever since Jessica Rowley can remember, she's had a strong sense of her Roman Catholic identity.
From her confirmation, to Catholic youth conferences, to her Jesuit education at Marquette University, she has always been devoted to her faith.
"The Women's Ordination Council has claimed that I'm the first Catholic priest, the first woman Catholic priest to give birth. That is a huge claim and something bigger then me," Rowley said.
Rowley was ordained last year as a member of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, which welcomes many ex-Roman Catholics whose views and beliefs sometimes conflict with the Vatican.
"God can certainly work through a celibate priesthood of all males, but it also means God can work through women, pregnant women, of all different faith traditions," Rowley said.
At present, Rowley serves as an Associate Pastor at Sts. Claire and Francis in Webster Groves. Many of her estimated 90 parishioners cannot receive communion in their former churches because they are divorced, remarried, gay or lesbian. Others said they joined Sts. Claire and Francis because they were searching for a new sense of spirituality.
Rev. Rowley does not belong to the organization called Roman Catholic Womenpriests. Last year, Rose Marie Hudson and Elsie McGrath were ordained in St. Louis and quickly excommunicated by Archbishop Raymond Burke.
"This is different because this individual clearly belongs to a community separate from the Catholic Church," said Lawrence Welch, the religious affairs spokesperson for the St. Louis Archdiocese. "What is different about last year is these women were claiming incorrectly and falsely they could somehow be catholic and participate in worship outside of the church."
The ECC has claimed no ties to the Vatican. Members say they are Catholic, just not Roman Catholic. But according to the St. Louis Archdiocese, there is no difference between Catholic and Roman Catholic. And in the eyes of the archdiocese, Rev. Rowley is not a Catholic priest.
"To be Catholic, authentically, is to be in union with the Pope and the bishops of the Catholic Church," Welch said.
Rev. Joe Rowley is Jessica's husband and a pastor at Parkway United Church of Christ in Town and Country.
"To argue about who is and who is not Catholic, it's like saying I am God's child, so you can't be," he said.
Both Rowleys say their son will be enriched by both the ECC and UCC religious communities.
"There are a lot of people who choose to see me as a person that is not a Catholic priest for me, and the people I serve, I am their priest and to me that is all that matters," says Jessica Rowley. "If I am serving God and serving these people then I really don't care what others say about me. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and being faithful."
The Rowleys said their baby, Finn Michael, was born at 8:38 p.m. Wednesday evening. Finn weighed eight pounds, 11 ounces, and was 21 inches long. They have plans to baptize the boy in both churches.
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(Source: bnd)