left Pastor Jane Via and Pastoral Assistant
Nancy Corran
Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community
“A new way to be Roman Catholic”
•Making Catholicism relevant •Restoring women’s ordination •Living the change we envision
**NEWS RELEASE**
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Phillip Faker
July 31, 2010 619-987-9288 or philf@cox.net
Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community Ordains
Female Pastoral Assistant to the Roman Catholic Priesthood
MMACC is a Roman Catholic parish trying to lead the way in bringing reform and much needed changes to the Church. Led by Pastor Rev. Dr. Jane Via and Associate Pastor Rev. Rod Stephens, the community strives to be an inclusive Catholic community whose mission is to: reach out to those who feel marginalized by the traditional Roman Catholic Church; live Gospel values, especially those of compassion, peace, and social justice, as taught and exemplified by Jesus the Christ; commit to the full equality of women and men in a transformed Roman Catholic Church and world; and create a new model of church community as a discipleship of equals through radical inclusivity in language, worship and ministry.
Currently, the Vatican does not permit women to be priests or allow its local catholic communities to ordain priests (male or female). The Vatican has recently declared the ordination of women to be an offense in the same category as pedophilia. However, in the early Church, women served as priests and deacons and were selected from among their respective local church communities. Local communities were involved in the selection of their clergy at least until the 11th century and women were ordained as deacons until the 12th century. There has not been an ordination by a Roman Catholic community for at least a millennium.
MMACC has not gone unnoticed by the Vatican. In its public statements on excommunication, the Vatican has implied excommunication of all members of MMACC and any Roman Catholics who assist in the ordination of women.
“I believe that we live in a time of radical cultural transition. The Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community is our effort to renew and transform the Church from within in a positive, constructive manner and with a compelling vision of the future church,” said Rev. Dr. Jane Via. “Today, in prophetic obedience to the earliest traditions of the Catholic church, we celebrated the ordination of and the extraordinary gifts of Nancy Corran. Nancy’s education, talent for ministry, and amazing faith led our community to call her to serve as priest as we work toward a larger structure of accountability in a Church that has integrity. Our community is blessed to have her as a member of our pastoral team and we are excited to share our faith journey with her.”
A San Diego native, Nancy holds a Diploma in Theology from Oxford, and a Master of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California which is part of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. She also completed post master’s studies in theology and Biblical languages in Switzerland. While raised primarily in the Presbyterian Church, Nancy had been drawn to many aspects of the Catholic tradition as a young adult. Ultimately, she decided against conversion to the Roman Catholic Church because of its hierarchy, patriarchy and refusal to ordain women. Searching for a more inclusive vision of church, Nancy joined the Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community in 2005. Given her vast experience in spiritual, academic, and religious formation, Nancy was asked to serve as Pastoral Assistant. She was formally called to ordination by the community this year. Her current responsibilities there include adult education, serving as presider and homilist, religious education for the children, and many other tasks supportive of parish life.
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