the non-story of a non-priest

Your gift counts double until 5/31: $25,254 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Click here to advertise on CatholicCulture.org

the non-story of a non-priest

By Diogenes (articles ) | May 21, 2010 12:18 PM

From Our Store: Defining Issues (eBook)

What's wrong with this story?

Janinie [sic] Denomme who was ordained a Catholic priest in April last year has died of cancer. The Archdiocese of Chicago is refusing to allow her to be buried at her Catholic parish.

And this one?

A Chicago woman who devoted her life to the Catholic Church and advocated that the church accept women as priests died Monday, and now the church will not allow her to be buried at her own parish.

If the Catholic Church had refused a funeral to a Catholic priest, that would be a legitimate news story. But Janine Denomme was not a Catholic priest. She participated in a ceremony that simulated ordination, but that didn't make her a priest-- any more than I would become the Holy Roman Emperor if a friend placed a crown on my head.

If Janine Denomme had even lived out her life as a Catholic laywoman, she would still have been entitled to a funeral in a Catholic church. Regrettably but quite deliberately, she chose to separate herself from the Church, with a public act that defied Catholic teaching and mocked sacred ritual.

Janine Denomme will be buried from a Methodist church. If she had been a lifelong Methodist, that would have been expected, and her funeral would not have drawn media coverage. Only because she claimed to remain a Catholic-- and more than that, to be a Catholic priest-- are some sympathetic reporters taking up her story.

It's sad, but there's really no news here. She will be buried by the only people who took her claim to the priesthood seriously: Protestants.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($25,254 to go):

$80,000.00 $54,745.55

32% 68%

Read more from Off the Record

« Previous post

Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 4 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments

Posted by: Ken - May. 22, 2010 9:44 AM ET USA
Amen, singer.
Posted by: garedawg - May. 21, 2010 7:52 PM ET USA
The unfortunate woman was 45 years old - probably the youngest, by far, of those women who have attempted ordination.
Posted by: Lucius49 - May. 21, 2010 5:44 PM ET USA
Both headlines from the seculars are absurd. It's amazing how the pc crowd wants to claim for itself the power to validate ordinations as if they care about such things. This is another example of a press corrupted by anti-Catholic bigotry venting it's rage. In reading these things play Handel's aria from Messiah: Why do the nations so furiously rage together ...?
Posted by: singer - May. 21, 2010 1:20 PM ET USA
May the Lord have mercy on her soul. And should she be granted that mercy, let us pray that 'she' can now pray for all those who deceive themselves and others in the Church.