Invalid Ordination Stirs Confusion

THE DETROIT NEWS, Sept.19—Newspapers had different reactions to the news that an excommunicated Catholic bishop had pronounced the words of ordination over a woman in Great Britain. International newspapers generally reported that the woman was not ordained in the ceremony that the Vatican had quickly pointed out was not valid. But in the United States some newspapers insisted that the Church was wrong about its own doctrine.

The Detroit News called Frances Meigh a “controversial Catholic woman recently ordained a priest,” in its Sept. 19 report.

Not so, countered the Rev. Teresa Hunt, rector of Grace Episcopal Church there. She told the paper that she could not call Meigh a priest. “I can understand where a person has a sense of call,” she is quoted saying. “But to be called a priest or minister, ordained, you must have a community of faith to lift you up. That's in Scripture.”

“Just getting in the face of denomination rules doesn't cut it for Hunt, who noted another option,” said the paper. “It's not such a terrible thing to be a Christian in a Protestant Church,” Hunt suggested.

“Teachable Moment” in White House Scandal

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, Sept. 18—When newspapers and television used the White House scandal as justification to broadcast graphic material unfiltered to families, Pittsburgh Bishop Donald Wuerl felt compelled to write to teen-agers about the Church's teaching on sexuality and truth.

The Post-Gazette quoted him asking all Catholics “to affirm again some very basic truths so that our young are not left bewildered by all of the politically correct double talk, the made-for-TV morality and the talk show deluge of opinions justifying just about anything in the name of personal freedom.”

His letter, called Right and Wrong, offered a “moral critique” of the scandal, without addressing issues of resignation or impeachment. He wrote that sexuality must be affirmed in its “rightful context within a lifelong, loving marriage,” according to the report.

The newspaper asked the bishop if it is ever acceptable to lie in order to spare one's family the pain of adultery. Bishop Wuerl responded, “After the gift of faith — if we have received that gift — the most important thing we have is our personal integrity.”

Politician Prefers Priesthood

THE BERGEN RECORD, Sept. 17—“Whether driving through Hackensack in a campaign van on Election Day or lobbying in Trenton while in college, Michael Rodak has always loved politics,” begins a story in the Bergen Record about the man who found a greater love in the Church.

Rodak has been a legislative aid, a Hackensack, N. J., board appointee, and a public affairs talk show host on the radio, said the report. But he ultimately felt a stronger identification with other activities in his life: altar boy, lector, and mentor for disadvantaged youth. In Sept., 32-year-old Rodak ended an internal debate that had proposed two options: running for office or entering the seminary.

Said the report, “After considering several dioceses in New Jersey, Rodak applied to the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., which accepted him into its priesthood program. He chose that diocese because it followed traditional Catholic teachings, had a shortage of priests, offered a combination of urban, suburban, and rural areas, and was only two hours from Hackensack.” It added that he also wished to minister to parishioners who would not know him from his past political life.

Rodak told the paper, “Government's not going to come in there and help somebody if they want to confess to a sin they may have done. Government can't come in and help somebody if they're having a problem with their marriage. It's something, though, that a priest can do. And if I'm able to help people in that order, thank God.”