Decree on the Attempted Ordination of Some Catholic Women
Decree on the Attempted Ordination of Some Catholic Women is a canonical decree issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and approved by Pope John Paul II on December 21, 2002. It can be found in Acta Apostolicae Sedis 95 (2003). The decree is in response to Romulo Antonio Braschi ordaining seven Catholic women to the priesthood of his movement, the Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of Jesus the King, on June 29, 2002, and is a follow-up to a decree of excommunication of Braschi and the women issued on August 5, 2002. Background In 1998, Braschi left the Catholic Church for the Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of Jesus the King and became bishop of it. On June 29, 2002, on a boat on the Danube River, Austria, Braschi ordained seven Catholic women, called the Danube Seven, to the priesthood: Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger, Adelinde Roitinger, Gisela Forster, Iris Müller, Ida Raming, Pia Brunner and Dagmar Braun Celeste (who called herself Angela White). The Bishop of Linz and of the Austrian Episcopal Conference intervened, but to no avail. On July 10, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith warned the eight persons that they would