Word: christied
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...congregants of Corpus Christi are praying on borrowed time. Displaced from their Roman Catholic parish, 550 of them have assembled at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, N.Y. They sit upright in the shiny pews, unused to the immaculate splendor of the organ that frames the altar. But all the strangeness of the loaned space is quickly forgotten in a rustle of excitement. "Oh yeah, she's starting," whispers a parishioner as a sandy-haired woman wearing an alb and cropped green stole stands before the altar...
...stolen moment of authority for Mary Ramerman, one of many that she has shared with the rebels of Corpus Christi as they stand up to Rome. After joining the church in 1983, the 43-year-old mother of three ministered to her flock, preaching on a weekly basis, hearing confession and presiding at Mass. And though she neither granted absolution nor consecrated Communion, five years ago, the congregation recognized her leadership by vesting her with an alb and a half-stole. It was a gift that unleashed a host of hidden enemies...
...that she stood next to the priest during Mass, read the preface to the Eucharistic prayer and raised the chalice of wine at the end of the prayer--activities that are the purview of the ordained. For years the Vatican peppered the Bishop of Rochester with complaints about Corpus Christi and probably made its feelings clear during his official visit to Rome this year. The message: Such heresies must not be tolerated. "We in our diocese have a strong commitment to women's participation, but all recognize that's to be done within norms established in our church," says Bishop...
Defiance is a Corpus Christi tradition. The month before, the Bishop removed the church's maverick priest, Father Jim Callan, who had pushed his parish beyond Catholic extremes. In 1974, during his very first homily as a priest, he called for the ordination of women. He also welcomed all to partake of Communion (with no baptism and no belief required). In 1993 he began blessing gay unions. He characterizes many of the Vatican's policies as "sinful and discriminatory...
...Broadway cause celebre, about a gay Jesus in Texas, were ready for religious protests. What they didn't expect was a crucifixion by the critics ("Utterly devoid of moral seriousness or artistic integrity"--New York Daily News). A sad injustice. Years from now, when the brouhaha is past, Corpus Christi may get its due as one of McNally's best, most moving and personal works. His updating of the Christ story is witty but not patronizing, as sober and cleansing as a dip in baptismal water. Joe Mantello's production--a bare stage, apostles clad in identical white shirts...