Campaigners ordain Catholic women 'priests'
An activist group hoping to pressure the Catholic Church into dropping its long-standing prohibition of female priests says it has ordained three American women.
The group known as Roman Catholic Womenpriests held the ceremony in defiance of the church at the Church of the Covenant, a Protestant Church in Boston.
The Archdiocese of Boston condemned the ceremony. The Vatican has warned that women taking part in ordination ceremonies will be excommunicated.
The group said the three American women - Gloria Carpeneto, Judy Lee, and Gabriella Velardi Ward - are responding to a heartfelt call to serve the church as priests.
A fourth woman, Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly, was ordained as a deacon.
