Women priests face excommunication

VATICAN CITY, May 30 (UPI) -- The Vatican has announced it would excommunicate from the Catholic church anyone who would ordain a woman as a priest along with the woman herself.

The general decree said the excommunications would be effective immediately, CNN reported Friday.

The decree, announced Thursday, probably won't be taken seriously by some, said Regina Nicolosi, a program coordinator for Roman Catholic Womenpriests, who was ordained two years ago. She said her organization counts as members between 40 and 50 women priests, none recognized by the church's leadership.

"We have come not to take that too seriously," Nicolosi, 66, of Red Wing, Minn., said. "It's one of the very last patriarchal hierarchies in the western world, and I don't know when they will be ready to let go of that."

Nicolosi said she would still work as a volunteer in a nursing home, celebrating mass even if she's excommunicated.

The church's reluctance to ordain women may backfire, she warned, adding she wants reform of the church's position on women in the priesthood internally.

"This is bringing more and more women into our group, and I think we're getting more support from Catholics who are saying this is getting ridiculous," she said.