Womenpriests: Radical Change or More of the Same?

This article is a critical examination of the Roman Catholic womenpriest movement in the United States. For the article, Moon conducted telephone interviews in 2006 with seven ordained womenpriests and two ordained womendeacons in order to engage in listening to these women share their spiritual journeys. She first describes the movement through the womenpriests' conversations and narratives. Then, she offers an analysis of the movement as well as an interpretation of the issues, and looks at whether the womenpriest movement can truly dismantle kyriarchy as it purports to do. Here, Moon provides a critical analysis of two key issues within the womenpriest movement that she has identified as problematic: (1) the issue of the tradition of apostolic succession, and (2) the issue of essentialism of women in the womenpriest movement. Finally, she puts forth proposals for future reflection and action in the way of queer theology.