‘What the church needs to be’ -- Women defy the Catholic hierarchy to become priests

ST. LOUIS — The entire day had been building to this moment. First there was the procession, then the readings and songs and the sponsors who explained why they felt she was ready for what was to come. She prostrated before the altar inside the old church, her chest heaving with emotion as the Litany of the Saints was said. She sat in a folding chair, tears trickling down her cheeks, while each person in the pews came forward to place their hands on her head in a quiet blessing. And as the noon hour arrived and Anna Girresch —...