Susan Schessler was a nun for 32 years before being excommunicated. The reason she can no longer be a part of her church is one that is very controversial: Susan wanted to become a priest.
"I was a religious sister for 32 years. I had been hearing about women becoming priests and it was appealing to me because it to me it was a step closer to a relationship with god," Susan told ABC.
Susan wants people to ask themselves: Is the fact that women cannot have the closest relationship with God possible a matter of religion or a matter of justice?
"Canon law simply says that in order to be ordained a priest you have to be male. I explored it and I said, this is a matter of justice. No longer am I going to live under somebody else's thumb and somebody else's rule I'm going to live as I believe the spirit is working in me and that's when I made the decision to become a priest."
When Susan became a priest she was promptly excommunicated. Although she is critical of the church and it's exclusion of woman, she praises Pope Francis for his open-mindedness.
"He talks about inclusion and he talks about kindness and mercy and [for] people to not be rigid and for priests and clerics in the church not to be rigid," she says. However, she acknowledges that he has not changed the rules for women.
"My concept of god is the flow of loving life. And if the church does not connect the flow of loving life with acceptance of women and acceptance of women as priests, it's got a problem."
We know that this will be a polarizing topic for many. Please share your opinion in the comments; Should there be women priests?
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