The Cupertino Courier

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DeAnza instructor answers calling to become a deacon

By SHANNON BURKEY

Religion has always been a big part of Juanita Cordero's life. So her decision to start on the path to become a priest has come as no surprise to her friends and family.

Before she left for Pittsburgh, Pa., where she was to be ordained as a Roman Catholic deacon, friends and family gathered at her home in Los Gatos to perform a laying on of the hands to send her forth on her journey.

"It is the thing for her to do," the Rev. Don Cordero said about his wife. "I am impressed with the dedication of these women who have a calling and are courageous enough to follow through with it."

Twelve women made the trip to Pittsburgh for the first ordination of women to be held in the United States. Three female bishops from Austria and Germany were to ordain eight female priests and four female deacons at a ceremony that was to take place July 31.

The first step for Cordero to take on her path to becoming a priest is to be ordained a deacon. She hopes to be ordained a priest in a ceremony next year.

Cordero, a tenured instructor at De Anza College, said becoming a priest is something she has always longed to do, but the role had always been reserved for men. So instead she followed church protocol for women and entered a convent right out of high school.

"In those days, a lot of women entered the convent; there were not a lot of options for women back then," Cordero said.

In 2002, Bishop Romulo Braschi ordained the first seven women priests on the river Danube, defying a ban by the Vatican on ordaining women, and opening the doors for women such as Cordero to become ordained. But in January 2003 all seven women were excommunicated by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

"We need to make a statement that these laws need to be broken," said Cordero about the laws of the Roman Catholic Church.

"I think it is great for people to see other options in the Catholic Church," said Cordero's daughter Marie. "A female can say mass just as good as a male."

As these women blaze a brave new trail, Cordero said she hopes people can open their eyes and their hearts and see religion as something that can be inclusive. She said the church should not discriminate based on gender, marital status or anything else, but should be there for everyone.

Now Cordero said that she is looking forward to having the privilege of preaching the gospel.

"My job is to serve others," Cordero said. "We are being called by our community to serve."

At the ordination, Cordero's five children, her husband--who is also a priest but forbidden to practice in the Catholic Church because he is married--and her 84-year-old mother all planned to be in attendance to show their support and love for her and what she is doing.

"Never did I suspect my mom of being in this kind of authority," said Marie. "I find it very fascinating, and I am so proud of her."