Father Marcel Gravet will celebrate his 85th birthday and the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination tomorrow at Rochefort (Namur, Wallonia, Belgium) with a very touching ceremony, which will take place in his own Parish church of Buissonville (Saint-Laurent/Diocese of Namur); in his own words:
"Out of concern for the unity of Christians, the Lord's Supper will be celebrated by Annette Ruby, who is a Protestant pastor in Alsace [France]. The priests who so desire will be able to concelebrate. It is an event which will not fail to provoke reactions which I expect to be numerous. I hope to obtain, afterwards, numerous responses to questions such as: what did you feel about the celebration of the Supper by a married woman, and mother of several children? What do you expect from a priest or a pastor? What questions do you wish to pose to the highest authorities of the Church? By gathering all these testimonies, we expect to establish a deep reflection on these matters and to assemble a document to be made public somewhere in the next year or two in the most appropriate way."
[Source: L'avenir; tip: Le Salon Beige. That's Father in a restaurant - that is not Madame Annette's supper. Yes, Father really is a priest in the Namur diocese; yes, Mme. Staub-Ruby really is a minister of the Union of Protestant 'Churches' of Alsace and Lorraine.]
