I created an ex-Catholic priestess who is running the shadows because the Archbishop of Seattle did not approve of her "Special ministry" to the local joyboys.

BTW, what is the proper title for a female priest? It seems kind of daft to refer to a female priest as "Father."

There are no Catholic female priests. It's verboten. Closest thing is a nun or sister. Neither are really the same thing as being a priest-- the former is a member of a monastic order and the latter is someone who has dedicated their life to helping the sick or needy out of charity. Women are often quite active in the Church and help out with a lot of functions, but they're typically lay people and cannot be ordained in any case.

There's also the Catholic underground in Aztlan, which keeps close contact to the local shadows and rebel movements. Would be a good explaination for a cleric with a more hands-on approach and contacs in the Seattle shadows.

Not so in Shadowrun. According to Shadows of Europe, Pope John XXV allowed women to become priests in the 2040s right around the time of Imago Dei.

IIRC, the same book mentioned the the Carmelites became an all-female order.

Which poses another question. Is John XXV still Pope in 2072? He'd have to be well over 100 if he still was.

Even with the leonization and lifespan enhancement technology and so forth, chances are he's pushing up daisies. Public figures rarely live nearly that long, gene therapy or not.

Hmmm.... I smell opportunities for runs in Rome... Maybe bring back the old schisms surroundiong Imago Dei back to the boil.

Episcopalian

(I don't care what SR canon says. The RCC will never permit female priests, and I rarely use absolutes. You're more likely to see the UCAS legalize murder than the RCC recognizes female priests.)

Maybe His Holyness has pointy ears (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

One of the shadowland posters mentioned in Shadows of Europe that John XXV looked very spry and active for a guy in his 90s.... Certainly something to make you go hmmm....

It is not out of the question. While Pope John Paul stated in no nonsense terms that women may not be ordained, he did not issue it as a Ex Cathedra statement, which would have declared it infallible from now until forever.

Given how progressive John Paul was, he knew what he was doing. He would have had no problem what so ever issuing an Ex Cathedra, given his popularity. It implies that he was leaving the option potentially open for someday. (A future pope would have the authority to change the decision, since it was not declared an infallible statement.)



And don't forget the Irish underground. (Stupid heretic elves.)

For some small amount of inspiration i would recommend watching the Sin Eater.

Why does the priest have to belong to an organised religion? As a magician he could easily believe in his own dark paradigm (think: Black Mage) and create some bastardised version of his belief - striking down sinners with pillars of white holy fire or some such.

- J.

Think "Boondock Saints"

It's not required, but it is kinda the theme behind his character.

And yes, watch Constantine, The Sin Eater, Boondock Saints (among others).

an Inquisitor ?

I haven't seen The Sin Eater, but please, spare yourself the trouble of bothering with Boondock Saints or Constantine.

Unless you elaborate on an opinion such as this, it is completely unhelpful and irrelevant. Several of us liked Boondock Saints and Constantine (though the jury is out on how helpful they will be for developing this character - I agree with Saints and disagree with Constantine).

I would say the same thing about those movies.


Opinions!


But if you want an explanation, I would expect a Catholic priest to be, I dunno, ordained at some point, or to have a relationship with religion that goes a li'l beyond thinking they had a vision and going on a vigilante killing spree (and leaving calling cards that come from Greek myth for some reason). Boondock Saints was a rare combination of half-assed and ham-handed.

I actually find the Constantine suggestion a tiny bit less objectionable as far as characterization goes, since magical tradition and faithfulness aren't exactly the same thing. For example, an Awakened child in a religious household may end up learning how to harness his abilities safely (as opposed to manifesting under stress) by a local Christian Theurge. Whether he remained faithful or became a lapsed Catholic/whatever, he'd probably still use many of the same trappings and mental constructs to tap into his ability since that is what he's used to and because it works. It's really not a radical concept at all once you consider that Sixth World Christians apparently do not believe that Magic is by definition divine in nature anyway. Injecting a li'l parody into the use of the cross as a holy symbol might appeal to a lapsed theurge if he's of the Pink Mohawk variety, although at that point we're obviously not talking about a real priest anymore.