Women are not allowed to be ordained as priests in the Catholic Church, but one Fort Myers woman says she is hoping to change that. Now she’s putting her own religion on the line.

Devoted to God for 35 years, former Catholic nun Judy Beaumont says becoming a priest feels right, but it’s a position only held by men.

“The people that I serve have called me. The people who know me have called me, and I think through them, God speaks,” she said. “I will be ordained a Roman Catholic priest.”

Soon, Beaumont will join the ranks of the other 124 women around the world ordained as a priest. They’re part of a worldwide group called the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.

But none of them are recognized by the Catholic Church.

Now Beaumont faces automatic excommunication, expulsion from the church, just like the 124 women before her.

“We reject that excommunication. We don’t accept it. We are loyal faithful members of the church working to change the church,” Beaumont said.

The Catholic Church only sees her ordination as an attempt to become a priest.

In a statement, the Diocese of Venice said, “The Catholic Church has no authority to ordain women as priests” and “any attendance or direct participation by Catholics in the attempted ordination ceremony is forbidden.”

Full story: Fort Myers woman taking on the Catholic Church

Source: NBC