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c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Simone Grudzen and her sister, Corita Grudzen, are the daughters of a priest and a nun who fell in love when their father, Gerald, was a seminarian. The couple married six months after his ordination and the church subsequently excommunicated him. Growing up, the sisters always knew their family […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Simone Grudzen and her sister, Corita Grudzen, are the daughters of a priest and a nun who fell in love when their father, Gerald, was a seminarian. The couple married six months after his ordination and the church subsequently excommunicated him.

Growing up, the sisters always knew their family was different and vowed to tell their story on film. The result is “Immaculate Confession,” a 55-minute documentary directed by Simone and produced by Corita. The film also profiles two other priests who married, exploring why they broke their vows of celibacy and the fallout on their families.


The film debuts Oct. 26 at the United Nations Association Film Festival at Stanford University. Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why did you want to tell your parents’ story?

A: My sister and I grew up hearing bits and pieces of my parents’ love story and it always seemed mythic. We wanted to get to the bottom of what really happened.

We wanted to research what the value was in mandatory celibacy and also what the value was in excommunicating these priests who made the brave decision to get married. A lot of priests who have straight and gay affairs are allowed to maintain the priesthood. It’s just when a priest wants to go public with his love of someone that he’s excommunicated.

Q: Why didn’t your parents tell you about their romance, how they fell in love, before you made the documentary?

A: I think the experience of being excommunicated and ousted from their whole community, their histories, their commitment, just being forced out of the church was so painful and so hard that I think it’s like a really bad breakup. You don’t want to talk about it and you want to move on. It took them decades to be able to really delve into it and to be willing to share with us.

Q: Your parents were forced out of the church after they married. What effect did that have on their religious practice?

A: They stopped going to church. My father actually served in the Episcopal Church for a while. They formed a small community and they formed a home church. They still had Communion and did that, obviously, outside of the church walls. At the heart of their belief system and their values is that basically community makes the church.


Q: How did growing up the daughter of a priest and a nun shape you?

A: I inherited a very basic belief that people are inherently good and also a very strong sense of spirituality and a strong sense that there is greater meaning to life.

Q: How did your parents’ experience shape your views on religion?

A: Seeing my parents’ experience with religion and having been excommunicated for falling in love and getting married, I realize the hypocrisy of the church. I think also, my sister and I are almost like bastards of the Catholic Church. We are daughters of a priest and a nun. We are outsiders. I don’t want to be a traditional Catholic, although I do recognize my Catholic heritage and I respect that.

Q: In the film, you make the point that “priests who sexually abused children continued to administer the sacraments while priests who married were excommunicated.” What larger point are you making?

A: I think that expresses more of the hypocrisy of the church because in my mind, that’s one of the worst evils one could ever commit _ to molest a vulnerable child. The fact that my dad was excommunicated and that there are other priests who have molested multiple children and are still allowed to practice the sacraments, I just really abhor the hierarchy and the politics of that.

Q: What do you think of mandatory celibacy for clergy?

A: I believe in optional celibacy within the Catholic priesthood.

Q: Why?

A: I think that there are a lot of young men who would be amazing priests who will not become priests because of the mandatory celibacy requirements. The church has lost so many wonderful priests because of this requirement. Sexuality is a human right, and I don’t think that the church should have the power to take that away.


KRE/LF END CORMAN700 words

A photo of Simone Grudzen is available via https://religionnews.com.

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