The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has declared that a woman who claims to have been ordained a Catholic priest in July is forbidden to receive the sacraments or try to give them to others.

But both she and diocesan officials agree that the new statement adds nothing to previous edicts against her ministry.

This week's Pittsburgh Catholic has an article and official notification that Joan M. Houk of McCandless is "under an interdict," which is similar to excommunication.

According to the Rev. Lawrence DiNardo, diocesan vicar for canonical services, Mrs. Houk's participation in the July 31 ordination rite would have incurred an automatic excommunication, but that in cases such as hers only the Vatican can declare that such an excommunication has occurred. A diocese, however, can declare that someone is under interdict.

The diocese has already said that her ordination was not legitimate, that she is forbidden to participate in Catholic sacraments and that any Catholic who willfully accepts sacraments from her may incur similar penalties.

Last week Mrs. Houk celebrated communion at Christ Hope Ecumenical Catholic Church in Avalon, founded by a Catholic priest who went into schism.

This week's notice "doesn't change a thing. It's just for clarity because you've gone from the alleged ordination to publicly simulating sacraments," Father DiNardo said.

Mrs. Houk agreed that the notice changed nothing.

"I voluntarily quit all of my parish ministries before ordination, and once ordained I didn't present myself for communion at my parish," she said.

She doesn't intend to have any continuing relationship with Christ Hope Church, which she compared to a Protestant church that has invited her to preach.

"To me this is ecumenical work," she said. "The majority of Catholics favor women's ordination. Somewhere, sometime the church is going to have to confront this issue -- but it won't be today."