the Catholic Church cannot ordain women as priests. It is a teaching I accept and have no problem with. But I often struggle to explain the "why" of it to people, especially to those with no supernatural outlook, who see it rather as a sexist discrimination. Could you please give me a nice summary of the teaching with the "why" included or point me in the direction of some good apologetics in this area?


Father John Flynn
wrote at 1:36pm on May 23rd 2008 in reply to the original post

I think a good place to start is the apostolic letter by John Paul II where he set out the Church teaching on this subject.

Here are a couple of paragraphs

"Furthermore, the fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, received neither the mission proper to the Apostles nor the ministerial priesthood clearly shows that the non-admission of women to priestly ordination cannot mean that women are of lesser dignity, nor can it be construed as discrimination against them. Rather, it is to be seen as the faithful observance of a plan to be ascribed to the wisdom of the Lord of the universe.

The presence and the role of women in the life and mission of the Church, although not linked to the ministerial priesthood, remain absolutely necessary and irreplaceable. As the Declaration Inter Insigniores points out, "the Church desires that Christian women should become fully aware of the greatness of their mission: today their role is of capital importance both for the renewal and humanization of society and for the rediscovery by believers of the true face of the Church."

On a more theological and complex level you can find some useful material in a letter by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the question of how men and women cooperate in the Church.

This material is rather dense and difficult to explain to others. Here are some articles that address the matter on a more apologetic basis that could help. Regarding this topic, it helps to keep in mind that the Church administers the sacraments that Christ instituted. Therefore, the Church does not have the authority to change the fundamentals of the sacraments, instituted by Christ himself.

Here is an article by Mark P. Shea and a good question and answer piece by Jason Evert.

Fr William Saunders also has a good article on the topic that summarizes Church teaching in non-technical language.

If you are interested in going more in-depth on the question I have read good reviews of a book.

BUTLER S., The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching of the Church, Chicago, Hillenbrand Books, 2006, ISBN 978-1-59525-016-2.

I have only given it a rapid skimming a few months ago, but from the reviews and my brief look it seems a good book.

Further Q&A about this topic @ http://www.xt3.com/discussion/thread.php?id=726