Ordinatio Sacerdotalis & Responsum ad Dubium

[michaelgazin]

Am I correct in understanding Pope John Paul II’s *Ordinatio Sacerdotalis *was deemed infallible, therefore making the ordination of women impossible in the Church? Is this then a doctrine defined by John Paul II?

Mike

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Mmmm.
To my understanding, what John Paul II stated in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis regarding the inability of the church to ordain women was in the nature of affirming the Magesterial (Deposit of the Faith) teaching that the church had “no authority” to ordain women to the priesthood.

“Infallible”, “ex cathedra”, etc. are words often tossed about, as though the only possible teaching that HAD to be believed was an “infallible, ex cathedra” statement and all the rest of the faith is up for argument. Not so.

What is fact is that the ordinary teaching of the Magesterium is itself infallible. For example, there is no “infallible” pronouncement on the Trinity, but since apostolic times, there has been the understanding that God is One Being in Three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that those Persons are co-equal. So, we will have no Pope ever coming out and saying that there is now a Quartet instead of a Trinity; nor will we have a Pope saying that there is now a Tag Team Duo instead of a Trinity.

 

[marineboy]

It is infallible, by virtue of the ordianry magisterium because it has been a constant teaching–the ordianray magisterium CAN BE INFALLIBLE–IF ITS A TEACHING ON FAITH AND MORALS THAT HA EEN TAUGHT OVER A CONSTANT PERIOD OF TIME—sometimes this is hard to determine --so at times we need the exta ordianry magisterium to clarify —

 

[DavidFilmer]

michaelgazin:

Am I correct in understanding Pope John Paul II’s *Ordinatio Sacerdotalis *was deemed infallible, therefore making the ordination of women impossible in the Church? Is this then a doctrine defined by John Paul II?

You are absolutely correct that Ordinatio Sacerdotalis has been formally declared as infallible, but the infallable nature of the Teaching was not defined by JP2.

Pope John Paul II issued *Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, *which held that the Church could not ordain women, but he did not word it with all the necessary criteria for it to be considered an ex Cathedra teaching (JPII never taught ex Cathedra throughout his entire Papacy).

However, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (part of the Ordinary Magesterium, led at that time by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI) confirmed this teaching to be infallable, and “filled in” whatever criteria was absent in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, rendering it infallable. The teaching from (then) Cardinal Ratzinger was proclaimed thus (underlining mine):

CONCERNING THE TEACHING CONTAINED IN ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS RESPONSUM AD DUBIUM Sacerdotalis

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
October 28, 1995

Question: Whether the teaching that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women, which is presented in the Apostolic Letter *Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, * to be held definitively, is to be understood as belonging to the deposit of faith.

Response: In the affirmative.

This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium (cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium 25, 2). Thus, in the present circumstances, the Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32), has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held always, everywhere, and by all, as belonging to the deposit of the faith.

The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul II, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved this Reply, adopted in the ordinary session of this Congregation, and ordered it to be published.

Rome, from the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the Feast of the Apostles SS. Simon and Jude, October 28, 1995.

Joseph Card. Ratzinger
Prefect

 

[michaelgazin]

Thanks for the reply David. So while the secular media portrays a Church divided over this topic and implies that it could be changed, in actuality, there is no possibility whatsoever that the Church could change this teaching, and now with JPII’s writing, the discussion over the topic should be ended, once and for all, as we have a difinitive pronouncement. Right?

 

[John_Henry]

michaelgazin:

Thanks for the reply David. So while the secular media portrays a Church divided over this topic and implies that it could be changed, in actuality, there is no possibility whatsoever that the Church could change this teaching, and now with JPII’s writing, the discussion over the topic should be ended, once and for all, as we have a difinitive pronouncement. Right?

The operative word is “should”. But for those who desire their own version of the truth, there will be no end to the hand-wringing about why a document that was issued to officially put an end to the debate didn’t actually do it. “Sure, the Pope intended to end the debate, but he said this instead of that, so there is still a micro-smidgeon of hope that the door can be swung open.”

 

[DavidFilmer]

michaelgazin:

Thanks for the reply David. So while the secular media portrays a Church divided over this topic and implies that it could be changed, in actuality, there is no possibility whatsoever that the Church could change this teaching, and now with JPII’s writing, the discussion over the topic should be ended, once and for all, as we have a difinitive pronouncement. Right?

Yes, this is correct. The Church teaches that Jesus is Lord. The Church teaches that it CANNOT odain women to priestly Orders. These teachings are of the SAME authority and finality. These teachings will NEVER change.