Why can’t women be Catholic priests?

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MattBalkus

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I like to consider myself a faithful Catholic as I observe and try my very best to practice and abide by the teachings of the Church. Despite the fact that I agree with all of Her precious teachings, some I’m unsure of the reasoning behind. Many people refuse to become Catholics because they believe it’s a sexist institution, unable to conform to modern society, and placing men and women as unequal creations of God, with men being superior. I’ve heard some explanations from some clerics but none are really enough to suffice and aren’t very sound arguments. I’m looking for the good reasons, the ones I can be confident in relaying to those who challenge this teaching. I’ve heard it’s because a woman cannot stand ‘in persona Christi’ and I find this to be the best reason I’ve heard. Any other solid reasons you guys have, please let me know.

Thanks,
Matt
 
You could start by searching this forum. This topic was discussed recently that I can remember and must be a common topic.

I would generally say that people don’t really understand the church if they make that claim. The highest position of glory in the church is a saint. Many many many women are saints. Many caused great needed reform in the Church. Saints > priests.
 
F.Y.I.

Scripture does treat women as equal…this has to do with a Priestly office…quite different…
 
MattBalkus said:
placing men and women as unequal creations of God,
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There is alot to unpack. And if you are dealing with someone with a very fixed definition of equality, I.E. one where equality means same-ness, then you may not have any luck.

So, starting out with the church teaching that men and women are unequal; it isn’t true. It does teach that they aren’t the same, but it is adamant that they are equal in human dignity.

from the catechism:

2334 ‘In creating men “male and female”, God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity.’ ‘Man is a person, man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God.’

2335 Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way…

This is scandalous today where gender is thought of as just a social construct. I don’t see alot of evidence for it. Men and Women are different. Our brains are physically different. Our hormone loads are different. These things lead to behavioral and developmental differences. Differences that good educators often take into account when developing curriculum. If Johnny doesn’t have the same verbal skills as Janey at age 8; its not surprising at all because of the way females tend to develop that part of their brain earlier.

It should be no shock that men and women are different physically, that these physical changes can lead to differences in thinking and emotion, and that those differences might suggest that a person might be better at some things. Recognizing this isn’t sexist.

Now, there are spectrums. And there are some areas where this won’t matter nearly as much; such as doctor or attorney. But it does tend to be true in certain areas. I.E. I make a lousy ‘Mom’. If I had to I could do it, but it’s better if my wife fills that role.

I reject the premise that recognizing the differences between genders is sexist. Any more than you might think that one son who is really good at math isn’t the equal of the son who is really good at reading, or a third son who is kind of average at everything. Equality in rights and dignity isn’t about what you can do.

For the Church specifically, it is bound by tradition in terms of the priesthood. Going back to the early Church, and even to the 12 apostles, the role of priest was limited to men. It’s not that priestesses were unknown in that day, many other religions had them. But Christ and the apostles did not.

Given that the priest role is that of “father”, not of mother, and that Christ didn’t choose women to be his apostles, the Church follows his lead.

Now, some say ‘Well, Jesus was just following the norms of his day’. That doesn’t jive with me. This is a man who didn’t follow the norms of the day; even when it meant his life.

Do I fully understand it? No. But I believe, and it makes sense to me.

All that said, Women play, and have played, a tremendous role in the Church. From Catherine of Sienna to my own (largely female) parish council. They serve. They lead. They keep the lights on. They just can’t be one role in particular; that of Priest.
 
The theological speculations can be more or less satisfying, and sometimes they rub some people the wrong way — even those who accept Catholic teaching on the male priesthood. For example, the defense that men are naturally leaders and women belong in the home (as an extreme example) is a bad reason, in my opinion.

So beyond all the theological speculations, the ultimate reason is this: The Church has no authority to change the sacraments.

It would be like the Catholic Church saying: “You know, bread and wine were pretty good for Christians of the first century Middle East and Mediterranean world. But today, hamburgers and beer make more sense.”

Could the Catholic Church do such a thing? Well, no. This might be a ridiculous example, but it gets to the heart of the matter. Jesus established the sacraments. And as far as we know, Jesus commissioned men to be his priests. For the Catholic Church to come around and say “Well you know, that was then, but women make sense today” would in fact to change the nature of the sacrament, which is a rite established by Jesus.

As for me, I don’t really find the complementarity explanations very good, because not all women are the same and not all men are the same. I know a heck of a lot of women who are natural leaders, for example.

So it ultimately comes down to: Does the Church have authority to change something Christ established?
 
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Our world places far too much emphasis on equality and not enough on justice.

There aren’t women priests because there is no basis for it in scripture or tradition. The Church does not have the power to reconfigure the sacraments to fit errant modern notions of equality.

The church is not sexist. Men and women are different. Each is treated with dignity and respect according to our nature. In other words, the treatment of men and women is fair and just in the church.

Anyone who would advance the argument that the church is sexist (ie does not treat women with equal dignity) does not understand the church or her teachings.
 
Ah, well thank ya, Jimbo.

Even IF the male priesthood weren’t 100% clear from Jesus’ intention, it would be a bold thing indeed for the Catholic Church to even attempt to suggest it knew better than Jesus. This is (partly) why the Catholic Church is so “conservative” regarding doctrinal change: Even to suggest we now know better than Christ himself is a bit arrogant, and dangerous.

Think of it like this: What Pope or Council would ever dare be the one to decide women’s ordination? Who would want THAT bold change in their conscience?

Now, there may in fact be several bishops and priests and Catholics who would rather there be women priests. They may wish Christ established women, along with men, to be priests in the Church. But this hunch is not enough to forsake what we already know. The Church is of divine foundation, not human.

In other words, the Pope’s not wanting to ordain women doesn’t mean he’s sexist. It means he’s doing his job as maintaining Christian teaching. (Of Course, I don’t think the teaching on the male priesthood is sexist, but other people sometimes say this.)
 
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Glad Fr Mike has a good answer. I spoke to a priest this week about this topic who had no issue with women becoming priests. He could not see why they can’t. 😲
 
It coud be based on the fact that Jesus who was very counter cultural at times did not choose to name women among his apostles. There are however mentions of deaconesses in scripture regarding the early church. But their role is not clear.
 
It is interesting that according to one of the visionaries at Garabandal, that during one vision, the Blessed Mother mentioned Angel Gabriel [not her], coming the next day to administer the Holy Eucharist to them. A while later, they were ‘interrogated’ about the incident, and were told to ask the Blessed Mother where the hosts had come from and why she did not administer them. She replied that they came from the tabernacle of a local church - that only priests had the authority to consecrate hosts, that Gabriel and herself did not have such authority.
 
Women cannot be ordained because the Magisterium currently says no.

Personally I have seen no convincing reasons why it should be essentially so due to female human nature.
Its likely that patriachal culture is not yet ready for it. It may never be.
 
That is false and needlessly provocative. The Church has no authority to ordain women. That from Pope John Paul II.
 
I agree with HeDa read Pope John Paul ii letter to woman, it is so moving. It’s about the female genius and in no way is the Catholic church sexist. It values woman far more than any other institution. It is lived out in our parishes anyway. When our new priest arrived he told us woman he wouldn’t know what to do without us cos ‘we run the place’. But serious that letter celebrates woman, actually there’s a book on it a groups run which teach woman how to be the best catholic single / mother/ grandmother etc. catholic woman they can be embracing their spiritual and/or physical motherhood making sure we know our place in the mother church.
One of the reasons woman cant be priests and will never be able to be is that they aren’t father’s nor could they ever be. There used to be nuns attached to parishes and they were the sisters/mother superiors but that seems to have fallen out due to a lack of vocations I’d guess, though they are still around. These are the female element. There will, nor should there ever be female priests.
 
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Think marriage. Christ is the bridegroom, the Church is the bride, the priest represents Christ. I suspect that those who think a woman can be a priest have other agendas and are also fine with the re-definition of marriage.

Here is an excellent talk if you want to explore further…

Are marriage and the priesthood “opposites” of each other? Are they two opposing and exclusive ways to serve God? Or, are they somehow profoundly linked to one another?

In this presentation Dr. Bergsma, former Protestant pastor and now Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, examines the passion story of the Gospel of John, showing the unexpected and surprising ways that John reveals Jesus as both priest and bridegroom at the Cross. Married couples and priests alike will benefit from this moving reflection on the way both sacraments—Matrimony and Holy Orders—participate in the self-sacrifice of the crucified Christ.
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