Since Pope Francis' inauguration in March, I have encountered as many as five different people wonder aloud if the Church will now allow the ordination of women. I find the idea personally offensive.
First, I know my place as a woman in the Church and it is certainly not behind any altar.
Second, is the Pope Catholic, people??! It's not like political party voting based on differing policies. Pope Francis is not going to go 'round changing Canon Law because he disagrees with the multitude of Popes gone before him (or Christ Himself) just for the sake of "getting with the times" or pleasing secular society or trying to find "the answer to diminishing numbers of Australian priests" (which, I'll have you know is actually an additional myth, as many seminaries around the country are currently overflowing with young men).
Third, all you have to do is open your Bible and read it plain and clear:
"In these days He went out into the hills to pray; and all night He continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom He names apostles. Simon, whom He named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became the traitor." (Luke 6:12-16)Of these, not one was female, though Jesus had many female disciples. Pope John Paul II's Apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (1994) spoke definitively upon this saying that based upon Christ's original ordination of the apostles,
"The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women."Christ was not subject to social or political persuasions of the time. He is God: He is outside of time. Jesus commissioned it so and we as a church must not doubt His reasons for it.
Fourth, as my Dad says, having a license to drive is not a right but a responsibility. The same can be applied here:
"No one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed no one claims this office for himself." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1578)Further,
"One does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was." (Hebrews 5:4)If this still isn't convincing enough for you, have you ever thought about what a priest is referred to as? I'll give you a hint. It's another word for Papa. As the Church is the bride, Christ is the bridegroom and our priests are representatives of Christ (see Pius XII, enc. Mediator Dei; and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica). How could a woman possibly fill this role as husband?
No, as a woman, what I have to offer the life of the church is entirely different: a deeply personal relationship with God. Or as Papal Theologian, Fr. Wojciech Giertvch so eloquently put it,
"To convince the male that power is not most important in the church, not even sacramental power. What is most important is the encounter with the living God through faith and charity. So women don't need the priesthood because their mission is so beautiful in the church anyway."I'll admit I am no theologian. I have no formal qualifications in study of scripture. Please excuse me if I am not 100% on anything that I've proclaimed to be truth. Know, however, that I did my research using reliable sources. Feel free to correct me or lead me in the right direction for further study resources via the comment box.
Having said this, I am not writing for me. I am writing for you. Get motivated and get informed about the truths of our Church! For further reading on this topic, see Why Not Catholicism and Pope John Paul II's Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.
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