Straight Answers: Women's Ordination (Part 1)

By Fr. William P. Saunders
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 8/4/05)

I read in the Washington Post how nine women were ordained as priests or deacons. Some of my friends who are not Catholic asked why our church does not have women priests. Worse yet, some of my Catholic friends thought this was something good. How do I answer them? – A reader in Alexandria

In our politically charged world, the debate over the restriction of ordination to men alone often focuses on the political rather than the theological. The Washington Post has made that very clear. Moreover, how some people receive the Church's teaching also seems to focus on a political framework rather than a theological. Concerning the political sphere, we must remember that because of our theological foundation, the Church has condemned discrimination based on sex: "Forms of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design" (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, #29).

However, to understand the Church's position for reserving the Sacrament of Holy Orders and thereby the ordination of deacons, priests, and bishops to men only (cf. Code of Canon Law, #1024), we must turn to our theological foundation. Here we remember that by definition a sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. First, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders. According to His plan, He called 12 men as His apostles. Nowhere in the gospel do we find evidence of Jesus giving "orders" to women to baptize, to anoint the sick, to confect the Holy Eucharist, or to forgive sins as He did to the apostles. (The same applies when the apostles chose the first deacons in Acts of the Apostles.) Actually, our Lord’s choice was radical because in the ancient world, all religions had priestesses except one, Judaism.

Some might respond, "But in Jewish society at that time, women were not considered equal to men. Women were seen in a second class way, and that is why Jesus only chose men as apostles." To some extent, this statement is true. However, Jesus was not constricted by such social custom. Even His adversaries stated, "Teacher, we know you are a truthful man and teach God's way sincerely. You court no one's favor and do not act out of human respect" (Matthew 22:16). While Jewish law allowed men to divorce their wives but not vice versa, Jesus spoke of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman as two equals made in God's image and likeness (Matthew 319:3ff). He spoke with the Samaritan woman, a public sinner, whom "good" rabbis would have avoided (John 4:4ff). He acknowledged the presence of Mary Magdalene and forgave her sins although she was considered "untouchable" by other religious leaders (Luke 7:36ff). Many women did follow our Lord during His public ministry, and witnessed His crucifixion and burial. On Easter, women were the first to discover the empty tomb, and Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Lord. Moreover, Jesus clearly honored His blessed Mother, Mary, for whom He even performed the first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana even though His time had not come.

When considering these points, one must admit that our Lord emancipated women from the constraints imposed by Jewish society. Therefore, Jesus did not omit calling women as apostles because of some social or political convention; rather, the reason must lie within the nature of the human person which not only recognizes the equality between man and women, but also their diversity. Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem stated, "In calling only men as his apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign manner. In doing so, He exercised the same freedom with which, in all His behavior, He emphasized the dignity and the vocation of women, without conforming to the prevailing customs and to the traditions sanctioned by the legislation of the time" (#26).

Moreover, there is no indication in the history of the Church of women being called to Holy Orders. For instance, although women, including our Blessed Mother, were with the apostles in the "upper room" after the ascension (Acts 1:14), St. Peter addressed the "brothers," concerning the selection of a replacement for Judas, and the Eleven apostles chose Matthias, one of two men nominated (Acts 1:15ff). If we examine the Didache (the first manual of doctrine, morality, and spirituality of the Church written about AD 80 and attributed to the apostles) or to survey the writings of the Church Fathers, such as St. Clement (d. 101) and St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. 110) to name just two, we find clear testimony that men were chosen as bishops, priests, and deacons.

I remember Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, "If our Lord would have ordained women, He would have definitely ordained His own Blessed Mother, free of sin, but He did not." Therefore, the Church remains faithful to the type of ordained ministry willed by Christ and maintained by the apostles. The Catechism asserts, "The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord Himself. For this reason, the ordination of women is not possible" (#1577).

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