Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well However, in common english usage priest refers only to presbyters and. It’s an argument from authority, so it only tells us that women can’t be priests without explaining why that is so In other words, it tells us that the church’s teaching on the matter is true, but it doesn’t explain the logic behind it I want to find what makes the priesthood appropriate only for men, so we need to go deeper. The argument from sacred tradition by mark lowery, ph.d
Introduction in may of 1994 john paul ii promulgated which declared definitely that the catholic priesthood is reserved for males That document nonetheless contained some language that was difficult to interpret As a result, cardinal ratzinger made an official clarification () in november of 1995, making it quite. The fundamental reason why the catholic church ordains only males to the priesthood is historical Jesus chose only men in selecting the twelve apostles and the church feels bound by that choice made by jesus. Priests act in persona christi (“in the person of christ”), and so those persons who receive priestly ordination and act in the person of christ are men because he was a man.
In our politically charged world, the debate over the restriction of ordination to men alone too often focuses on the political rather than the theological Moreover, how some people receive the church’s teaching also seems to focus on a political framework rather than a theological.
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