The Catholic Church's male priesthood is not about female incompetence
Following Jesus, fatherhood, and feminine genius
One of the biggest gripes with Catholicism I hear from non-Catholics is about our institution of a male-only priesthood.
That’s so unfair to women. How oppressive. Unforgivingly misogynistic. Why are Catholics 200 years behind the times?
And really, I get it. I understand why, at face-value, a male-only priesthood would look terrible for women, why an enormous, global organization having only men in positions of clerical leadership would seem bigoted and unfair. In any other institution, it would be. Women are just as intellectually capable of performing these job tasks as men are, and to say otherwise would reveal a very low opinion of half of God’s children.
Moreover, there have been many men in the priesthood who have failed the Church dramatically and in heinous ways—I know many women who, if being a priest were merely about holding a job of leadership, would have cared for a flock of God’s children much better than these men who've committed evil sins against those they were entrusted to guide.
But the Catholic Church isn’t a democratic republic, or monarchy, or secular government of any kind. And the priesthood isn’t a job in the same way being a Baptist preacher or Methodist minister is. Yes, it has job functions and duties, like preaching, providing counseling, running administrative work, and squaring away budgets. And still, the Catholic priesthood isn’t just a job, it’s a vocation with job functions involved. And vocations aren’t just about job descriptions, they’re about souls and the immutable, unchangeable mark of humanity God gives to each of us by the nature of our existence.
If we only consider the job functions of being a priest, there’s no reason that women couldn’t do it. Will converted to Catholicism from a Protestant tradition that does have female priests, and he tells me of many woman priests that blessed him and his friends greatly. Someone could make an argument that there are aspects of the job of priest that men are more disposed to perform, but you could just as easily argue that women are more suited to perform other aspects of the job. But again, being a priest is not merely a job, it’s a vocation.
Watch: “Explaining the All-Male Priesthood” by Catholic Answers
So why is the vocation of the priesthood reserved for men? The simple answer is that when Jesus instituted the priesthood of his new Church, He only appointed men to be his Apostles despite having women as followers who also had all the same qualifications as those men (CCC 1577). No one could make a serious argument that Mary Magdalene, first witness of the Resurrection, or our spotless Blessed Mother, who knew Jesus best on earth, weren’t just as qualified for the job functions of the priesthood on paper as the twelve Apostles. Still, Jesus chose only men, and the Church has continued to honor his choice throughout the centuries.
God the Son chose to become incarnate as a man, and the Catholic Church upholds the truth that priests act in persona Christi (in place of Christ), thus it is fitting that men serve as Christ’s priest; types of God the Father and Jesus the Bridegroom of the Church, roles only men can play, just as only women can be mothers and brides.
Read: “Why can only men be ordained as priests?” By Catholic Straight Answers
The Church does not have authority to revise this precedent that Christ Himself set. Pope Saint John Paul II clarifies this here in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis:
In obedience to the Lord, the Catholic Church believes it does not have the authority to begin admitting women to the priesthood. This was the definitive teaching of Pope St. John Paul II in 1994: “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32), I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.”
So, where does that leave us women?
JPII also writes the following in his letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women:
“The Church gives thanks for all the manifestations of the feminine ‘genius,’ which have appeared in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations; she gives thanks for all the charisms which the Holy Spirit distributes to women in the history of the People of God, for all the victories which she owes to their faith, hope and charity: she gives thanks for all the fruits of feminine holiness.”
Saint Thérèse’s of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, shared the following about her spiritual journey with Jesus in her autobiography, The Story of a Soul:
“I feel as if I were called to be a fighter, a priest, an apostle, a doctor, a martyr; as if I could never satisfy the needs of my nature without performing, for Your sake, every kind of heroic action at once. I feel as if I'd got the courage to be a Crusader, a Pontifical Zouave, dying on the battlefield in defence of the Church.
And at the same time I want to be a priest; how lovingly I'd carry You in my hands when you came down from heaven at my call; how lovingly I'd bestow You on men's souls!
And yet, with all this desire to be a priest, I've nothing but admiration and envy for the humility of St. Francis; I'd willingly imitate him in refusing the honor of the priesthood."
Want to know a secret? Teenage Eliza took very personally, with hurt, the reality of the male-only priesthood in our Church. Like my dear confirmation Saint, Thérèse, I longed to be able to administer the Sacraments, especially to hold Jesus in my hands as He consecrated His Body beneath the humble appearance of bread. I knew I was good at public speaking, a whip of a writer, and undaunted by stage fright; great skills for homiletics. I knew I could show up for others with compassion; a necessary trait for counseling and administration of the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
While I never strayed from professing the reality of Catholic Church teaching, I did act really angsty about it for a while—a typical teenager submitting to obedience with a sour attitude because, despite how it makes her feel, she knows it’s what’s best for her. A few years of maturing and the grace of the Lord further softening my heart to the Church’s Truth led me to accept that Christ’s deign for a male-only priesthood logically follower the nature of the vocation.
I have long had peace about the male-only priesthood, but you might still not. And Jesus doesn’t hate you or think less of you for that, He knows you are fully human with a heart beating out of love and desire for Him.
Sisters in Christ reading this, let me speak some life over you:
The male priesthood does not mean you are inherently too stupid, or over-emotional, or weak to perform the job functions of teaching on theology, counseling, and leadership.
The male priesthood does not mean that Jesus hates you and that the Church belittles you and has no place for your gifts.
The male priesthood does not mean that you don’t matter and can’t be holy.
The male priesthood does not mean that God loves and trusts men more than women.
Listen carefully:
Our Church needs your unique holiness as God’s beloved.
Satan hates your feminine genius, because He knows how powerfully it can be equipped for the care, evangelization, and love of God’s children.
Jesus made you exactly as you are, as female, right here and right now. He loves you just because you exist. He’s counting on you to be His hands and feet here on earth.
The Kingdom of Heaven celebrates, honors the dignity of, and is safe for women. It’s the only place in existence that is so.
Let’s let the Lord work wonders of love, healing, care, and joy through our feminine genius.
In Him,
-Eliza
If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Eliza, and I blog here and on Instagram about the Catholic faith, women’s issues, feminine fashion, and my vocation of marriage to the love of my life. If you liked this essay, you’ll enjoy:
ELIZA WEARS THINGS: MID-SUMMER SALES
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I’D APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS FOR…
The victims and survivors of the July 4th flood in Texas, especially the campers and counselors at Camp Mystic—among the deceased were little girls as young as 8, attending camp for the first time, and college-aged counselors who gave their lives trying to protect them.
Let’s pray for the souls of Blair and Brooke Harber, Catholic sisters ages 11 and 13 who were found in the floodwater 15 miles downriver still holding hands. They had texted their parents at 3 in the morning that they loved them and went to the loft of their cabin holding their rosaries to try to escape the rising water.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, cover these grieving families in your mantle. We know you love their daughters as your own, because you are the Holy Mother of us all.
Beautifully written. Keep it up❤️
Amazing post!