What if you get stage fright in front of audiences?
Everyone feels jitters at first, but saying Mass and preaching a homily become less intimidating the more that you do them. Overtime your parish becomes your family and it feels natural administering the Lord to people you care deeply for.

Why does the Catholic Church only ordain men to the priesthood?
With the recent illicit ordination by dissident Archbishop Milingo in New Jersey of two married men to the priesthood, and the repeated attempts by several women’s groups to ordain women, most recently upon a boat on a river in Pittsburgh, the question of who has a ‘right’ to the Sacrament of Orders has been a heated topic of late. According to Catholic Church theology, however, no one has a ‘right’ to be ordained; it is an individual’s response to an invitation by Christ to serve His Church. The Church must also confirm and nurture this call, for no one is a priest just for himself; so the Church has the obligation to define who is eligible for this Sacrament, which must be done in a manner consistent with the Church’s Tradition. Because this teaching went unchallenged for a vast majority of the Church’s life, the teaching was left implicit in the deposit of faith. However, because of recent historical developments, the teaching was concretely defined over the last thirty years.

Inter Insigniores
In response to the call of Vatican II, there was a renewed effort to Ecumenism, the reconciling of differences between the Catholic Church and the various Christian denominations. As Catholics and Anglicans began this process, which continues to this day, the Anglican Communion was moving towards opening ordination in their communion to women. In response, Pope Paul VI issued a public letter to Donald Coggan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he stated: “We must regretfully recognize that a new course taken by the Anglican Communion in admitting women to the ordained priesthood cannot fail to introduce into this dialogue an element of grave difficulty which those involved will have to take seriously into account. (4)”

With Pope Paul’s appeal to the Anglican Communion going unheeded, there was increasing voice that the Catholic Church also examine the question. In response, Pope Paul issued Inter Insigniores: (Declaration on the Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood (15 October 1976)). In this document, Pope Paul, in quoting Blessed John XXIII, rightly praises the advances in equality that women have achieved over the past century. However, he also reaffirms and clarifies the Church’s constant tradition regarding the admission of men only to the ministerial priesthood.

Paul VI begins his discussion with a short survey of history. He notes that “a few heretical sects in the first centuries, especially Gnostic ones, entrusted the exercise of the priestly ministry to women: this innovation was immediately noted and condemned by the Fathers, who considered it as unacceptable in the Church. (1)” After the short discussions in the Early Church, there was only slight discussion in the Middle Ages before the question was addressed again in the present day. It must be remembered that the Church only defines a law once it has been challenged and thus needs to be clarified. For example, even though the Canon of Scripture was in place since the late Fourth Century, it was not definitively settled until the Council of Trent in the Sixteenth Century, for it was then that the Canon was challenged by the Protestant Reformers.

Pope Paul moves on to the attitude that Christ had towards women during His public ministry. He notes that Jesus did not “conform to the customs of his time, for his attitude towards women was quite different from that of his milieu, and he deliberately and courageously broke with it. (2)” This contravening of the cultural milieu makes it even more remarkable that Jesus did not choose women to be among his closest followers.

Even his Mother, who was so closely associated with the mystery of her Son, and whose incomparable role is emphasized by the Gospels of Luke and John, was not invested with the apostolic ministry. This fact was to lead the Fathers to present her as the example of Christ's will in this domain; as Pope Innocent III repeated later, at the beginning of the thirteenth century. (Inter Insigniores 2)

In the discussion of St. Paul’s theology and writing, much is made of his statement in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The argument is then made that there should be no distinction between the sexes in a truly Christian environment. However,

exegetes of authority have noted a difference between two formulas used by the Apostle: he writes indiscriminately "my fellow workers" (Rom 16:3; Phil 4:2-3) when referring to men and women helping him in his apostolate in one way or another; but he reserves the title "God's fellow workers" (1 Cor 3:9; cf. 1 Thes 3:2) to Apollos, Timothy and himself, thus designated because they are directly set apart for the apostolic ministry and the preaching of the Word of God. In spite of the so important role played by women on the day of the Resurrection, their collaboration was not extended by Saint Paul to the official and public proclamation of the message, since this proclamation belongs exclusively to the apostolic mission. (Inter Insigniores, 3)

Even in St. Paul’s writings, there is a distinction between what we now call the priesthood of the faithful versus that of the Ministerial or Ordained Priesthood, for everyone is called to share the Word of God with the world, but certain men were set apart for the specific Apostolic mission of Preaching.

Two questions arise here: is the attitude of Jesus and the Apostles important, and does this attitude have a permanent value? Some traditions, like requiring women to wear veils, have been changed, while others, especially those related to sacraments, have permanent value and cannot be changed. For example, the Church cannot change from using bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Pope Paul lifts up that the all-male hierarchical priesthood is not merely functionary, but also has a sacramental sign-value, which is much deeper than merely a conventional sign: “This norm, based on Christ's example, has been and is still observed because it is considered to conform to God's plan.” All male priesthood is accepted as God’s design; therefore the Church lacks power or right to change it. For the priesthood is a connection not only for the community of believers themselves, but also a connection to history of our salvation in Christ. The priesthood, is in fact, the way the community of believers is connected to The Event of our salvation, Christ’s Crucifixion. Pope Paul surmises:

In the final analysis it is the Church, through the voice of her Magisterium, that, in these various domains, decides what can change and what must remain immutable. When she judges that she cannot accept certain changes, it is because she knows that she is bound by Christ's manner of acting. Her attitude, despite appearances, is therefore not one of archaism but of fidelity: it can be truly understood only in this light. The Church makes pronouncements in virtue of the Lord's promise and the presence of the Holy Spirit, in order to proclaim better the mystery of Christ and to safeguard and manifest the whole of its rich content. (4)

The changing of the question back to one of fidelity to the promise that Christ has given allows for a freedom for the Church to continue to grow in our awareness of how Christ continues to lead and guide His Church through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Paul VI’s hope that this document would quiet the movement for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church went unfounded. As the movement progressed in the various Christian sects, there were renewed calls for this question to be reexamined in the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II addressed the question in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (On the Reserving of Priestly Ordination to Men Alone (1994)). In this document, the Holy Father quotes extensively from his predecessor, but adds the following:

Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.

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. (4)

In matters of such a strong statement, recourse must be made to see what implications this wording has for the faithful. (Then) Cardinal Ratzinger issued a clarifier that this definitively settled the question of women’s ordination for the Catholic Church. The dogma of Papal Infallibility, decreed at the First Vatican Council, and reaffirmed at the Second Vatican Council in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium:

“In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra.

“... And therefore [The Pope’s] definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly styled irreformable, since they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, promised to him in blessed Peter, and therefore they need no approval of others, nor do they allow an appeal to any other judgment.

“...To these definitions the assent of the Church can never be wanting.” (LG 25)

Over the last thirty years, the teaching of the Church on this subject has been necessarily clarified due to the confusion among the faithful. To this teaching, we are to gladly give our assent.

Michael Novak, writing in the Journal First Things, comments on the meeting between Pope John Paul II and Dr. George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in May 1992. In the interim period between Inter Insigniores and this meeting, the Anglican Communion had progressed on its movement towards the acceptance of women into the sacramental priesthood. In response, he noted an unnamed Vatican official as saying that “the Catholic Church, for fundamental theological reasons, does not believe it has a right to authorize such ordination.” Novak continues:

For fundamental theological reasons. One wonders what these reasons are. Apart from a splendid essay ("Priestesses in the Church?") by C. S. Lewis, one scarcely ever encounters a theological argument against the proposition that women should be ordained priests. One hears about "tradition," and about the "example" of Jesus Christ- these are solid reasons, but not wholly persuasive. The inquiring mind is restless until it comes to understand the theological reasons why Jesus did as He did, and why the tradition is as it is.

Until the Church is able to articulate a consistent, deep and prayerful theological approach to this question, it will continue to be debated by those who wish, against the wisdom of the ages, for the teaching to change.

Novak formulates the answer to this challenge in three parts: first, the Catholic priest has not only a ministerial duty, but also a representative, liturgical role; second, the maleness of the priesthood is consistent with the metaphors of gender through which, predominantly, God has chosen to reveal Himself; and finally, in the Incarnation, God did not chose to come as a gender-neutral ‘person,’ he chose to come in male flesh, as a Son. While none of these arguments is persuasive, when taken as a whole, they begin to have a weight of persuasion.

Unfortunately, in the time since Novak’s article was published in April of 1993, this question has lain mostly dormant. Advances in theological understanding, specifically with respect to John Paul’s groundbreaking approach in The Theology of the Body have yet to be adequately applied to the priesthood. It may seem strange to apply a teaching on love and marriage to the priesthood, but when one considers the spousal nature of the priest as wedded to the Church, and hence also to the community that the priest has been chosen to lead, this becomes a necessary aspect of any theology of the priesthood.

As I preach on Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life, one of the topics I mention is celibacy, or those who “renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 19:12).” This call to the celibate life is a counsel, not a command, and is therefore a choice that is proper to a rather exceptional vocation, and not a call that is universal and ordinary for all the faithful. There is a supernatural dimension to this choice as well, for it is done “for the sake of the Kingdom,” and not for the glory of the one chosen.

In response to this, the priest becomes, in a spiritual sense, wedded to the Church. He is called to give his life completely for the life of his people, so that he gives life not just to one specific nuclear family, but to the family of the Church. In this, he is to lead the People of God closer to their home in heaven. The priest is not just a functionary, but is a representative of Christ himself, leading the people closer to Himself. Back to Pope Paul VI:

The Christian priesthood is therefore of a sacramental nature: the priest is a sign, the supernatural effectiveness of which comes from the ordination received, but a sign that must be perceptible and which the faithful must be able to recognize with ease. The whole sacramental economy is in fact based upon natural signs, on symbols imprinted upon the human psychology: "Sacramental signs," says Saint Thomas, "represent what they signify by natural resemblance". The same natural resemblance is required for persons as for things: when Christ's role in the Eucharist is to be expressed sacramentally, there would not be this "natural resemblance" which must exist between Christ and his minister if the role of Christ were not taken by a man: in such a case it would be difficult to see in the minister the image of Christ. For Christ himself was and remains a man. (Inter Insigniores 5)

There must be a resonance between what we say and do, a natural convergence between our beliefs and our practices. Because Christ is inescapably a man, in order to more fully act in persona Christi¸ the priesthood also is appropriately reserved to men.

In the Economy of Salvation, the process of how our salvation was won by Christ’s saving death on the Cross, Jesus is the author of the Covenant, the Bridegroom and Head of the Church, and his saving death is made most real to us today in the Sacrificial Banquet of the Eucharist. Therefore, as Christ continues to lead and guide His Church, that role of leadership is properly filled by a man. It is important to note, however, that this role of leadership does not signify a personal superiority over others, but that the priest has a unique role to play in the way the Salvation won by Christ is meted out to the world today.

Finally, it is important to reiterate the point made at the beginning of this article: no one has a right to the priesthood. The authentic call to the Vocation is a call that is based in service to God and His Church, it is a desire to lay down one’s life for something that is greater than the individual, for he gives himself completely to Christ. In this, the priest becomes a sign and symbol of Christ himself, wedded to the Church, and giving life to the faithful.

The Response to Vocations
As the vocation crises in this country has continued to worsen, the question of who is able to be admitted to Orders keeps being asked. As seen above, this question has already been settled. I am convinced that the response to the so-called ‘Vocation Crises’ is not in a lessening of the standards of admittance, but rather in a bold and dynamic avowal of beauty of the Ordained Priesthood, and the gifts that can flow from a radical connection to Christ in service to his brothers and sisters. Where this vision of the priesthood has been upheld and proclaimed, both among dioceses and religious orders, there is no vocation crisis.

In the video, Fishers of Men, an interviewee responds that considering a vocation to the priesthood should be a part of every male Catholic’s life. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, not for the mere fact that it would increase vocations to the priesthood (which it would), but also because it would force every person in the Church to ask the question of where God was leading him or her: priesthood, religious life, married life, or single life. If each person struggles with this answer, when they come to a final decision, it will not be just because it is the next step. Someone who, after exploring the call to priesthood or religious life, discerns that God is calling him or her to be married, is going to be much more diligent in whom he or she chooses as a spouse, for the awareness grows that “I am looking for the person God has destined me for, not just someone to spend time with.”

Finally, a renewed effort to solicit forth those who are being called to the priesthood and religious life will only lead to a deeper level of commitment to God and the Church among all of the faithful. If potential candidates are serious about following where God is leading them, they will inquire more about their faith and study the content of the faith with greater interest.

One statistic that continually amazes people, is that surveys in both this country and in Europe reveal that 36% of young people have thought about the priesthood or religious life at some point in their life, but that most do not pursue it any farther because they do not feel supported, they do not know what to do next, or they think that they are the only ones who are thinking about it. Obviously, if one out of three has thought about it at some point, they are not alone! The responsibility falls to families, parishes, schools, and dioceses to help young people realize that this is a normal avenue to pursue, and that it can lead to great happiness, because it leads to where God might be calling you.

I look at dioceses that are vocation rich. There is no secret to how they have achieved that status, they have not advocated for drastic changes in either who potential candidates could be or in their training. Rather, they simply lift up and maintain the Truth, and Christ, who is the fullness of Truth, leads potential candidates and gives them the courage to be able to respond.

If you have felt the tugging of the heart strings to explore the option to the priesthood, I echo what Pope John Paul II said over and over again: Be not afraid! Do not be afraid to put into the deep and give everything over to Christ. He does not promise fame or fortune, he does not promise success; what he promises to those who are faithful is that he will be with you to lead and guide you closer to himself.

For further reading, please see the following articles:

Inter Insigniores, Declaration on the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood, by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone, by Pope John Paul II

Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, by the Second Vatican Council

Presbyterorum Ordinis, Decree on the Life and Ministry of Priests, by the Second Vatican Council

Women, Ordination and Angels, by Michael Novak

Priestesses in the Church?, by C.S. Lewis

The Male Priesthood, Argument from Sacred Tradition, by Mark Lowery, Ph.D.

Women and the Priesthood, from Catholic Answers

Why Can’t Women be Priests, by Jason Evert

Why No Women’s Ordination, by Michael J. Tortolani

Ordination Is Not a Right: Why the Church Cannot Make Women Priests, by Mark P. Shea

Women Priests: No Chance, by Joanna Bogle

Practical Suggestions