CV NEWS FEED // The Jesuit-run school, Seattle University, is supporting a newly-published book that advocates for women’s ordination to the Catholic priesthood, despite clear Catholic teaching that women cannot become priests.
The book, “The Spirituality of Women Called to Catholic Priesthood,” was written by Dr. Sharon Callahan and Dr. Jeanette Rodriguez, both involved with Seattle University. Callahan is a professor emerita in the university’s Doctor of Ministry program, while Rodriguez is a professor in the Department of Theology and Religious studies and serves as the executive director of the university’s Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture (ICTC).
The book was released in March. According to the university’s website, ICTC funded the professors’ initial research through a faculty research grant. The ICTC is also hosting a book launch on May 15, which students are invited to attend.
“The authors explore the contexts, calls, journeys, spirituality and theology of women called to priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in this compelling and carefully crafted ethnographic work,” states the website.
Pope Francis, who himself is a Jesuit, has stated numerous times that women cannot be ordained as priests. In a 2022 interview with CNA, he stated that women cannot be ordained “because the Petrine principle has no place for that.”
In October 2023, he reaffirmed that the Church cannot ordain women, but emphasized that women still have vital roles to play in the life of the Church through separate ministries.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination.”
“The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry,” the Catechism continues:
The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ’s return. 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.
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