Pope Favors Greater Role for Women, But Not Priesthood

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says it is appropriate to consider if women may be given more responsibilities in the Catholic Church, though this cannot include the priesthood. The Pope made his comments on the topic last Thursday when he met with the parish priests of Rome. The Holy Father made a clear distinction between the idea of giving women more responsibilities and the question of women priests. He mentioned Pope John Paul II's teaching in the apostolic letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis," which states "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women." Benedict XVI addressed the argument in response to Father Marco Valentini, a parish vicar of St. Jerome of Corviale, who asked the question based on the experience of a mother of a family and of some women religious committed to the recovery of priests in crisis. The Pontiff's response that day was given wide coverage by international news agencies, though the written text of the conversation had not been published. Now it has been made available by the Vatican press office. Father Valentini asked: "Why not allow women to take part in the governance of the Church? In fact, their point of view on decisions that must be made is different from the masculine." Gratitude In his reply, Benedict XVI began by stating that priests have the experience of "women believers who help us on our journey," which is one reason why "the Church has a great debt of gratitude to women." In fact, the Pontiff clarified, "women do much, I would dare to say, for the governance of the Church, beginning with the sisters of the great Fathers of the Church, such as St. Ambrose, to the great women of the Middle Ages -- St. Hildegard, St. Catherine of Siena -- and later St. Teresa of Avila up to Mother Teresa." "I would say that this charismatic aspect is distinguished of course from the ministerial sector, in the proper sense of the word, but it is an authentic and profound participation in the governance of the Church," the Holy Father indicated. "How could the governance of the Church be imagined without this contribution, which at times is very visible, as when St. Hildegard criticized the bishops, or when St. Bridget and St. Catherine of Siena admonished the popes and succeeded in making them return to Rome?" he asked. This contribution "is always a determinant factor, without which the Church cannot live," the Pope replied. However, Benedict XVI allowed the voice of priests to be heard who said "we also want to see women more visibly, in a ministerial manner, in the governance of the Church." The Pope clarified that the "priestly ministry is reserved by the Lord, as we know, to men." In short, he responded that "the sacrament governs the Church." According to the Bishop of Rome, the "decisive" point of the issue is this: "It is not man who does something, but the fact that the priest, faithful to his mission, governs, as -- through the sacrament -- it is Christ himself who governs, whether through the Eucharist or through the other sacraments, so that it is always Christ who presides. "However, it is right to ask if also in the ministerial service -- though on this question sacrament and charism make up the only path on which the Church can tread -- it is possible to offer more space, more positions of responsibility to women."