In the liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church, the term ordination refers to the means by which a person is included in one of the holy orders of bishops, priests, or deacons. The teaching of the Catholic Church on ordination, as expressed in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Ordinatio sacerdotalis (an apostolic letter), is that only a Catholic male validly receives ordination (ex opere operato),Codex Iuris Canonici canon 1024, cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1577. and "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." In other words, the male priesthood is not considered by the church a matter of policy, but an unalterable requirement of God. As with priests and bishops, the church ordains only men as deacons.

History

Early Church

References are made within the earliest Christian communities to the role of women in positions of church leadership. Paul's letter to the Romans, written in the first century, commends Phoebe who is described as "deaconess of the church at Cenchreae" that she be received "in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well." In the same chapter, Paul greets a number of women prominent within the church as "co-workers in Christ Jesus", including Priscilla, who hosted a house church with her husband, and Junia, who Paul appears to identify as an apostle.Bernadette Brooten, "Junia ... Outstanding Among the Apostles" (Romans 16:7), Women Priests: A Catholic Commentary on the Vatican Declaration (Paulist Press, 1977)

In AD 494, in response to reports that women were serving at the altar in the south of Italy, Pope Gelasius I wrote a letter condemning female participation in the celebration of the Eucharist, arguing that those roles were exclusively reserved for men."We have learned to our annoyance that divine affairs have come to such a lower state that women are encouraged to officiate at sacred altars and to take part in all matters imputed to the offices of the male sex, to which they do not belong." However, its meaning and significance are not absolutely clear. Because of several textual ambiguities and silences, the letter is open to more than one interpretation. Not surprisingly, scholars have been polarized about its meaning. Roger Gryson asserts that it is "difficult to form an idea of the situation which Pope Gelasius opposed" and observes that "it is regrettable that more details" about the situation are not available.Gryson, Roger. 1976. The Ministry of Women in the Early Church. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. pp. 105, 112.

In the church of Santa Prassede in Rome, "Theodora Episcopa"— being the Latin for "bishop" but in feminine form—appears in an image with two female saints and the Virgin Mary. Ecclesiastical tradition explains that this Theodora was mother of Pope Paschal I, who paid for the church. Per Eisen Ute, the use of a title usually reserved for a consecrated Roman bishop could therefore be seen as honorific, rather than suggesting that she herself undertook a leadership role, or it could be a later addition.Ute E. Eisen, Women Officeholders in Early Christianity: Epigraphical and Literary Studies, (2000), p204 The use of the feminine title episcopa or has however been traditionally reserved for the wife or widow of Christian clergy since the Apostolic Age, according to the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Church Fathers Many Church Fathers did not advocate for or permit the ordination of women. Clement of Rome taught that the apostles chose only men to succeed them."Clement of Rome's Letter to the Corinthians 44". New Advent. "Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry." The First Council of Nicaea—the first ecumenical council—subsequently decreed that deaconesses were not ordained ministers because they did not receive the laying on of hands and were to be considered lay persons.Nicaea Council I, Canon XIX: "Likewise in the case of their deaconesses, and generally in the case of those who have been enrolled among their clergy ... And we mean by deaconesses such as have assumed the habit, but who, since they have no imposition of hands, are to be numbered only among the laity."

Concerning the "constant practice of the Church", in antiquity the Church Fathers Irenaeus,Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1:13:2 Tertullian,Tertullian, "Demurrer Against the Heretics" 41:4–5; "Baptism" 1; "The Veiling of Virgins" 9 Hippolytus,Hippolytus, "The Apostolic Tradition" 11 Epiphanius,Epiphanius, "Against Heresies" 78:13, 79:3 John Chrysostom,John Chrysostom, "The Priesthood" 2:2 and AugustineAugustine, "Heresies" 1:17 all wrote that the priestly ordination of women was impossible. The Council of Laodicea prohibited ordaining women to the presbyterate, although the meaning of Canon 11 has received very different interpretations as to whether it refers to senior deaconesses or older women presiding over the female portion of the congregation. In the period between the Reformation and the Second Vatican Council, mainstream theologians continued to oppose the priestly ordination of women, appealing to a mixture of scripture, church tradition and natural law.Some translated extracts from contemporary theological textbooks are given at religiousstudiesblog.blogspot.com.

Ecumenical councils Ecumenical councils, according to the church, are a part of the universal and extraordinary magisterium, making their canons and decrees infallible insofar as they are about the Catholic faith and morals. Canon 19 of the First Council of Nicaea (325 CE) declared deaconesses to be laywomen:

Canon 15 of the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE) declared that deaconesses are ordained and must practice celibacy after ordination:

Church teaching

Requirements of holy orders While the church believes Christians have the right to receive the sacraments, the church does not believe in a right to ordination. The church believes the sacraments work ex opere operato as manifestations of Jesus' actions and words during his life, and that according to dogma Jesus only chose certain men as apostles. The church teaches that a woman's impediment to ordination is diriment, of divine law, public, absolute, and permanent because Jesus instituted ordination by ordaining the twelve apostles, since holy orders is a manifestation of Jesus' calling of the apostles.

1976 declaration on the ordination of women

In 1976, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the Declaration on the Question of the Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood which taught that for doctrinal, theological, and historical reasons, the Church "does not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination." Reasons given were the Church's determination to remain faithful to its constant tradition, its fidelity to Christ's will, and the iconic value of male representation due to the "sacramental nature" of the priesthood. The Church teaching on the restriction of its ordination to men is that masculinity was integral to the personhood of both Jesus and the men he called as apostles.Inter Insigniores section 5 The Church sees maleness and femaleness as two different ways of expressing common humanity (essence).Catechism of the Catholic Church 355, 383, 369–72, 1605, 2333.

Ordinatio sacerdotalis

On May 22, 1994, John Paul II promulgated Ordinatio sacerdotalis, where he states that the Church cannot confer priestly ordination on women:

Pope John Paul II explains the Catholic understanding that the priesthood is a role specially set out by Jesus when he called twelve men out of his group of male and female followers. John Paul says that Jesus chose the Twelve after a night in prayer and that the Apostles themselves were careful in the choice of their successors. The priesthood is "specifically and intimately associated in the mission of the Incarnate Word himself."Ordinatio sacerdotalis, #2

Pope Paul VI, quoted by John Paul in Ordinatio sacerdotalis, wrote, "The Church holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church."

Response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith On October 28, 1995, in a responsa to a dubium concerning Ordinatio sacerdotalis, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said:

Doctrinal commentary on Ad tuendam fidem On July 15, 1998, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a doctrinal commentary on Ad tuendam fidem. In it, the congregation gave examples of Catholic doctrines owed the full assent of faith, including the reservation of ordination to men only:

Decree on the Attempted Ordination of Some Catholic Women On December 2, 2002, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the Decree on the Attempted Ordination of Some Catholic Women. In it, the congregation states that the doctrine of ordination was definitively proposed by John Paul II in Ordinatio sacerdotalis:

The congregation further stated that to deny the dogma is to oppose the magisterium of the Pope:

Catechism

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by John Paul II on August 15, 1997,John Paul II, Fidei Depositum 3 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved 25 June last and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium. states that the church is bound by Jesus' choice of apostles:

2008 excommunication order

The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued and published on May 29, 2008, in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, a decree signed by Cardinal William Levada determining that women "priests" and the bishops who attempt to ordain them would incur excommunication latae sententiae.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis said in a 2013 interview that regarding women's priestly ordination, "with reference to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says, 'No.' John Paul II said it, but with a definitive formulation. That is closed, that door." He later expanded on this in a November 2016 informal statement on the return flight from his papal visit to Sweden to commemorate the Reformation: "On the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, the final word is clear, it was said by St. John Paul II and this remains." Francis added that women are very important to the church, specifically from a "Marian dimension. In Catholic ecclesiology there are two dimensions to think about [...] The Petrine dimension, which is from the Apostle Peter, and the Apostolic College, which is the pastoral activity of the bishops, as well as the Marian dimension, which is the feminine dimension of the Church."

Ordination to the diaconate