• Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
The Texas Catholic
The Texas Catholic

Dallas, Texas

Today is Wednesday, March 22, 2023
  • Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram
Home
Print Exclusives

Pope: Catholic Church never likely to ordain women

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Malmo, Sweden, to Rome Nov. 1. At left is Father Mauricio Rueda Beltz, papal trip planner; at right is Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman.(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Malmo, Sweden, to Rome Nov. 1. At left is Father Mauricio Rueda Beltz, papal trip planner; at right is Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman.(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SWEDEN — The Catholic Church insistence that it cannot ordain women to the priesthood and episcopacy is a teaching likely to last forever, Pope Francis said.

After being hosted by the Lutheran Church of Sweden, which is led by Archbishop Antje Jackelen of Uppsala, the nation’s first woman primate, Pope Francis was asked Nov. 1 if the Catholic Church might one day have women priests and bishops.

As he has done in the past, the pope responded that the question was settled in 1994 by St. John Paul II, who taught that because Jesus chose only men as his apostles, the ordination of women in the Catholic Church is not possible.

He was asked, “Really? Never?” And he responded, “If one carefully reads the declaration of St. John Paul, it goes in that direction, yes.”

In one of his briefest airborne news conferences, Pope Francis spent just over 40 minutes with reporters and answered six questions ranging from Sweden’s newly restrictive immigration policy to the role of women in the church. He also was asked about his experience with charismatics and Pentecostals, the roots of his concern about human trafficking, secularization in Europe and his meeting in late October with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Christians must never close their hearts to refugees and migrants, but governments have a duty to regulate the flux of newcomers as they allocate resources to ensure their integration into society, he said.

“It’s not human to close one’s heart,” the pope told reporters flying with him from Sweden back to Rome.

As he has in the past, Pope Francis insisted nations live up to international agreements offering special welcome and protection to refugees fleeing war and persecution. While Catholic social teaching holds that every person has a right to migrate in search of a better life, accepting newcomers is a serious obligation when the person’s life is at risk.

Europeans should not be frightened by the latest wave of newcomers, he said. “Europe was made with a continual integration of cultures, many cultures.”

The key, he said, is to ensure a proper integration of newcomers with language lessons, a home, schools and jobs. “The danger is that when a refugee or migrant is not integrated, he or she is ‘ghetto-ized.'”

Responding to the question about Maduro, Pope Francis said he met with him at the president’s request. “I listened to him for half an hour,” he said. “I asked a few questions. I heard his opinions. It’s always good to listen to both sides.”

Like in any conflict, he said, “either you dialogue or you scream.” The political and social tensions in Venezuela — tensions that have unleashed a major economic crisis and huge suffering for many — must be resolved with dialogue, he said.

The Vatican, he added, is supporting dialogue in Venezuela and, at the invitation of both the government and the opposition, has sent Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig, the nuncio to Argentina, as an observer.

The secularization of Europe, or of any society, the pope said, is usually the result of one of two factors: “a weak evangelization” caused by “lukewarm Christians” or a cultural process in which a growing number of people start thinking they are the lords of history.

A “healthy” form of separation of church and state is not the culprit, he said.

  • Tags
  • Pope Francis
  • The Texas Catholic
  • Vatican
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article All Souls feast is a hopeful reminder of the resurrection, says Pope Francis
Previous article Pope offers new beatitudes for saints of a new age

Related Posts

To be an apostle is to serve, not move up church's hierarchy, pope says Pope Francis
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

To be an apostle is to serve, not move up church's hierarchy, pope says

Liturgical elements must foster prayer, sense of communion, pope says Pope Francis
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Liturgical elements must foster prayer, sense of communion, pope says

Pope from 'ends of the earth' brings new style to Rome Pope Francis
Friday, March 10, 2023

Pope from 'ends of the earth' brings new style to Rome

Texas Catholic Classics

A look at the five Dallas law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting citizens during a mass shooting in downtown Dallas in July 2016.

 

How a child with special needs inspired a high school volleyball team, community and a family who heeded God’s call to protect life.

 

After a young runner collapsed at a Dallas marathon, grace and providence unfolded for those involved in the valiant effort to help her.

   

In the summer of 2016, 50 students and 25 chaperones from Dallas Catholic high schools traveled to Nicaragua for a 10-day mission trip.

 

Early on a November morning, Kenndrick Mendieta bounded from the gym at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep toward the campus’ athletic fields as clouds lifted on a fresh new day.

 

Subscribe

Get the award-winning Texas Catholic delivered to your door. Use the menu below to subscribe now.


Subscription length




 

Photo Gallery

Click here to find your favorite Texas Catholic photographs.

The Texas Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Michael Gresham, Editor

3725 Blackburn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219
(214) 379-2800

Our Affiliated Sites

Texas Catholic Youth

Revista Católica

Legal and Other

Contact us

Terms of service

Privacy policy

Site map

Site powered by TexasCatholicMedia

© 2013-2019 The Texas Catholic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.