Church ban on women priests is forever, says Pope

Pope Francis has said he believes the Catholic Church’s ban on women becoming priests is forever and will never be changed.

He was speaking aboard a plane taking him to Rome from Sweden. The freewheeling news conference with reporters has become a tradition of his return flights from foreign trips.

A female Swedish reporter noted that the head of the Lutheran Church who welcomed him in Sweden was a woman, and then asked if he thought the Catholic Church could allow women to be ordained as ministers in coming decades.

“St Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this and it stands,” said Francis.

He was referring to a 1994 document by Pope John Paul that closed the door on a female priesthood. The Vatican says this teaching is an infallible part of Catholic tradition.

The reporter pressed the Pope, asking: “But forever, forever? Never, never?

Francis responded: “If we read carefully the declaration by St. John Paul II, it is going in that direction.”

Francis has previously said that the door to women’s ordination is closed, but proponents of a female priesthood are hoping that a future pope might overturn the decision, particularly because of the shortage of priests around the world.

The Catholic Church teaches that women cannot be ordained priests because Jesus willingly chose only men as his apostles. Those calling for women priests say he was only following the norms of his time.

In August, Francis set up a commission to study the role of women deacons in early Christianity, raising hopes among equality campaigners that women could one day have a greater say in the 1.2bn-member Church.

Deacons, like priests, are ordained ministers and must be men. They cannot celebrate Mass, but are allowed to preach and teach in the name of the Church, and to baptise and conduct wake and funeral services.

The Church barred women from becoming deacons centuries ago.

Scholars debate the precise role of women deacons in the early Church. Some say they were ordained to minister only to other women, for instance in baptismal immersion rites. Others believe they were on a par with male deacons.

An Irish Examiner/ICMSA opinion poll published in September found the majority of Irish people were in favour of women and married priests.

Asked whether Catholic priests should be allowed to marry, 82% of respondents agreed, including 63% who strongly agreed. There was a similar level of support for women priests.

Of the respondents, 69% said they attended Mass every week, while 53% said religious services had been cut in their area. Just 7% of respondents said they did not believe priests should be allowed to marry.