The Official Teaching of the Catholic Church on the Issue of Women’s Ordination to the Ministerial Priesthood

Abstract

First, we will introduce the content of the first document followed by the contemporary criticism of only some objects of uncertainty. Second, we will look very briefly at the second document, followed by the exposition of the controversy which has been caused by its claim to infallibility in Responsum ad Dubium. Thirdly, we will present the content of the document, Ad Tuendam Eidem, where the infallible teaching has been clearly defined and Pope John Paul II gave a final word with regard to the non ordination of women to the ministerial priesthood. Before we conclude the whole research we will look at some topics, namely: - "Theology of the Priesthood of Christ" "The Twelve Apostles" "The Role of Women in the Church" which are, in my opinion, very much related to the problem of women's ordination. This last chapter before the conclusion is meant to help us, in our personal reflection, to make a proper and mature discernment of the whole issue, in the light of the official teaching of the Church on one side and the voices of critics on the other, as Christian faithful in the Catholic Church. As a matterof fact this research does not contain all existing arguments for and against women's ministerial ordination, due to its large and complex extent. It is impossible to deal with all the theological problems raised by the question of the possibility or non possibility of the ordination of women in this paper. This restriction must be noted from the very outset. The core of this essay is the presentation of the developing understanding of the issue of women's ordination to the ministerial priesthood by the Magisteriurn of the Catholic Church which has been presented in the official documents.