Why Can’t Women Be Priests? How Scripture, Tradition, & Theology Give Us the Answer
Why isn’t priesthood a one-size-fits-all role?
On this episode of "The Catholic Talk Show," Ryan Scheel and Ryan Dellacrosse speak with Father Matt King about the call for women’s ordination and why the Church teaches it cannot happen.
They explain how scripture, tradition, and theology reveal God’s design for the priesthood.
Jesus revealed the priesthood’s nature.
Jesus Himself set the precedent for a male priesthood. Despite His radical inclusion of women in His ministry, Jesus chose only men for the role of the Twelve Apostles.
“If anyone would have done it, it would have been Jesus, but it was a conscious act not to,” Scheel says.
The Church views this as a Divine decision rooted in God’s design and the reality of Christ’s male identity.
2,000 years of consistent teaching.
Father Matt explains the priesthood fulfills the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament and is rooted in Christ’s Divine institution.
“The way the Church was set up by Christ Himself, by the way the priesthood was set up by Christ, and how that has continued on for 2,000 years, we have this great tradition of it,” Father Matt says.
The Church cannot change something Christ instituted—no matter how much popular culture pushes for it.
“We're not called to sway from the truth, but to continue to follow the truth, who is Christ,” he says.
Women have God-given vocations.
Women’s spiritual motherhood, teaching, and service reflect their equal dignity and indispensable nature.
From early figures like Priscilla and Phoebe, to more modern saints like Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, women are irreplaceable in the life of the Church.
“My parish wouldn’t function without women and their leadership, and so we need that 100 percent,” Father Matt says.
The guys say understanding Holy Orders clarifies why it’s reserved for men. It also shows the incredible roles women fulfill in God’s plan!