20100517 Question: Women Priests

13: Why can't women be priests?

13. The thing about the priest question is this: it is not a matter of profession, but of nature. Men and women both have human nature, but the difference between men and women is not just one of appearance. God has created each of them with certain strengths and weaknesses to complement one another and to serve different needs in the family. Since the sacrament of Holy Order (i.e. ordination to the priesthood) is a change to the soul that enables the person to be a minister of the other sacraments, it is necessary for that person (soul and body) to be of the proper nature to receive the sacrament. Just like with the water of Baptism, the bread and wine of Eucharist, and the oil of Anointing of the Sick, we follow the example of Christ, who instituted the Sacraments, as regards the proper matter for the sacrament of Holy Order; He chose only men. Mary, Mary Magdalene, and other women all did their part to spread the Gospel, but they were never Apostles, and we cannot, as Christians, presume to know better than the example the Lord Himself gave.