Can women not act in the person of Christ?
Congregation for Doctrine |
“The priest acts ‘in the person of
Christ’. Since Jesus was a man, only a male priest can signify Christ at
the Eucharist.” Inter Insigniores § 24-28 “A sacrament is a sign . . . and the priest is a sign of Christ. Since it is not possible for the female sex to signify eminence of degree, for a woman is in the state of subjection, it follows that she cannot receive the sacrament of Order . . .” Summa Theologica Suppl. qu. 39 art. 1. |
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Oh dear, oh dear, oh
dear! |
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Moreover, surely when a priest acts in the person
of Christ, the quality signified by him is not Christ’s maleness, but
his role as
mediator! Christ can be represented by women as much as by men because women are equal in Christ. Women too bear Christ’s image. Moreover, women already act as ‘other Christs’ when they are ministers of baptism and marriage. In fact, women reflect better Christ’s feminine traits Last not least, women too can represent Christ’s love which is the essence of his priesthood! |
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| The Church is wrong, therefore,
to exclude women from the priestly ministry on the plea that they cannot
represent Christ! |
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