Some progressive activists had hoped that the Pope would at least allow women deacons, but the Pope said the diaconate is “the first degree of priesthood in the Catholic Church, then the priesthood, and finally the priesthood.” This will be difficult because “the teaching profession will continue,” he said. ”
“If we only think about the priestly ministry, the path of service, I think we would be undermining the essence of the Church,” he said, pointing out that women are a mirror of the Church, the bride of Jesus.
“The fact that a woman does not have access to pastoral life is not a deprivation, because her position is much more important,” he told Argentine journalist Sergio Rubin and Italian journalist Francesca Ambrosetti. Told. “I think we err in the catechism in explaining these things and end up relying on administrative standards that won’t work in the long run.”
However, Pope Francis praised the woman’s “ecclesiastical intuition.”
“On the other hand, when it comes to female charisms, I would like to say clearly that from my personal experience, women have great ecclesiastical intuition,” he said.
Some argue that the ordination of women would abolish priestly celibacy and bring “more people closer to the Church,” but the pope opposed this.
“Lutherans ordain women, but very few still go to church,” he said. “Their clergy can marry, yet they cannot increase the number of pastors. The problem is cultural. We have become naive and believe that programmatic changes will solve the problem. It should not be thought of as providing a solution.”
