The Catholic Herald: Pope Leo reaffirms male priesthood rooted in apostolic succession
Pope Leo XIV has reiterated that the priesthood is reserved to men and is rooted in apostolic succession.
Addressing pilgrims in St Peter’s Square on March 25, the Pope said the Church “is founded on the Apostles, whom Christ appointed as the living pillars of His mystical Body”, adding that it “possesses a hierarchical structure that works in the service of the unity, mission and sanctification of all her members”. His remarks formed part of an ongoing catechetical series on the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium.
Drawing directly on the text, Leo emphasised that the apostolic ministry “is permanently founded on the Apostles” and continues through their successors, who are entrusted to “sanctify, guide and instruct the Church”. He stressed that this structure “is not a human construct, functional to the internal organisation of the Church as a social body, but a divine institution”.
The Pope also underlined the Council’s teaching on the distinction between the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood of the faithful, quoting Lumen gentium: they “differ in essence and not only in degree”, though they are “nonetheless interrelated”. The ministry conferred through Holy Orders, he said, is given to those endowed with sacra potestas for service within the People of God.
The Pope also focused on the character of those who exercise that ministry, praying that the Church may have ministers “who are ardent with evangelical charity, dedicated to the good of all the baptised, and courageous missionaries in every part of the world”.
Leo also pointed to the Council’s deliberate presentation of hierarchy within the wider mystery of the Church. The discussion in Lumen gentium follows its treatment of the Church as the People of God, a sequence which, he suggested, shows that hierarchy is not an addition but integral to the Church’s nature. Citing the conciliar text, he noted that the Apostles were “the first budding-forth of the New Israel, and at the same time the beginning of the sacred hierarchy”.
The Pope further highlighted the collegial dimension of apostolic ministry, recalling that the task entrusted to pastors “is a true service”, described in Scripture as diakonia. He reinforced this by quoting Paul VI, who said the hierarchy is “born of the charity of Christ, to fulfil, spread and ensure the intact and fruitful transmission of the wealth of faith”.
Near the end, the Pope asked for prayers for religious vocations: “Let us pray to the Lord that he may send to his Church ministers who are ardent with evangelical charity, dedicated to the good of all the baptised, and courageous missionaries in every part of the world.”
You can call me naïve, a real Pollyanna, but I choose to interpret what Pope Leo said to the pilgrims in St. Peter’s on March 25th in a different way than that which is suggested by the title of this article. Yes, he used the word “men” twice, but I choose to hear it in the way the word “guys” is used now – to mean males and females. Leo is naturally cautious and diplomatic, so he tries not to rock the boat too much. Using a non-gender specific word like “people” would cause apoplexy in some quarters of the church. I believe that his whole message was about the hierarchical nature of the church, and how that should be understood – not about the gender of those within that hierarchy.
He states that “the Catholic Church is founded on the Apostles” who were chosen as “authoritative witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus”. Mary Magdalene is accepted as the Apostle to the apostles, and she certainly was an authoritative witness to the resurrection!
He prayed “let us pray to the Lord that He may send to His Church ministers who are ardent with evangelical charity, dedicated to the good of all the baptized, and courageous missionaries in every part of the world.”
The door is not closed to women by that prayer. Many women can tick those boxes.
In another context, Pope Leo had said that the teachings of the church on homosexuality would not change until attitudes did. Can we read this address in the same light, and keep working to change attitudes so that women too can be accepted as being “endowed with sacra potestas”?
Canon Law, (1983 and 1917) teaches that ONLY baptized males validly receive Holy Orders. That said, Leo XIV MAY have used the word ‘Men’, to denote both Men and Women. Ambiguity is the hallmark of the Synodal Church. However, the teaching in Canon Law, is what the Church has always taught on Holy Orders. Leo XIV needs to be more precise in what he says.
Leo XIV is perfectly free to change the teaching of the Synodal Church on any issue at any time he pleases. However, He doesn’t have any authority to change the perennial binding public revelation of the One, Holy, Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. It isn’t his to Change. Pius XII, in ‘Divino Afflante Spiritu’ (1943), stated that the Vulgate is free of any error whatsoever in matters of faith and morals. He was reaffirming what had already been taught at Trent.
Sodomy is condemned in the Vulgate. St. Thomas More once said “if the earth be round, the King’s command will not make it flat”. Sodomy as Cardinal Heenan taught in the old Westminster Penny Catechism, (selling like hotcakes at Knock Shrine Bookshop!), is a Sin crying to Heaven for Divine Justice. Sodomy is condemned in the CCC. If Leo XIV teaches otherwise, the teaching of the Holy Ghost won’t change. The Holy Ghost isn’t in the business of contradicting himself.
Thanks for that, Jo. I hadn’t read the main article/ report above.
I think I was afraid to.
Now, as regards homosexuality and our church’s continuing vilification of boys and girls and men and women who have a homosexual orientation — which most of the civilised world now accepts as just another manifestation of what it is to be human — the first bishop Leo appointed in the US in his pontificate was a Fr. Heenan who, at 47, also became America’s youngest bishop.
He was already well known in America because of his advocacy for gay rights in every area of society, including our Catholic Church.
That told me all I needed to know about Leo’s position on the issue.
Always great to hear from you. Jo.
We miss those great meetings in Dublin in the early days of the ACP.
Catholic Herald is up to mischief. There is no connection at all between the sex of ministers and the Apostolic Succession. The latter is the sort of de fide doctrine that Dermot Quigley wants to find everywhere. Tertullian is one of its earliest formulators in his De praescriptione haereticorum (The disqualification of heretics), where he says that all the churches go back to apostolic or subapostolic foundation (e.g. founded by one of the 72 disciples mentioned in Luke). Historically this is not factual, since as a famous book by Walter Bauer demonstrated in 1934, many early churches began as a struggle between rival factions, including Gnostics; but Tertullian’s idealized account well represents the church’s ripening sense of its structure and identity.
Joe, @4, really interesting
I never knew that. Thank you.
In Raymond Brown’s book, Priest and Bishop he maintained that only St. Paul among the apostles was worth his salt and Paul wasn’t even one of the Twelve.