A source from the Bishop’s Conference of Portugal has explained to
CNA that the Patriarch of Lisbon, is not in favor of women's ordination
even though “he was not accurate in commenting on the priesthood during
a recent interview.”
The source clarified that the reports claiming that the Patriarch of
Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo, is a supporter of women’s ordination
are based on “deliberately selective excerpts from an interview that in
itself was unclear.”
Cardinal Policarpo, who was elected president of the Bishops’ Conference of Portugal in 2011, “tried to explain Catholic teaching on the priesthood to a secular media outlet unfamiliar with Catholicism,” the source added.
Cardinal Policarpo, who was elected president of the Bishops’ Conference of Portugal in 2011, “tried to explain Catholic teaching on the priesthood to a secular media outlet unfamiliar with Catholicism,” the source added.
“The outcome of the
interview wasn’t great, but to conclude that he was supporting the
ordination of women is an exaggeration and even a distortion of what he
said.”
The cardinal addressed the issue of priestly ordination in two questions during an extensive interview for the May 2011 edition of a magazine published by the Portuguese Order of Lawyers. His answers are reprinted below in their entirety:
Question: Women cannot occupy positions of responsibility in the Catholic Church. What is your opinion on this?
The cardinal addressed the issue of priestly ordination in two questions during an extensive interview for the May 2011 edition of a magazine published by the Portuguese Order of Lawyers. His answers are reprinted below in their entirety:
Question: Women cannot occupy positions of responsibility in the Catholic Church. What is your opinion on this?
Cardinal Policarpo: Your statement is not
accurate. Look, since the time of St. Paul…The problem that has
recently emerged is that of priestly ministry. If we set that aside,
there were periods in which women have been absolutely decisive; we need
only think of the role of the monasteries, where the abbesses had great
responsibilities. The problem posed today has been accentuated by the
fact that non-Catholic churches have ordained women for priestly
ministry, which has, so to speak, created controversy. The position of
the Catholic Church is very much based on the Gospel. She does not have
the autonomy that, for example, a political party or a government has
in general. She has her faithfulness to the Gospel, to the person of
Jesus and to a very strong tradition that we received from the
apostles. Already in Jesus’ times there was a very beautiful
complementarity between the role of women and the role of men. It was
not a coincidence that Jesus chose men for the priesthood and gave women
a different kind of consideration…I think this is a false problem. One
time I was with a group of young people here in the diocese and as we
were talking, a young girl asked the question: Why can’t women be
priests? I decided to risk an answer and I said: You are right, but in
order for others to study the question we need to know if there are any
female candidates…Which of you would like to be a candidate? None of
the girls looked up. I have known and know responsible women in the
Church who do not want the ministerial priesthood. One time, during an
international conference in Vienna on the new evangelization, this
question was raised, and I said at this time there is no Pope who has
the power for that. That would cause tensions, and it would only happen
if God wants it to happen and if it is His will, it will happen. One
time I asked an evangelical minister in Denmark about this question, and
he said all women are part of the work of charity, with their
tenderness and dedication; but with regards to presiding at the Sunday
service, the pews have become empty as soon as women began presiding. I
don’t know why. The Holy Father John Paul II, at one point, seemed to
settle the issue. I think the issue can’t be settled like this,
theologically there is no fundamental obstacle; there is a tradition, so
to speak…it has never been any other way.
Question: From the theological point of view there is no obstacle…
Question: From the theological point of view there is no obstacle…
Cardinal Policarpo: I don’t think there is any
fundamental obstacle. There is a fundamental equality for all the
members of the Church. The problem is from another perspective, from a
strong tradition that comes from Jesus, and from the ease with which
other reformed churches went in this direction. This has not
facilitated a solution to the problem, if the problem has a solution at
all. What’s certain is that it is not something for our lifetime, for
today, the time in which we are living. It is one of those problems
that is best left untouched…it causes a whole host of reactions.