Une Minute avec Marie
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Women are not ordained priests or deacons in the Catholic Church primarily because Christ, the greatest revolutionary of all times, despite all the changes He brought, never explicitly addressed the issue. He called only men to be apostles, even though He had an attested following of women—the proof that women have always had a role too.
We also have the symbolism of nuptials used by Christ Himself, and further deepened by Saint Paul, in which Christ stands as the Bridegroom. So, if Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church, how could a woman represent Him and play this role in a given community without creating confusion and disorder?
Finally, the question of the sacrament of Order is at the core a matter of divine calling (vocation). Therefore it shouldn’t be something that we demand to have. The Church is a female figure, which doesn’t diminish her dignity, since Christ loved her to the point of giving His life for her. All ordained offices in the Church constitute a service and not a role of power in the earthly sense of the word. God grants the calling; it is not something we can demand to receive.
Having said that, I am all in favor of giving more responsibilities to women in the Church. Popes Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have already emphasized this, and this policy is already being implemented. In the midst of all the dissonant voices, we just need to discern the right roles and places for women. They are already doing so much and can do so much more. But all this should be addressed in a truly Christian spirit of humility and service, like the Virgin Mary who shares the glory of her son Jesus today.
Father Benjamin Kigninlman Koné[1]
Adapted from an interview for La Croix Africa
[1] Father Benjamin Kigninlman Koné is Vicar General of the Diocese of Katiola, in the north of the Ivory Coast, and parish priest of Christ the King parish in Kong. He has a doctorate in dogmatic theology and in May 2017 defended a doctoral thesis in ecclesiology on the topic of the "feminine diaconate" and, in general, of the roles of women throughout history and in the Church.