"Women cannot be called to this office" Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller stated during an interview with Swiss portal kath.ch on 7 June.

Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that the exclusion of women from priestly ordination is rooted in the sacrament itself.

He emphasised the theological belief that, while all people are fundamentally equal in their relationship with God, only men can embody the role of Christ within the Church.

Just as "a man cannot become a mother and a woman cannot become a father", it is only men who are called to the priesthood Müller said

"The vocation comes from God. One would have to complain to God himself that he created human beings as man and woman."

He also referenced the symbolic nature of the Church which is traditionally viewed as female, with Mary, the Mother of God, serving as its archetype. Thus, Müller asserted "Only a man can represent Christ in relation to the Church".

The Church "must not change this"

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, echoed Müller's sentiments.

Speaking at ITI Catholic University in Austria on 1 June, Schönborn expressed his conviction that the Church "cannot and must not change this because it must keep the mystery of women present in an unadulterated way".

"We were all born of a woman. This will always be reflected in the mystery of the Church."

He stressed the importance of maintaining the Church's traditional teaching on this issue, as Pope John Paul II articulated in 1994.

In his apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, John Paul II declared that the Church has "no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women" and that this teaching must be "definitively held by all the Church's faithful".

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Catholic World Report

CathNews New Zealand

Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a leading organiser of the Vatican's ongoing synod process, also said that the church's language of describing LGBT persons as "intrinsically disordered" is "dubious."

While emphasising Francis is not in favour of the ordination of women, Cardinal Hollerich said that it remains an open conversation among some Catholics and that he would like to see women given greater pastoral responsibilities.

"Pope Francis does not want the ordination of women, and I am completely obedient to that," Hollerich said in a wide-ranging interview with the Croatian Catholic weekly, Glas Koncila, published on March 27.

"I am a promoter of giving women more pastoral responsibility. And if we achieve that, then we can perhaps see if there still is a desire among women for ordination," he added.

The Jesuit cardinal, the relator, or chairperson of the 2023 and 2024 Synod of Bishops, said that should the church ever reconsider the question, it should do so in consultation and unity with the Orthodox Church.

"We could never do that if it would jeopardise our fraternity with the Orthodox or if it would polarise the unity of our church," he said. "Love is not something abstract; it is the love for our sisters and brothers that prevents us from doing things that would alienate them."

Ordinatio Sacerdotalis not infallible

When asked if a future pope could rule against John Paul II's 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, which said that the Catholic Church does not have the authority to ordain women, Hollerich said it was possible.

But he denied that the teaching of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis is infallible and said, "I think there could be room for the doctrine to be expanded."

He went on to offer a comparison to Pope Pius IX's 1864 "Syllabus of Errors," which was considered infallible and condemned religious freedom and interfaith dialogue. Such practices, the cardinal said, are now common in the church.

Nonetheless, the cardinal returned to his position that the decision of the current Pontiff would guide him. "But at this moment, if Pope Francis tells me it's not an option, it's not an option."

"It is very difficult to be Catholic without obedience to the pope. Some very conservative people always preached obedience to the pope, as long as the pope said the things they wanted to hear," said the cardinal.

"The pope says things that are difficult for me too, but I see them as a chance for conversion, for becoming a more faithful and happier Christian," he added.

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

Catholic Culture