Pope Francis has said he believes that the Catholic Church’s ban on women’s ordination will continue forever, citing Pope John Paul II’s rebuke of those who believe women should enter the priesthood.
The remarks were made on Tuesday while Francis was returning to Rome on a flight from Sweden, where he commemorated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. As first reported by the National Catholic Reporter, a Swedish journalist asked the pontiff about his visit, during which he met Archbishop Antje Jackelen of Uppsala—a female priest in the Lutheran tradition.
“Is it realistic to think that there might be women priests in the next few decades?” the journalist asked.
Francis responded by citing a 1994 apostolic letter from pope John Paul that outlawed the ordination of women, saying, “On the ordination of women in the Catholic church, the last word is clear…It was given by St. John Paul II and this remains.”
“On the ordination of women in the Catholic church, the last word is clear…It was given by St. John Paul II and this remains.”
“But really forever?” the journalist replied. “Never?”
“If we read carefully the declaration made by St. John Paul II, it goes in this direction,” Francis said.
The Catholic Church has long opposed the ordination of women, claiming—among other arguments—that none of Jesus Christ’s disciples were female, and thus priests shouldn’t be either.
This argument has long been scrutinized by Protestants and Catholics alike who say the theological rationale for male-only clergy is weak at best. Several activist groups such as Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the Women’s Ordination Conference have sprung up to voice support for the practice—or, in some case, begin ordaining women without the consent of the Vatican. In 2012, the National Catholic Reporter—one of the largest independent Catholic newspapers—endorsed women’s ordination.
“The exclusion of women from the priesthood has no strong basis in Scripture or any other compelling rationale; therefore, women should be ordained,” the paper wrote. “We have heard the faithful assent to this in countless conversations in parish halls, lecture halls and family gatherings.”
As radical as the idea might seem, it’s backed back a growing number of Catholic laypeople. In 2014, a global Univision poll of Catholics found that 45 percent of the faithful support women priests, including majorities of Catholics in Europe (64 percent) in the United States (59 percent). The idea is also popular in Latin America, where 49 percent support it compared to 47 who do not.
Pope Francis has spoken out against the idea of women priests before. During a 2013 interview, he responded to a question about the practice by saying, “the church has spoken and says no… That door is closed.”
Several Protestant denominations have ordained women for decades, such as the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA), among others.