In the kingdom of heaven the greatest are not the ministers but the saints
A summary of the question of women with regard to the ministerial priesthood
In respect to not ordaining women to the ministerial priesthood,
this "is a practice that the church has always found expressed in
the will of Christ, totally free and sovereign" (Christifideles
Laici, n.51). The Church teaches and acts with reliance on the
presence of the Holy Spirit and on the Lord's promise to be with
her always (Mt 28:20). "When she judges that she cannot accept
changes, it is because she knows that she is bound by Christ's
manner of acting. Her attitude ... is one of fidelity" (Inter
Insigniores, n.4). The equality of the baptized, which is one
of the great affirmations of Christianity, exists in a
differentiated body, in which men and women have roles which are
not merely functional but are deeply rooted in Christian
anthropology and sacramentology. The distinction of roles in no way
favours the superiority of some over others; the only better
gift, which can and must be desired, is love (cf. 1 Cor 12-13).
In the kingdom of heaven the greatest are not the ministers but the
saints (cf. ibid., n.6).
- Pope John Paul II, Ad Limina address to U.S.Bishops, 2 July 1993;
text in L'Osservatore Romano, edition in English, 7 July
1993, p.3