Natural Law and the ordination of women

Among the changes to the Catholic Church sought by many, the idea of having women as priests is perhaps the most troubling because it is the one where the reasons appear to be most distant from Natural Law.

Murder, for example, Aquinas argues is always wrong. It is one of several acts that, according to Natural Law, is always wrong. Others include theft, adultery, and suicide. These are deemed "evil in kind" (McInerny Ethica Thomistica). That is, there are no circumstances or intentions which can make the action good.

For women as priests, however, the situation is not so clear. Priestly acts are not evil in kind. Being female is not evil, as women are creations of God and made in His image, as are men. So, what makes combining the two evil in kind? Why is a male priest fine, but a female priest not accepted?

It would seem that Natural Law cannot explain this dilemma, but let’s try.

Considering Human Action

Every human action, Aquinas argues, is a moral action. To be a human action, "an action must be a conscious, willing action, a voluntary action." We will not spend much time here explaining this.

We must move on then and attempt to identify the parts of human action. Actions can be judged on moral grounds in three ways: in and of themselves, in relation to their intention and intended end, and in relation to the circumstances surrounding the action. Aquinas also argues that should any one of the three be deemed evil, then that action as a whole is immoral. That is, a good act committed with bad intentions or in improper circumstances loses its goodness.

Let’s proceed to the idea of having female clergy.

In and of itself

To keep things simple, let’s restrict ourselves to the discussion of priestly duties in this section. There is a significant divine element to being a priest that cannot be ignored in exploring the priesthood, and I do not intend to do so. But for the time being, let’s focus on what a priest does. My reason for this is that the priestly duties are what are most apparent to us. I refer once again to Aristotle’s explanation of how humans come to knowledge – through their senses.

So, though it is not completely accurate, let’s look at priestly duties as strictly human acts. That is, they are voluntarily committed by individuals. These would include saying Mass, hearing confessions, reading the Gospel, preaching, counseling, administering the Eucharist, etc.

These acts, in and of themselves, are good in kind. I hope that it would be extremely hard to find any Catholic who views priestly actions as being evil in kind!

Now, should an individual read the Gospel, celebrate Mass, hear a confession or any other priestly act, we would have to say they are committing an act that is good in kind. If a female were to read the Gospel during Mass or to hear a confession, we could not say that she was performing an act that is inherently evil. The reason for this is that reading from the Gospel or hearing confession is not inherently evil. As you shake your head in disagreement, let me remind you that we are considering these as actions independent of intentions and circumstances. That includes any teachings of the Church regarding the issue of female clergy.

Continuing on, we would have to ask if there is anything inherently wrong in celebrating Mass, baptizing children, performing weddings, anointing the sick, etc. The answer is clearly no. There is nothing inherently evil in these actions.

But, as with all human actions, we cannot declare the act to be good until we view the circumstances surrounding it and the intentions that spawned the action.

Circumstances

One circumstance surrounding all human acts is the individual committing the act. That is, not all acts can and should be performed by anyone.

I, as a human, am capable of providing legal advice to others. However, as someone with no legal training, I am not the proper individual to do such.

Some children under the age of 16 might be capable of driving a car (especially after seeing how some adults drive), but we have determined that at their age, they are not physically capable of doing such.

Now, let’s look at the priesthood. The main difficulty many have with the priesthood is that they see no reason why a woman cannot perform the same priestly acts as a man. Clearly, a woman is just as capable of preaching and reading and praying as a man. However, in looking at the priesthood, these individuals fail to take into account the divine relationship between God and not just the priests, but all of us. When someone asks you, "What is your vocation?" how do you answer? The Church draws a very distinct line between the word "vocation" and "profession." We cannot look at the priesthood in the same light as any other profession, because the priesthood is something that is chosen by God. Thus, professions are results of human action, while the priesthood is the result of a divine calling.

The Church teaches that God calls us each to a vocation of single, married or religious life. For the religious, he calls us to be priests, nuns or monks. Pope John Paul II, in an Apostolic Letter On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone, reiterated this point by quoting previous Church statements on the subject: "the Church ‘does not consider herself authorized to admit women priestly ordination.’" It is a calling, not a human choice.

The second and very important circumstance regarding female clergy involves the pope. As direct successors of St. Peter, many popes have expressed their belief that the priesthood should be reserved solely for men because Jesus chose only men as his apostles. This is not to say that men are superior. It is merely to reinforce the longstanding belief that we are all called to God in our own way. Munus (or role) is the word used by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae. Munus is best explained as a "task delegated by someone superior in power to another whose assistance he needs, and whom he wishes to honor by having him share in his work" (Smith, Humanae Vitae: A Challenge to Love, 20). The Church has long taught that Jesus established the roles for men and women. The Church believes that the example set by Jesus should continue – that only men should be priests.

Intentions

I am sure women who are calling for ordination do not want to overthrow the Church itself. For surely, they recognize that to be an evil intention, which would make our job of evaluating the action of allowing female clergy very easy. An evil intention, even should it result in an accidental good end, makes an action evil. Anyone who reads Aquinas knows that!

The intention behind the movement for female clergy is perhaps the most evident problem in the issue. An article published in Il Caffè entitled "A Coffee with … Antonio Maione" demonstrates the problem. (Antonio Maione is a liberal Catholic priest in Italy [I think] who seeks to change many of the basic teachings of the Church including the reservation of the priesthood to men alone.)

The article explains, "nuns have only marginal functions to perform, as all powers of decision are denied them. …Other Christian denominations, such as the Protestant, have gone beyond this problem as much as to grant women the fullness of episcopal power." The italicized words (Italics were added by me) give some insight into at least part of the movement for female clergy.

The article then quotes a survey of 2,000 people, "of whom 1,000 were Catholic," that was "decisively in favor of the ordination of women." The article then states, "that closure of the priesthood towards women, according to public opinion, has no dogmatic value…."

First, why were only half of those interviewed on a Catholic issue actually Catholic? My guess is it was to skew the numbers a bit.

Second, as the purpose of the Church, and any church for that matter, is to seek truth, why would we rely on the ever-changing opinion of the public? It would be great if we could change the Church every time it did not agree with what we wanted, but then, it wouldn’t be devoted to the truth. It is an unfortunate fact of life that sometimes our greatest desires do not coincide with what is right.

Conclusion

The priesthood cannot be viewed as just another profession. It is a divine office, in which the servants are called by God. As such, the Church does not have the power to change the requirements that were established when Jesus chose his apostles.

Furthermore, it is not only wrong for women to be ordained, but also for certain men. Those men, who view the priesthood as a means to achieve power, sin in a most grave manner. Men, who do not feel called, but choose to perform priestly acts, do so in a manner not in line with Natural Law.

The priestly acts themselves are good in kind. But, committed in improper circumstances or with bad intentions, they are immoral acts, whether they are committed wrongfully by a woman or a man.