VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is slamming the door on attempts by women to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. It has strongly reiterated in a decree that anyone involved in ordination ceremonies is automatically excommunicated.
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A top Vatican official said in a statement Friday that the church acted following what it called "so-called ordinations" in various parts of the world.

Monsignor Angelo Amato of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says the Vatican also wants to provide bishops with a clear response on the issue.

The church has always banned the ordination of women, stating that the priesthood is reserved for males. The new decree is explicit in its reference to women.

Source => http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_women_priests

Consider the thought experiment:


VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is slamming the door on attempts by Africans to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. It has strongly reiterated in a decree that anyone involved in ordination ceremonies is automatically excommunicated.
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A top Vatican official said in a statement Friday that the church acted following what it called "so-called ordinations" in various parts of the world.

Monsignor Angelo Amato of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says the Vatican also wants to provide bishops with a clear response on the issue.

The church has always banned the ordination of Africans, stating that the priesthood is reserved for non-Africans. The new decree is explicit in its reference to Africans.



If an institution held that belief, why would Africans want to belong in that institution?

Cardinal Arinze is an African + Nigerian, among many others.



Your thought experiment fails.

imhotep:

Cardinal Arinze is an African + Nigerian, among many others.



Your thought experiment fails.

Oh my goodness! Did I say African could not be in that position?

OK, find me a woman in that position?

@ huxley

Ur dilly dallying is reaching astronomical proportions

1.) "The fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, received neither the mission proper to the Apostles nor the ministerial priesthood clearly shows that the non-admission of women to priestly ordination cannot mean that women are of lesser dignity, nor can it be construed as discrimination against them. Rather, it is to be seen as the faithful observance of a plan to be ascribed to the wisdom of the Lord of the universe."
-- Pope John Paul II

2) Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of Our ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) We declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.
---- Pope John Paul II

3) "[The Church] holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church."
-- Pope Paul VI

4) "Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." --- Cathechism of the Catholic Church

=============
See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordination_of_women
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinatio_Sacerdotalis

imhotep:


2) Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of Our ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) We declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.
---- Pope John Paul II

3) "[The Church] holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church."
-- Pope Paul VI

4) "Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." --- Cathechism of the Catholic Church

=============
See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordination_of_women
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinatio_Sacerdotalis

Does this not smack of discrimination against women? If there was any other institution that treated other groups of people like that, could that institution be described as discriminatory?

huxley:

Does this not smack of discrimination against women?

Not at all.

huxley:

If there was any other institution that treated other groups of people like that, could that institution be described as discriminatory?

This is not discrimination.

That is why I posited the thought experiment. If "woman" is replaced with "African", would that be discrimination against Africans. If so, why is it discrimination in one case and not in another?

huxley:

That is why I posited the thought experiment.

And the experiment failed.

huxley:

If "woman" is replaced with "African", would that be discrimination against Africans.

You should not do this. All women are not Africans. Some Africans are women. All Africans are not women.

huxley:

If so, why is it discrimination in one case and not in another?

Because SOME Africans are men and have been ordained priests, bishops, archbishops and cardinals