What makes all-male priesthood special?

[Paladin D]

This is not a debate (that's why it's in the apologetics section), but it's a simple question to everyone. What to you, makes an all-male priesthood special?

[dspen2005]

it was instituted by Christ in this way.

[Paphnutius]

It is not a matter of it being "special" so much as it was as, dspen2005 said, it was instituted in this way. It is the way that things are. I have been told it is like what makes only woman having babies so "special?" Perhaps a poor analogy, but it gets the point across that it is something proper to males.

[journeyman]

to throw some technical jargon on the preceding statements - no I won't, because right at the moment, I can't remember the jargon - but the basis for "men only" as I understand rests on a couple of concepts

there is a gender reason
Christ was a man
When the priest presides at Mass, or teaches in the homily, he is acting "in the person" of Christ - there's a latin phrase floating around somewhere that covers this - probaby over in the debate threads
regardless, to act in the person of . . . implies having the same gender as the original
and a different gender may confuse the faithful


men are ordained priests because Christ selected men (as disciples/apostles)
this is probably supported under the general heading of"Tradition" now
there is also a symbolism thing going on, subject to the same "gender confusion" as in the prior reason


there is also a symbolic imagery reason
the Church is generally considered female and is the bride of Christ
if the priest is acting in the person of Christ - she (the Church) can't be married to a woman

since this isn't the debate section, please don't tell me how unreasonable / biased / antediluvian these arguments are in the 21st Century, I can read that over at one of the ordination debate threads. I've tried to summarize what I remember reading on the topic, but feel free to expand, flesh out, remember latin terms I've forgotten

Edited April 4, 2005 by journeyman

[phatcatholic]

in persona Christi captis...........in the person of Christ as head

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

It is yet more proof that the Catholic Church is the Church instituted by Jesus Christ.

[Paladin D]

I wasn't asking [b]why[/b] there is an all-male priesthood, but specifically why is it unique? Besides Jesus making it this way, why is it unique that it's [b]for males only[/b]. Considering women pretty much are into everything (no problem with that), why is it that having a priesthood that's only for males, unique?

[Paphnutius]

I am sorry, I am still confused. What do you mean by unique? Perhaps a parallel would help us.

[phatcatholic]

well, in once sense its unique in that, as protestant denominations drift farther and farther away from the tradition of the church and begin instituting females as "priests", the Catholic Church is becoming the sole bastion of the all-male ordained priesthood. if we all, as christians, maintained this tradition, i suppose a male priesthood would not be unique at all. this is b/c the male priesthood is an extention of the OT priesthood, an all male priesthood that existed almost from the very beginning of Jewish monotheism. it would be what the people of God had always known.

maybe that's what you are looking for?

[scardella]

A priest friend of mine said that having a woman priest would be like spiritual transgenderism...

There's also the quote from 1 Corinthians 11:7
"He (man) is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man."