Ordinatio sacerdotalis
Ordinatio sacerdotalis ( Latin : ordination to priests ) (abbreviated OS) is the title of the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II published on May 22, 1994. With this letter the Pope addressed the bishops and led the teaching of the Church on the only Ordination reserved for men .
introduction
John Paul II already comes to the core of his statement in his introduction when he writes: “Ordination to the priesthood, through which the office entrusted by Christ to his apostles , to teach, sanctify and guide the faithful, was in the Catholic Church reserved exclusively for men from the start. The Eastern Churches have faithfully adhered to this tradition ”(OS No. 1). His predecessor Paul VI. had just as clearly outlined the position of the Catholic Church: “It maintains that, for reasons of principle, it is not permissible to allow women to be ordained priests . These reasons include: the scriptural example of Christ who chose only men to be apostles, the Church's constant practice of imitating Christ in the exclusive election of men, and her living magisterium that insists on exclusion of women from the priesthood in accordance with God's plan for his church ”(OS No. 1.)
Declaration inter insigniores
John Paul II refers to the declaration Inter insigniores of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith . The declaration repeats and explains the Pope Paul VI's. The reasons given for this teaching, whereby it is concluded that the Church does not claim the power to admit women to priestly ordination ( Inter insigniores No. 100), since it is a divine decree. On such grounds, that document adds theological arguments explaining the appropriateness of that disposition to the Church and states that Christ's conduct was not based on sociological or cultural motives of the time. So Paul VI. explains from: "[T] the real reason lies in the fact that Christ so determined when he furnished the church with her basic constitution and her theological anthropology , which subsequently has always followed the tradition of the church" (OS No. . 2).
The Pope, referring to his apostolic letter Mulieris dignitatem , repeats: “When Christ called only men to be his apostles, he did so freely and independently. He did it with the same freedom with which he emphasized the dignity and vocation of women in his overall behavior, without complying with the prevailing customs and the tradition approved by the legislation of the time. "( Mulieris dignitatem No. 26)
Gospels and Acts of the Apostles
In Ordinatio sacerdotalis the Pope uses the Holy Scriptures as a source and explains the election of the apostles: Christ chose those whom he wanted ( Mk 3: 13-14 EU ); ( Joh 6.70 EU ) and did this together with the Father “through the Holy Spirit” ( Acts 1,2 EU ) after he had spent the night in prayer ( Lk 6,12 EU ). That is why the Church has always recognized the procedure of her Lord in the election of the twelve men, whom he as the foundation stones of his, as a fixed norm when admitting the sacrament of ordination (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium , No. 28; Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis , No. 2) Church had laid ( Rev 21:14 EU ). Indeed, not only did they assume a function that could have been exercised by any member of the Church, but they were connected in a special way and deeply to the mission of the Incarnate Word itself ( Mt 10 : 1, 7-8 EU ); ( Mt 28 : 16-20 EU ); ( Mk 3,13-15 EU ); ( Mk 16: 14-15 EU ). The apostles did the same when choosing associates to succeed them in their office. Included in this choice were those who through the ages of the Church's history were to carry on the mission of the Apostles to make present Christ the Lord and Redeemer (cf. Lumen Gentium nos. 20 and 21; OS nos. 2)
Position of women in the church
The Pope declares that although the Virgin Mary has never received an apostolic ministry and was not given the priesthood, she is Mother of God and Mother of the Church. This clearly expresses that the non-admission of women to the priestly ordination constitutes neither a reduction of their dignity nor a discrimination (OS No. 3). As pointed out by the Inter Insigniores Declaration , the Church wants Christian women to be “fully aware of the greatness of their mission”: their task is “of paramount importance today both for the renewal and humanization of society and for the Believers rediscover the true face of the Church ”(Inter Insigniores nos. 115–116).
The Ordinatio sacerdotalis goes on to say that even if “the presence and role of women in the life and mission of the Church are not tied to the ministerial priesthood”, both remain “absolutely necessary and irreplaceable”. The New Testament and all church history extensively demonstrated the presence of women in the church as true disciples and witnesses of Christ in the family and civil profession or in perfect consecration to the service of God and the gospel . “Indeed, in advocating the dignity of women and their vocation, the Church has expressed devotion and gratitude to those who, in fidelity to the Gospel, have at all times participated in the apostolic mission of all God's people. They are holy martyrs , virgins , mothers who boldly testify of their faith and, by bringing up their children in the spirit of the Gospel, have passed on the faith and tradition of the Church ”( Mulieris dignitatem , n. 27; OS n. 3).
On the other hand, the hierarchical structure of the church is completely geared towards the holiness of the faithful. Therefore the Declaration Inter Insigniores reminds us that “the only higher charism that should be longingly striven for is love” (cf. 12-13 EU ). "The greatest in the kingdom of heaven are not the officials, but the saints ".
John Paul II states here that “although the teaching on ordination reserved for men has been preserved both by the constant and comprehensive tradition of the Church and taught consistently by the Magisterium in recent documents,” this teaching in our time, on the one hand, it is considered to be “open to discussion in various places”, but on the other hand this decision of the Church is only ascribed to disciplinary significance. He therefore continues:
“So that any doubt about the important matter concerning the divine constitution of the Church itself is removed, I declare by virtue of my office to strengthen the brothers ( Lk 22:32 EU ) that the Church has no authority to ordain women to priests to donate, and that all believers of the Church must finally abide by this decision. (OS No. 4) "
Doubts about the finality of the teaching of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
On October 28, 1995, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded to doubts as to whether the doctrine presented in Ordinatio sacerdotalis should be considered final and considered part of the faith, with the following statement:
“This doctrine demands final approval [ assensum definitivum ] because it, based on the written word of God and consistently preserved and applied in the tradition of the Church from the beginning, has been infallibly presented by the ordinary and universal magisterium (cf. Second Vatican Council , Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium , 25.2). For this reason, in the face of the present situation, in the exercise of his proper office of strengthening the brothers (cf. Lk 22:32 EU ), the Pope has presented the same teaching with a formal declaration, expressing what is always, everywhere and from is to be held by all believers insofar as it belongs to the property of faith. "
source
- AAS 86 (1994), 545-548, also in (Latin / German): Denziger-Hünermann, Enchiridion Symbolorum , Herder, Freiburg u. a., 44th edition 2014, No. 4980–4983 (= DH 4980–4983)
literature
- Manfred Hauke : The sacrament of consecration for women - a requirement of the times? Ten years after the papal declaration “Ordinatio sacerdotalis” , David Berger (ed.), Verlag Respublica, Siegburg 2004, ISBN 3-87710-281-6 .
- Norbert Lüdecke : The basic norms of the Catholic teaching law in the papal codes and more recent statements in papal authority , Echter Verlag GmbH, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3429019362 .
Individual notes
- ↑ Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith : Answer to the doubt regarding the teaching presented in the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio sacerdotalis", October 28, 1995, published among others in: L'Osservatore Romano , weekly edition in German language 47/1995, p. 4 .; also in DH 5040–5041 (Latin addition from there, there also a slightly better translation