Pope Exalts Women but Not as Priests
VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II, in a major document released today, defended the dignity of women but said firmly they could not become priests because Jesus Christ chose only men as his Apostles.
In the 28,000-word Mulieris Dignitatem (Dignity of Woman) document, the Pope said women were men’s “sisters in humanity†but the relationship between them regarding the priesthood was “willed by God.â€
He said women were correct to reject the Biblical phrase “He (man) shall rule over you.†But their yearning for liberation, he said, should not lead to their masculinization.
The document, which he said was written in the style of a “meditation,†is called an Apostolic Letter, a papal message second in importance only to an encyclical.
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