Although he is more progressive, he refuses to budge on the Catholic Church’s stance on female ordination. Earlier this year, Pope Francis announced a committee was looking potentially allowing female deaconesses, which heightened the interest of female ordination. In November, a reporter asked Francis about the possibility of female priests in the coming decades. In response, Francis said, “on the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, the final word is clear, it was said by St. John Paul II and this remains.” This statement prompted the reporter to ask the question, “Never ever?” Francis reiterated, “If we read well the declaration made by St. John Paul II, it goes along this line, yes.” With this statement, Francis nailed another nail into the coffin on the possibility for female ordination in the Catholic Church.
The conversation about female ordination began long before 2016, and this was not the first time Pope Francis made statements prohibiting female ordination. Last year a reporter asked Francis about the possibility of female ordination. Again, Francis was clear on the Church’s