Do any Catholics believe in the ordination of women?

[Loobingler]

Or is it a total no-no for any Catholic?

I am not anti- women priests but I think we have bigger problems to solve first.

I think we should have women priests, and I think priests should be allowed to marry.

My grandma's priest is an ex-Anglican and he has a wife and son. They bring a lot to the parish, and apparently many of the congregation feel very reassured that the person they are going to with their worries and concerns about their marriage or their family has their own experiences to draw on.

Well, I am not sure if the congregation all seeming to ignore the strictures on contraception makes the religion hypocritical, but rather shows that the individuals in it adhere to their own conscience?

But I'm sure there are ample egs of hypocrisy elsewhere in the religion. Ample.

whiteshoes- what is the point of leadership of the church then- are all rules made to be broken? Can catholics pick and choose which of the 10 commandments they like, drop the others and still be a good catholic?

Sounds hypocrital to me- just choosing the church's teachings when it suits.

Atthestroke, my apologies, I didn't mean to start a debate which I couldn't engage in properly, but my spare brain cell and spare arm (nursing little baby) aren't up to it, so I shall bow out.

atthestrokeoftwelve - I'm pretty sure you'll find people pick and choose the bits they adhere to and ignore, whatever religion they belong to.

Church leaders are there to guide and direct the church, that does not mean individuals within the church have to become automatons blindly following, on the contrary, as Catholics we are encouraged to examine our own consciences through our own relationship with God. That does not mean we just ignore church leaders where we disagree we should listen and deeply consider but then we have to reach conclusions according to our own conscience.

I agree that there are certain things that would prevent an individual behaving as a good Christian, some of these are small others huge acts. In terms of what makes a good catholic, well the way I see it, that is more about openly practising the key messages of love and compassion in the way of Christ than becoming bogged down in rules (exactly same as for other Christians). We in the catholic church know that the church itself is on a journey. Older Catholics tell of a very different church to the one I know today and we can only expect that this changes as we learn more, move forward and consider what is at the very core of our faith. This Pope is encouraging the debates at least, he said that the church should be a church of the poor for the poor, lots of us agree that's where we need to go and prefer to concentrate our faith around this, the things others seem to regard as fundamental to being a good catholic such as rules on contraception, the priesthood are not what many of us see as core to our faith and we are happy to debate them and act according to our consciences.

The other thing I should have said regarding church leaders is that their role I should have said is that as well as guide and direct their role is to listen. To listen to God obviously but also the wider church. Not sure that has always been overt but at least this Pope is leading a consultation (albeit that the document could have been much more user friendly). Long may the listening continue.

If the pope did decided that women could be priests there would be a big change in culture just as there was in the C of E when women could first become priests.

Keeping confidential information confidential goes with the job whether you are married or not. As far as giving the last rites my worry is always that it will be on a Friday night and I'll have just downed a nice glass of wine. Time for a taxi then!

Keeping confidential information confidential goes with the job whether you are married or not. As far as giving the last rites my worry is always that it will be on a Friday night and I'll have just downed a nice glass of wine.

Well said

1944girl some Anglican priests will hear confession and presumably have no issue keeping the confessional seal. There are also many celibate Anglican priests, usually traditionalist male priests but not always. I do think that celibacy is a calling and should not be forced on someone, nor does it automatically come with the calling to become a priests. Some priests are not called to be celibate, while some laity are. Out of interest, what are your thoughts on female deacons? The New Testament mentions some. Do you think that Francis could possibly introduce female deacons, or maybe a separate deaconess order? I do think that celibacy and female clergy are quite separate issues.

Also bear in mind that not all Anglican churches in the world ordain women - in the Diocese of Sydney for instance, women are not even ordained as deacons (Sydney Diocese is SUPER conservative evangelical, to the point of banning chasubles). It is a minority position but it still happens.