In this essay, the Rev. James Wehner, rector of St. Paul Seminary in Crafton, responds to issues raised by John Houk.

Father Wehner, a native of Pittsburgh's North Side, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in June 1995. He earned a doctorate in sacred theology, summa cum laude, from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. Since 2002, he has served as the rector of St. Paul Seminary, Crafton. He also serves as director for the diaconate, director of evangelization, and director of priestly formation. Father Wehner is a trustee for Carlow University.

In response to the brochure written by John Houk, I offer these reflections.

My first observation is that the brochure is deceptive and theologically erroneous. It is precisely because of this and such other positions that Jesus Christ gave to the Church a Magisterium that would guarantee for believers that what is taught comes from Christ rather than the opinions of people themselves.

People expect when they attend Mass, read statements issued from bishops, hear instruction from the clergy or receive direction from lay leadership that Truth is being handed on rather than opinion. There are venues and opportunities where people can share their thoughts and offer their opinions, but it is the role of the Church, her pastors, the bishops, and anyone involved with teaching that what is handed on from one generation to the next is the Gospel of Christ, not a man-made manifesto.

This is why the Letter to the Hebrews describes the mystery of Jesus Christ as the unchanging Truth of yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). If Truth itself and the faith we profess in this Truth is not universal and unchanging, the Gospel is reduced to something generational, ideological, and time-sensitive. Thus Truth itself becomes non-real, non-universal, hardly a reality that inspires Hope. Consequently, man will manipulate "mystery" to be something fully emptied thereby leaving one with no sense of the future, no sense of metaphysical, no sense of a Heaven that is the fulfillment of all our hopes and dreams. "Do not let yourselves be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines" (Hebrews 13:9).

Let me now respond to each point of the brochure.

1) It is our duty to ask why

The brochure begins with a quote from Canon Law. It cherry-picks a quote out of context and does not provide full disclosure. The canon cited comes under the section in Canon Law called: "The Obligation and Rights of All the Christian Faithful." The Church is outlining in this section how all believers can advance the Gospel by their own particular status in the Church. Therefore, one of the canons that introduce this section reads: "The Christian faithful are bound by an obligation, even in their own patterns of activity, always to maintain communion with the Church."(209)

The brochure cites Canon 212 but does not quote the full canon. The canon begins this way: "The Christian faithful, conscious of their own responsibilities, are bound by Christian obedience to follow what the sacred pastors, as representatives of Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or determine as leaders of the Church." (212) The brochure leaves the reader with a conclusion that anyone can say anything if they do not believe in Church teaching.

Yes, as the brochure notes - the canon then reads: "In accord with the knowledge, competence and preeminence which they possess, they have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinions on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard for the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons."(212)

So, how are we to understand these canons? The brochure takes an erroneous approach which denies the ecclesial and theological understanding of "ministry" and "apostolate" in the life of the Church.

The canons use two phrases that help us understand the complimentarity of gifts that exist among believers in the Body of the Christ, the Church: their own patterns of activity (canon 209) and conscious of their own responsibility (canon 212). The ecclesial framework that the Second Vatican Council emphasized was the proper role and contribution all the faithful make in carrying out the mission of Christ. In short, the ministerial priesthood (the ordained) carry out "ministry" in a certain context (primarily sacramental and liturgical) that is in service to the Body of Christ. The common priesthood (the non-ordained) carry out an "apostolate" in the temporal and social dimensions of society manifesting the Kingdom of God.

We see in our society today the rightful emphasis on equal rights between men and women, particularly in the workplace. Much has been accomplished and still more needs to be considered. In the life of the Church, there indeed is an equality among all believers. The section of Canon Law the brochure cites explains the rights of all the Christian faithful. However, what can never be lost is the Pauline theology so clearly defended in the pages of the New Testament that the Church is built up according to the different and varying gifts of the faithful. Not everyone can be a priest, not everyone is called to be married, not everyone is called to exercise formal ministry.

What the Second Vatican Council emphasized in several documents is how the lay faithful live their primordial vocation in the temporal, social order. Parents, single people, young and old, rich and poor, elected officials, business owners - Christians who live their faith each day can bring out the Kingdom of God and therefore draw more people to the Truth, to Jesus Christ.

The ordained, for their part, serve the lay faithful by Word and Sacrament. Bishops and priests celebrate the sacraments, most importantly the Eucharist, to feed the People of God. They will baptize babies, hear confessions, anoint the sick, prepare couples for marriage, bury the dead, prepare young people for confirmation and pastor the faithful in parish communities. Deacons assist bishops and priests with a ministry of charity and justice that brings a real, authentic, apostolic service to the marginalized in our society.

The distinction between the ordained and the non-ordained is not one of dignity, power, or importance. Rather, it is one of complementarity. Do we not see this even in the human race - not everyone can be a man, not everyone can be a woman, not everyone can be a dad, not everyone can be a mom, not everyone is a corporate executive, not everyone is an elected official, not everyone is Irish, not everyone can be Latino, not everyone can be a Democrat. Complementarity builds up both society and Church.

2) The credibility of the Church is at stake

The second section of the brochure is divisive, insensitive and reflects theological ignorance. The first sentence reads: "One must be just to preach justice." The word "justice" comes from the Latin that means to make right that which is wrong. There has never been a Magisterial teaching that demeans women. Like any societal structure, there may have been people, maybe even pastors, who have made statements that we see today are demeaning. However, the Church possesses a Magisterium to guarantee that the deposit of faith handed on from the apostles is the same Gospel we hear today. There has never been a teaching of the Church that has demeaned women.

Justice is to assure that when something is broken, it gets fixed. The Church, which is the Body of Christ, is indefectible in her structure and infallible in her teaching because of Christ's assurance that the Holy Spirit will always guide the Magisterium of the Church. This does not mean that individual believers have not been in error or even hurt people. Unfortunately, history has shown that individual believers have not lived faith accordingly. However, the Church herself, as the Body of Christ, is incapable of error both in its teaching of the faith and in the celebration of the sacred mysteries.

The brochure makes the statement: The Church [...] even becomes complicit in their mistreatment." An ignorant statement at best. The Church has never mistreated women.

3) This is a new question

Oh my! This section is replete with theological ignorance. There are so many statements here that are simply dead wrong. It is amazing how people can write something and just publish it. Again, thank the Lord we have a Magisterium that can refute such erroneous misinformation.

First, there is not one teaching of the Church that ever stated "there was something wrong with women." There is not one Magisterial teaching that ever stated that "women lacked the perfection of men." If a priest ever taught such statements, he would be censured. Those who claim to be Catholic and are printing such incorrect statements do harm to the communion of the Church.

Second, the section begins with the inference that the Church did not recognize women as "full and complete human persons" until the 1960's. I think we can all agree that society and certain cultures of the world have not understood or promoted equal rights among certain classes of people. We see this today with the unborn and the dying. These social sins require social justice. A revisionist historian always likes to blame someone or some institution for the cause of all problems. So, as some say, the Catholic Church should be responsible for the inequality that existed between men and women in certain societies in the world. I also think most people are getting tired of this non-intellectual approach to history. The Magisterium of the Church has never promoted such inequality.

4) The exclusion of women is NOT part of the deposit of faith

This section of the brochure once again illustrates theological deficiency. The document Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (Pope John Paul II, 1994) restates the Church's profession of faith that Jesus Christ intended only a male priesthood and that the Church has no authority to change this teaching because this Truth is confirmed by Apostolic Tradition and Sacred Scriptures. When a teaching belongs to the deposit of faith, no church leader, even the pope, has the authority to alter that teaching. Again, this is why we have a Magisterium - to preserve everything contained in the deposit of faith.

The brochure makes a clumsy reference to another document that speaks about how Truth has been revealed and therefore contained in the deposit of faith. Pope John Paul II released a document called Ad Tuendam Fidem (1998) which means "To Defend the Faith." What this document reminds us is how Truth has been revealed by God in varying ways. In short, the Holy Father confirms theological tradition of definitive and non-definitive truths. In the absence of theological training, one might conclude that when using the expression "non-definitive" there is a legitimate objection to what the Church has professed to be Truth. The distinction between "defined" and "non-defined" does not relate to Truth itself rather the mode in which we have received God's Word. I would encourage one to read this document which can be easily accessed through the usual websites.

Statements made in this section of the brochure suggesting that male priesthood is somehow not a part of the deposit of faith is simply wrong.

5) The Church can change a teaching

Here is why I call the brochure insensitive. It is inferred that the Church actually taught the legitimacy of slavery. How absurd. Again, individual believers were in error and practices by society as we have come to understand were unjust. A point for clarification - the title "slave" has been used in so many ways. Therefore, we have to be clear on what we mean by using the word "slave." As Americans, we have both a conscious and unconscious connotation of slavery from our own historical context. In any case, the enslavement of one person by another person or organization is morally evil. What must be distinguished in such reflections is practice from teaching. The brochure can have one believing that the Catholic Church actually taught by way of Magisterium that slavery was a part of the deposit of faith and later we changed that teaching.

6) Holy Scripture does not exclude women from the priesthood

The sacred scriptures are not theological treatises. It is the inspired Word of God interpreted by the Magisterium of the Church to support, defend, teach and apply the Gospel of Christ for the People of God. The New Testament not only confirms the Tradition of the Church that Jesus Christ chose certain men to act in his personhood but the apostles themselves chose men to succeed them. The scriptures also confirm that even Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, was not chosen or given the mission that was given to the apostles. The interpretation and application of the Word of God, which is contained in both the Scriptures and Tradition, is the duty of the Magisterium who has been given the mandate by Christ to confirm the faith of believers.

7) Looking like Jesus is not enough

This section of the brochure misses the whole theology of priesthood. First, every baptized believer shares in the one priesthood of Christ. Therefore, all believers enjoy a Christ-like dignity that comes with baptism. One does not have to be an ordained priest to enjoy the dignity of Christ's royal priesthood. Secondly, the ministerial priesthood is not merely an example of Christ or a symbol of Christ rather manifests in a most real, profound way the actual person of Jesus Christ in the act of pastoral ministry. Consequently, when a person goes to confession, they are not symbolically before Jesus, but really before him. When one is anointed in the sacrament of anointing, they are actually being anointed by Christ. When attending Mass, the faithful are before the person of Christ not just a symbol since the Mass is a reality that signifies the unity of the entire Paschal Mystery. A priest, therefore, is not just a representative of Christ but is Christ in the moment of pastoral ministry. The Christmas mystery is not accidental. Jesus Christ is truly God-man. In was in his manhood, that Christ forgave the sinner. It was in his manhood, he carried the cross to Calvary. Saint Thomas would probe the wounds of Jesus' manhood.

8) We have a prophetic calling

The prophetic responsibility for all the Christian faithful, both non-ordained and ordained, is to follow the will of God as it has been revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Faith is not stale; ministry is not redundant; vocation is not limited; gifts are not under-utilized when we all place ourselves before the Lord in humble obedience to His will. Was this not so much of his preaching? Indeed, the brochure states correctly - your will be done.

9) Conclusion

The rest of the brochure becomes somewhat repetitive. However, the back cover ends with some questions that should be asked of why women cannot become priests. It might be more helpful to suggest how all the faithful can build up the Kingdom of God when we place our gifts and talents at the service of the Church. As we often say in ministry - the needs of the Church are greater than our own. The lives of the saints are a testimony of how women and men trusted in the Lord and practiced faith in such heroic and inspiring ways. This is what maintains our family of faith. As we profess at Mass: we believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. There cannot be a unified Church without the apostolic leadership of the Magisterium.