Pope's Envoy To Ireland Rules Out Female Priests

The ordination of women has been completely ruled out by the Pope’s envoy to Ireland.

Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown said the church's teaching on the subject was clear and that the Pope had spoken definitively on the subject in 1994.

A study commissioned by the Association of Catholic Priests in February however revealed that 77% of Catholics believed women should be ordained, putting the Archbishops comments at odds with the majority of Irish Catholics.

Former president Mary McAleese has also spoken out in favour of women priests and revealed recently, following the publication of her book, 'Quo Vadis? Collegiality in the Code of Cannon Law', how she was "lambasted" by the former Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, for her views.

However, Dr Brown insisted it was not a question of choice but was about being "obedient and faithful to the continual tradition of the Catholic faith".

"The Catholic faith exists in part because of the tradition of the faith and that tradition on that point is totally clear, completely clear," Dr Brown told the Irish Independent. "The Holy Father has spoken on that and I don't think as a result we're going to have women priests."

Dr Brown, who is now nine months into his role as Papal Nuncio, celebrated Mass in St Mary's Cathedral in Killarney yesterday.

He was in Co Kerry for the weekend to attend the memorial to Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, the Killarney-raised cleric who established 'The Rome Escape Line' during World War Two, helping more than 6,500 Jews and Allied soldiers escape German forces.

(H/GK)