EVANGELII GAUDIUM - page 83

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are made, both in the Church and in social struc-
tures.
104. Demands that the legitimate rights of
women be respected, based on the firm convic-
tion that men and women are equal in dignity,
present the Church with profound and challeng-
ing questions which cannot be lightly evaded.
The reservation of the priesthood to males, as
a sign of Christ the Spouse who gives himself
in the Eucharist, is not a question open to dis-
cussion, but it can prove especially divisive if
sacramental power is too closely identified with
power in general. It must be remembered that
when we speak of sacramental power “we are
in the realm of function, not that of dignity or
holiness”.73 The ministerial priesthood is one
means employed by Jesus for the service of his
people, yet our great dignity derives from bap-
tism, which is accessible to all. The configura-
tion of the priest to Christ the head – namely, as
the principal source of grace – does not imply
an exaltation which would set him above oth-
ers. In the Church, functions “do not favour the
superiority of some vis-à -vis the others”.74 In-
73 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
Christifideles Laici (30 December 1988), 51: AAS 81 (1989), 413.
74 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dec-
laration Inter Insigniores on the Question of the Admission of
Women to the Ministerial Priesthood (15 October 1976): AAS
68 (1977) 115, cited in John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation Christifideles Laici (30 December 1988), note 190:
AAS 81 (1989), 493.