Seven reasons why women can and should receive Holy Orders:
1. One priesthood in Christ
Through baptism women and men share equally in the new priesthood of Christ. This includes openness to Holy Orders.
2. Empowered to preside
At the Last Supper Jesus empowered both women and men. Both can be ordained to preside at the Eucharist.
3. Cultural bias
The Church’s practice of not ordaining women as priests was based on a three-fold prejudice against women. This affected the judgment of Church leaders.
4. Women have been deacons
Until at least the ninth century the Church gave women the full sacramental ordination of deacons. This proves women can be ordained.
5. The ability for women to be ordained has been present in the Church’s latent Tradition.
One example is the age-long devotion to Mary as priest. It shows that, according to the ‘sense of the faithful’, in Mary the ban against women has already been overcome.
6. The wider Church accepts women priests
After serious study and prayer other Christian Churches now ordain women as priests. Though not everything other churches do can be accepted by the Catholic Church, this converging consensus by believing Christians confirms that ordaining women is according to the mind of Christ.
7. Women too are, in fact, called to be priests
The fact that many responsible Catholic women discern in themselves a vocation to the priesthood is a sign of the Holy Spirit you cannot ignore.
Conclusion:
There are no valid arguments against women priests, and many truly Catholic arguments in favour.
