Ordinatio Sacerdotalis is a primary source, Pope John Paul II's 1994 apostolic letter formally stating that the Roman Catholic Church has no authority to ordain women to the priesthood and that this judgment is to be held definitively by all the faithful. As the actual papal document, it is directly authoritative for what current Catholic doctrine and canon law state on the question and for the theological reasoning John Paul II offered. It is a statement of one tradition's binding internal teaching, not a report on the wider and genuinely unsettled theological debate over women's ordination across Christianity as a whole, where other traditions, including several Protestant denominations and parts of Anglicanism, have reached different conclusions that this document neither addresses nor is meant to.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier3
Ordinatio Sacerdotalis is Pope John Paul II's own 1994 apostolic letter, published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana, stating that the Roman Catholic Church has no authority to ordain women to the priesthood, the lower tier reflecting that it is one tradition's own binding internal disciplinary teaching on a question of continuing, genuinely unsettled theological debate across Christianity as a whole, rather than a formally defined dogma invoking papal infallibility the way the two Marian bulls in this catalog are. NotesApostolic letter declaring that the church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women. Cited as the church's own statement of its position. Whether the declaration is infallible is disputed among Catholic theologians and the letter itself does not settle it.
Custodian
Custodian SourceYes
Custodian BodyPope John Paul II
Custodian BasisAn apostolic letter of the Catholic Church own supreme teaching office on its own ministry. Authoritative for the Church own position; it is not independent evidence about the early Church.
Citation
AuthorPope John Paul II
PublisherLibreria Editrice Vaticana
Publication Year1994
Source Typeprimary-text
Connections
Associated With
This source names Anglicanism directly: "Protestant denominations and parts of Anglicanism, have reached different conclusions that this document neither addresses nor is meant to."
Source Ordinatio SacerdotalisPope John Paul IIthe holders' own account
Source Ordinatio SacerdotalisPope John Paul IIthe holders' own account
Claims Backed By This Source (20 claims)
This source backs 20 claims across the atlas. As facts: 12 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 3 holds. Plus 4 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 12 claims: 10 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Beliefs & Restrictions, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
- Denominations, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Doctrines, 2 claims: 1 scholarly debate, 1 general references.
- Religious Roles & Titles, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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