Pope restates ban on women priests

pope benedict xvi Pope Benedict on Thursday reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church\'s ban on women priests. He also warned disobedience by clerics on fundamental teachings would not be tolerated. In a sermon at a morning Mass on Holy Thursday, he responded specifically to a call to disobedience by a group of Austrian priests, Reuters reports. They openly challenged Church teaching on priestly celibacy and women\'s ordination. The Pope, the Vatican\'s former chief doctrinal enforcer, cited a major 1994 document by his predecessor John Paul II. It stated that the ban on female priests was part of the Church\'s “divine constitution.” In 1995, the Vatican\'s doctrinal department said male priesthood could not be changed.