When John Paul II started writing his spiritual testament, it was first of all influenced by what he read in the spiritual testament of Paul VI. So when he wrote: “I also trust that He will never allow me - through some attitude of mine: words, deeds or omissions - to betray my obligations in this holy Petrine See,” I believe he is not only following the steps of Paul VI, but he really considered to uphold the teachings of the Church that have lasted the time and space since Christ declared to Peter: Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt. 16:11b-14). With this, the Christ not only taught the Apostles of the necessity of the Petrine See but also handed them the grave responsibility it entails.
The Catholic Church has always been under-surveillance of the world’s prying eyes; but has always put the words of Jesus into action: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. (Mt. 10:16). The Church is not new to scandals, even within and among its own; but as the Lord promised: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt. 28:13), the Church believes. Despite the many “wolves” trying to “make changes” in the Church “for the sake of equality and freedom,” the Church perseveres and goes on toward the Kingdom where only God is Ruler – merciful yet just and whose love is everlasting.
For the sake of equality and freedom, critics say that the Church ought to ordain women to the Priesthood. Nowhere in the Scripture is it ever mentioned of women in the Order. Not even among the Levites but Aaron and his sons. Jesus and his apostles were always accompanied by women and yet, if there was anyone who had a claim to the priesthood, that could only had been Mary: the woman who conceived and carried Jesus, the High Priest, in her womb; the woman whom Jesus grew up within wisdom and age and favor before God and man; the woman who anticipated the ministry of Jesus at Cana; the woman who stood by the cross as Jesus suffered; the woman entrusted by Jesus - not to another woman – but to another man, to his beloved disciple: to be his guide, his mentor to know the mind of Jesus, and most of all to be his mother. But Mary, who always kept things such as these in her heart, remained behind the scene: following the pace of the Apostles, helping them, guiding them, enlightening them, and even perhaps “mothering them.” The priesthood is limited to men not to discriminate against women; but because women already are given the best and greatest gift there is for them: motherhood!
If a “scarcity of priests” exists as the reason behind this issue, just take a look at the world statistics. In the US, there is a priest for every fourteen hundred Catholics (1:1,400). Try to compare that to the Philippines, where the ratio is 1:8,000. As its immediate effect, the decline is not due to scarcity in quantity but in quality as seen with the scandals that rocked the Church, even more so in the US. And let us be honest, in this kind of society we live in it is already difficult to focus during Mass when you don’t like the male priest – would you really be focused if there were another woman up on the altar? Look at Mary Magdalene – when the Apostles did not believe her words about the Risen Christ – she could very well have claimed the priesthood – but instead, she followed the command of Jesus: “Do not be afraid. Go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.”
The other issue on the priesthood is that there would be more priests if the Church allowed them to be married. Talk about double jeopardy! The Church would become a business center for the married priest’s “family” and “extended relatives.” Just how much money would a family of four normally spend in a month: utilities, insurance, food, clothing, gas, school and office supplies, house furnishings, and the list goes on and on. The question is: how would you like your priest to spend your Church contribution more to and for his family than the parish? How would you like your priest to suddenly interrupt or cancel the Mass because he has to attend to his sick child or take the child to his games, and so on and so forth?
The priesthood had been instituted by the Lord Jesus with his people in mind: undivided attention and care, like a sheep to his flock. He himself could very well have been married but did he marry? Even Peter left his own family to follow Jesus every step of the way: to give his life and feed His lambs.
If your son comes home one day with another man and says: “This is my…?” What would your reaction be? Or how would he even present the idea of forming a family with another man? Matrimony/Marriage is the union between a man and a woman that takes its beginning – yes – in the beginning: Adam and Eve! God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” And who did he make? Eve! A woman! For this Adam said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” God blessed them and told them to be fertile and multiply. How would two men or two women be fertile and multiply? The nature of marriage is designed by God for the procreation of humankind, not just companionship, not just partnership, not even friendship – but for the continuous creation of man and woman.
This is why the Church has always upheld the truth of the teachings of Christ who did not die on the cross just to see his Church vilified. That is what and why John Paul II upheld in the 26 years of his life’s offering as the head of the Church. That is why we have to pray that the new Pope will uphold the same truths and teachings of Jesus through the Church.
Let us read this passage from Acts 5:34-42
A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,
stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time, and said to the Sanhedrin, "Fellow children of Israel, be careful what you are about to do to these men.
Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing. After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.
So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God."
If ever the Church happen to allow priestly ordination to women…
If ever the Church happen to allow priests to be married…
If ever the Church happen to allow marriage between two men or two women…
Then the Church would cease to be a divine endeavor and will destroy itself.
This is why John Paul prayed to God in his testament that he also trusts that God never allows him - through some attitude of his: words, deeds or omissions - to betray his obligations in this Holy Petrine See. But as we all believe that this Church is God’s work on earth, let the Church take its due course. Since “not even the gates of hell would prevail against it” as Jesus promised, no one would ever be able to destroy it and may even find themselves fighting against God. How do you think you would win? “And if you're living like there is no God, you’d better be right!”