text: Wow. A lot of people on this thread haven't really read their Bible. \n\nYes, everybody has read Paul's letter to the Corinthians that states that women should not teach men. Yet, Paul is very inconsistent in his writings on the subject of whether women should hold positions of authority in the church. \n\nAfter all, in his letter to the Romans, why does Paul make Phoebe the deaconess to the Romans? In his letter to Timothy, Paul makes clear that there are only two church offices: Deacon and Bishop. Yet he tells the Romans that he is sending Phoebe as their Deacon (And, yes, he uses the word DEACONESS in Greek...there's no wiggle room on this) and to do what she requires of them. Now if women are not to teach and not to have authority, will somebody explain to me why he's sending a woman to preside over the Romans' church? And, in the same passage, he mentions several other women who have been named to high church office. \n\nFurther, as supporting text, all you have to do is read Paul's letter to the Galatians, where he clearly states that there are no men and women in Christ, no rich and poor, no slave and free. There are just Christians. So with Paul clearly subscribing to absolute egalitarianism in the church, why provide one gender with more priveleges than another?\n\nSo, no, women cannot be priests in the Catholic Church. But that doesn't mean that the scriptural teachings on the subject are consistent.