Pope Francis said the Catholic Church will probably continue banning women from serving as priests forever, according to journalists who were traveling on a plane with him Tuesday. According to the National Catholic Reporter, a Swedish journalist on the plane asked, “Is it realistic to think that there might be women priests also in the Catholic Church in the next few decades?”When Francis said no, the journalist reportedly asked, “But really forever? Some advocates for the ordination of women saw a glimmer of hope in Francis’ decision earlier this year to create a commission to study the role of female deacons in the church. Deacons are clergy in the Catholic church, who can perform many of the functions of priests, including officiating at weddings and baptisms and preaching at Mass. The leader of the Lutheran church in Sweden is Archbishop Antje Jackelen, the first woman to fill the role.

Source: National Post November 02, 2016 19:08 UTC