REDO: Roman Catholic women should be allowed to become priests

(In the last debate, I accidentally responded to Devnith/SampleText instead of one2one. I created this new debate in place of the old one.) "In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or citizen, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28 I feel that Roman Catholic women should be able to be ordained priests. This will give them more equality in the church, as well as counter the priest shortage. At my Catholic school, I have been taught that a priest acts in the power of Jesus Christ, and during his ministries, he acts as a vessel for him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Holy Orders as the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. [1] I believe we can both agree on this. If you do not, elaborate why. I will start my argument by refuting three common claims made by those in your position. Jesus is a man, therefore, who he acts through must be a man. Every Catholic, man or woman, is called to act as Jesus would. Both sexes can be just as virtuous as the other, which is all that should matter. When you want to become a priest, don't audition for the role of Jesus in a play, you prepare yourself to dedicate your life to him and to act as he would. If the church excludes women from priesthood because Jesus was a man, the church must also deny priesthood to anyone who isn't ethnically Jewish. Since Jesus was a Jew, only Jews should be able to become priests. Just as there are biological differences between sexes, there are biological differences between races. Those differences shouldn't matter if the individual has the merits to become a priest. If we allowed women to be ordained as priests, that would be breaking tradition. Tradition should never be a prominent reason to continue something, even in the church. Roman Catholic women have come a long way, and should continue to fight for their rights. In the Second Vatican Council, discrimination based on sex was declared contrary to God's intent. [2] While this may seem like a decree that has ended all sexism in the church, Catholics should never be satisfied until all forms of sexism have been truly abolished. When Jesus ordained the first priests, they were all men. This is, like I stated in my first point, not an argument. Jesus was culturally limited when deciding who he could make his apostles. [3] In the context of the bible, Jesus challenged the status quo plenty of times, but not all the time. He did not attack the Roman government, nor the custom of slavery. This is because God has been shown to work within a given culture in order appeal to those who may not have accepted him otherwise. [4] If you look to sources other than the bible alone, any validity this argument had before collapses. Pope John Paul II refers to four different verses while arguing against female priests. "Then Jesus replied, 'Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!'" - John 6:70 [5] "As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.'" - Matthew 10:7-8 [6] "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" - Matthew 28:18-20 [7] "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." - Luke 22:32 [8] These quotes have been attributed to Jesus, even though it is highly unlikely he said them. [9] And the only verse that specifically singles out men is Luke 22:32.Going back to biblical context, (after turning the bread into his body, and his blood into wine) Jesus tells his disciples at the Last Super, "Do this in commemoration of me!" He says this to all the disciples at the Last Super, not just the apostles. Despite how Leonardo da Vinci depicted the Last Super, and how many Christians imagine the Last Supper, more people were there besides Jesus and the apostles. Citations: [1] http://www.thepaplvisit.org.uk...... [2] http://www.womensordination.org...... [3] http://fuller.edu......[4] http://simplychurch.com......[5] https://www.biblegateway.com...... [6] https://www.biblegateway.com...... [7] https://www.biblegateway.com...... [8] https://www.biblegateway.com...... [9] http://www.womenpriests.org......