First American Pope Causes Storm With Statement: “I Will Never Ordain Women Because They Are Not Good For Us”
Just 30 minutes after being declared Pope Leo XIV – the first American to hold the Roman Catholic Church’s highest office – Robert Prevost sent shockwaves around the world with a controversial statement: “I will never ordain women because they are not good for us.”
He made the statement during his first press conference as the new Pope. Although the full context of the statement is unclear, the phrase “not good for us” immediately sent shockwaves through media platforms and Catholic communities around the world.
A historic milestone – and a split from the start
The election of American Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope marks an unprecedented turning point in the Church’s nearly 2,000-year history. As the first American to assume the role of supreme leader, many believers expected him to bring a breath of fresh air and modernize Catholic doctrine – especially on issues of gender equality and internal reform.
However, in just his first few statements, the new Pope has gone against those expectations. His comments about women were not only seen as sexist, but also contrary to the spirit of tolerance that the Church has tried to build over the past decade.
Global backlash
On social media, the phrase #NotMyPope is trending in many Western countries, especially in the United States – Leo XIV’s own homeland. Many organizations working for women’s rights and religious reform have criticized him, saying that his statement is “prejudiced, backward and hurts millions of Catholic women who are quietly dedicating themselves to the life of faith”.
The Women’s Ordination Conference, a group that advocates for women’s ordination in the Church, issued a strongly worded statement, calling it “an affront and a denial of the sacred role of women.”
The Core Issue: Women and Church Office
Women have long been excluded from senior positions in the Catholic Church, such as priests, bishops, and cardinals. Although some minor reforms have been made in recent years to allow women to take on managerial or advisory roles, female ordination remains strictly forbidden. Pope Leo XIV’s remarks appear to reaffirm this conservative policy.
A Controversial Future
Although he has only just taken office, the new Pope has already faced his first media crisis – and a crisis of values and beliefs. The question is: Will Leo XIV continue to maintain the same conservative stance as his predecessor, or will he be forced to adjust his attitude under the pressure of the times?
One thing is certain: The first American Pope began his pontificate not with unity, but with a great rift within the Church and the global community of believers.
Robert Prevost said in 2023 that “clericalizing women” would not solve issues in the church, according to the Catholic News Agency. “Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this, interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem,” Prevost told journalists at a news conference in October of that year, according to the outlet. Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, did acknowledge that women are taking on new roles of leadership at the Vatican and elsewhere in the church, according to the Catholic News Agency. But, he said, “It isn’t as simple as saying that, ‘You know, at this stage we’re going to change the tradition of the Church after 2,000 years on any one of those points.’” “Perhaps we need to look at a new understanding or different understanding of both leadership, power, authority, and service — above all service — in the Church from the different perspectives that can be, if you will, brought to the life of the Church by women and men,” he said, according to the news agency. Prevost’s comments came during a meeting of Catholic bishops, known as a synod, in which Pope Francis had allowed women to participate and vote for the first time.
