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A frequent guest on the Catholic Answers Live radio program, Dr. Pia de Solenni (�93) recently ventured into less friendly airwaves. At the recommendation of the office of Denver�s Archbishop Charles Chaput, Dr. de Solenni appeared on an of NPR�s �On Point� to discuss the topic, �Ordaining Women Priests.� Despite being outnumbered � her two fellow panelists were both excommunicated Catholic dissidents, and the host and most of the callers decidedly took their side � she did a commendable job of defending the all-male priesthood as instituted by Christ. To quote from her opening remarks:

�In order to understand the Church�s position on this you have to go to a more metaphysical reality, and that is the relationship between Christ and the Church. From the perspective of Catholic theology, that relationship between Christ and the Church is spousal; it�s husband and wife, bridegroom and bride. And the priest is seen as someone who � in the Latin we say is in persona Christi � he�s someone who is in the person of Christ. And it doesn�t mean he just stands in for Christ, it means he really takes on the person of Christ, and that�s why in the Mass he�s able to transform the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. So for Catholics that�s not a symbol that�s an actual reality, and this relationship between Christ and the Church is not a symbol, it�s an actual reality. So when we talk about all-male priesthood it�s because that man who becomes a priest is actually representing Christ in His fullness, which includes His maleness.�

You can  or (Dr. de Solenni enters at about the 11:30 mark), or .