So I asked a canon lawyer...

Okay, it's complicated.

Jesus only made men priests, so why should we make women priests....

First of all, who said Jesus only made men priests. Actually Jesus didn't ordain anyone. He had thanksgiving dinner (more or less the modern equivalent of Passover) with the family. A normal passover would have the family gathering for a festive meal, parents, children, inlaws, grandparents, friends, assorted nieces and nephews, etc. And Jesus did something special - so that unusual twist is recorded. Now if there were no women there - I think it would have been worthy of note - but the scriptures are SILENT.

People say if Jesus wanted women priests he surely would have made Mary a priests. Well, first of all - that doesn't necessarily follow - She had a particular role, and being a priest didn't have to be part of that role. Secondly, who says he didn't make her a priest? We just don't know. Again, the scriptures are SILENT.

And down through the years, the constant practice of the church has been not to ordain women. Well, here we know that women have been ordained deacons a least, and probably bishops. There's less evidence about the priest issue. But there is only one 'clerical' state, only one sacrament - in three orders. That's what the CODE of canon law says. The first christian millenium had women clerics. Probably not the majority, but certainly enough of them to make rules about how it happened. This time the historical record is clear, but it is SILENCED.

Now one thing about all this: men wrote the scriptures, and most of the historical record. So they wrote about their buddies. No great surprise that women didn't figure too large in the account. And perhaps they were shunted aside. But in the religious life world, we were making stuff happen - that is until the start of the second christian millenium, when the pope said all nuns had to stay in super-max, oh, that would be the holy cloister.

Paul VI asked the pontifical biblical commission to research the matter and give him the scriptural evidence regarding women's ordination. They searched the scriptures and came up with: an honest, scholarly reading of the scriptures does not give enough evidence to say yes or no - we just don't know. Then the Office of the Holy Inquisition: now called congregation for the doctrine of the faith, CDF, said no you can't and gave lots of reasons for it. Now if they really had a good reason, they could have given it, but they didn't so they did the next best thing - gave lots of bad reasons, making up for quality with quantity. Then finally the pope said, I know the reason: God said so! Ha! End of discussion..... And the discussion goes on....

....long answer to a short question.....