It is fascinating to see the speed with which the Vatican can react to any statements that might be perceived as supporting the ordination of women.
In a recent interview, the Patriarch of Lisbon, head of the diocese in the Portuguese capital, said that he believed that "no fundamental obstacle" exists from a theological point of view to the ordination of women.
He elaborated a bit more, as Vatican Insider reports in a story that also recounts that the patriarch, Jose da Cruz Policarpo, was summoned for a conversation on the matter -- after receiving a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- while in Rome on other business.
It is impossible not to note that bishops who for years protected priests who sexually abused children have not received so much as a letter from the pope, much less a summons to account for their actions. But mention that there's no reasonable theological or scriptural impediment to women's ordination, and the wheels of authority spin quickly.
