Defending the Truth on NPR: Dr. Pia de Solenni (’93)

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 episode 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 stream the program or (Dr. de Solenni enters at about the 11:30 mark), or download the podcast.