Lisbon Patriarch called on carpet for women's ordination comments

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.