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A woman has never been able to become a priest—she cannot even be a deacon, nor yet a chorister—but a woman can with the authority of the spirit reprove a priest who falls short of the dignity of his office, even if his office be that of the Vicar of Christ on earth. A widow from an outpost of the Europe of her day—St. Bridget of Sweden—or dyer’s daughter from Siena, St. Catherine—they bow humbly before the dignity with which the man is invested, while at the same time speaking their minds mercilessly and unafraid to the human side of him who has proved himself unworthy of his vicarship; and they do this by virtue of the spiritual authority they possess as favored souls and as courageous souls.
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