Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, closed the door on discussions about the ordination of women during a press conference at the close of the Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America.

Asked whether the shortage of clerics in the region could lead to the ordination of female deacons, the cardinal replied that the shortage could not cause a change in doctrine. “The path is not to completely equate at a ministerial level men and women,” he said; “because there’s a symbolic importance in the sacramental roles.”