In a news conference, which he often partakes in during his travels, Pope Francis stated his belief that the Catholic Church’s sanction on women becoming priests is everlasting and will at no time be changed. The Vatican considers it an infallible part of the Catholic tradition.

Francis was returning to Rome from Sweden after attending an event there. When a Swedish reporter pointed out that the head of the Lutheran Church who welcomed the Pope in Sweden was a woman, she wondered if the Catholic Church would allow women to be ordained as ministers in the coming decades.

The Pope said: