[WATCH] Pope Francis confirms ban on women ordained as Roman Catholic priests

Pope Francis has ruled out a woman ever serving as a priest in the Roman Catholic church.

The declaration is not a change in stance for the leader of the Roman Catholic church, who has always said the door was closed on women being ordained as priests.

However, when asked and pressed on the matter by a Swedish journalist during a press conference onboard the papal plane, Francis suggested the ban would be eternal.

“Saint Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this and it stands, this stands,” Francis said in his initial response, referring to a 1994 document stating that women could never join the priesthood.

From the video found on the Guardian's official Youtube channel, one can see that Francis focused his argument on St John Paul II’s words, insisting that this was the path the Church will follow.

“If we read carefully the declaration by St John Paul II, it is going in that direction,” he said.

The Pope went on to say women did “many other things better than men”, emphasising what has been called the “feminine dimension of the church”.

“People ask me: ‘Who is more important in the theology or in the spirituality of the church, the apostles or Mary, on the day of Pentecost?’ It is Mary,” he said. He then added: “More.”

But according to the Guardian, Francis’s praise of women will do little to comfort feminist Catholics who have called for women to have a broader role in the church, including ordination.

The church has always responded to criticism of the ban on women by pointing out that Jesus only chose men as his apostles. Proponents of a change argue, among other points, that the church is facing a shortage of priests.

Francis seemed to open the possibility that women might become ordained deacons earlier this year, when he commissioned a study of the role female deacons played in the early church.