The Protestant reformers of the 16th century were unhappy with the priesthood as it functioned at that time in the Catholic Church. They were inclined to do away with it and emphasized instead the fact that all the baptized are priests. In defending the ordained priesthood, the Catholic Church lost a sense of the universal priesthood of the faithful. This was preserved in the New Testament: "Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5).
The priesthood of believers was reemphasized in the 20th century, especially under Pope Pius XII, and the Second Vatican Council taught that all the members of the Church "are consecrated a kingly priesthood and a holy nation … in order that they may in all their actions offer spiritual sacrifices and bear witness to Christ all the world over" (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, art. 3). This priesthood is different in kind from the ordained priesthood, but it is nonetheless real.