The Catholic Church does regard men and women as EQUAL in value in God's eyes. But they are
equitable in role and plan, that is, each has a particular role in God's plan.
This is not a SMALL thing. It reverberates throughout the Old and New Testament.
Thus, women do not become priests. That is a male role. That also is Old Testament. The Jewish priests were men. Once the priesthood disappeared with the destruction of their Temple, the rabbinical role became paramount -- and they were still all men.
Christians simply followed the Jewish tradition.
Orthodox Judaism still has no women rabbis.
[There are no Hindu women priests either. They go one step farther and say that, besides being men, all priests must come from the Brahmin caste. And they do. None of this holds true for gurus--which are simply teachers.]
The celibacy of priests is a very convoluted and non-simple story. I think the crux (simplified version) is that when men happened to be married, they could become priests. If they were single and became priests, then they didn't marry.
there are those who would argue that Jesus was radical in his approach to women in the culture that was Old testament culture. Therefore he was advocating a much more egaltarian role for women. He allowed women to listen to him along with the men, etc.