Breaking: Vatican announces commission on women deacons | America Magazine

 

"In a press release issued this morning, the Vatican announced that "after intense prayer and mature reflection," Pope Francis has established a “Commission of Study on the Diaconate of Women” and named twelve members to it, six of them women, including one American—Professor Phyllis Zagano, who teaches at Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y."

 

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"The Vatican made the announcement today, Aug. 2, and recalled that during the meeting with participants of the Plenary Assembly of Religious Superiors on May 12, the pope had expressed the intention “to set up an official commission to study the question” of the Diaconate of Women, “especially regarding the first times periods of the church.”

This is a big deal.

I'm no religious scholar, but this seems to border on the monumental.

Well the idea of women being ordained as deacons - and as priests as well - has been studied at times. It was particularly the concept was reviewed during the Vatican II days. To the best of my knowledge there was never an official commission put in place during or immediately following the Second Vatican Council, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

 

Still, you're right mcpapa, this is definitely bordering on monumental.

Great step by the church. Incredibly ridiculous that they continue to discriminate against women in this day and age.

Big time. Has the pope given any indication how he feels about it?

What are the top reasons for wanting to have women as deacons BESIDES the fact that currently they can't be one. Is this just a sexual equality thing?

What are the top reasons for wanting to have women as deacons BESIDES the fact that currently they can't be one. Is this just a sexual equality thing?

 

Personally, it's a matter of people who want to serve being able to do so. The number of clergy declines and declines and declins, but it's not for the lack of people willing to serve, but restrictons placed based on nothing (IMO) substatitive. Of course that's my opinion. I'm not a theologian, so, I'll leave that to those with more "holy" in them than I possess.

We need to keep in mind that there is a huge difference between being ordained a priest and a deacon. When someone is ordained a deacon, they can (like a priest and a bishop obviously), baptize licitly and validly, act as an official witness in marriage and also preach the Gospel in the mass. What priests and bishops can do which deacons CANNOT do is act in Persona Christi, or act in the place of Christ. The two most vivid examples of this are when the priest or bishop consecrates the Eucharist (Do this in memory of me) and when the priest or bishop hears confession and extends Christ's (not his own obviously) absolution of confessed sins (Go forth and forgive sins in my name) Priests and bishops cannot forgive sin, they can only be an earthly representative. The ordination of priests and bishops has be regulated to male Catholics since the apostles first started ordinaning and taught that priest and bishop ordination shall be limited men. Why? Not sure but it has been determined as infallible since the apostles first said so. I am told that John Paul II explanation of it in an encyclical is considered probably one of the greatest and he concludes that even as pope, he did not have the authority to change that teaching.

 

Now, what about deacons? While it has always been ASSUMED women could not be ordained deacons, it has never been declared an infallible teaching. So, if it were determined, that they could, technically, nothing declared infallible would be broken but an understanding that has been accepted going back almost to founding church fathers would be overturned which is a pretty big deal. Allowing priests to marry is a snoozer compared to that.

Great step by the church. Incredibly ridiculous that they continue to discriminate against women in this day and age.

 

I encourage you to study why the church teaches as it does and you would see calling is discrimination is silly and ignorant. The teaching was pretty much straight from Jesus but was certainly reinforced by the apostles, people who I would say speak with a pretty certain truth whether anyone likes what they say or not.

Great step by the church. Incredibly ridiculous that they continue to discriminate against women in this day and age.

No. Not discrimination. Not by a long shot.

 

Also--in regards to how Catholics view women, recall the reverence that Catholic's have for Mary, probably more so than any other religion---but I think we already have a thread on that.

Edited August 4, 201610 yr by hoops5

What are the top reasons for wanting to have women as deacons BESIDES the fact that currently they can't be one. Is this just a sexual equality thing?

I don't have the answer. In my opinion, it is very much needed, and it has zero to do with sexual equality. As a teacher at a Catholic school, I think we need more lay people and leadership at the local level. IMO, allowing women to serve as deacons is an exciting proposition that I think will energize our local Catholic school system.

I encourage you to study why the church teaches as it does and you would see calling is discrimination is silly and ignorant. The teaching was pretty much straight from Jesus but was certainly reinforced by the apostles, people who I would say speak with a pretty certain truth whether anyone likes what they say or not.

 

No. Not discrimination. Not by a long shot.

 

Also--in regards to how Catholics view women, recall the reverence that Catholic's have for Mary, probably more so than any other religion---but I think we already have a thread on that.

 

I know their reasons why and I completely disagree with them. There is no reason a woman shouldn't be allowed to be a priest or deacon. That's my opinion. I ain't changing it because the Church says I should.

Edited August 4, 201610 yr by hoops5

What are the top reasons for wanting to have women as deacons BESIDES the fact that currently they can't be one. Is this just a sexual equality thing?

Numbers!

Had a discussion with a priest a while back when we started getting the Indian priests at our church. While I was complaining about the language barrier he told me the United States is now a missionary country and we need to seek priests from other countries.

Let priests get married.

Let priests marry while we are at it.