Is Pope Francis REALLY considering FEMALE DEACONS?

Pope considers initiating study group to analyze history of a female's role in the Catholic Church.

Some reports claim that Pope Francis may soon pave the way for women to serve as deacons in the Catholic Church. However, he did not say that. He appointed a commission to study the early church approach to woman in leadership

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - During an international conference with nuns at the Vatican, the Holy Father appeared to be open to the potential of considering whether women might serve as deacons, after being questioned by a nun attending the event.

However, a closer look is required.

Deacons are the first rank of Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. They are male clergy ordained, not unto the priesthood but unto the ministry as the Catholic Catechism explains. In the Latin Rite, since Baptism was separated from Chrismation (in the Latin Rite Confirmation) they are also ordinary ministers of the Sacrament of Baptism.

Also, in the sacramental theology of the Latin Rite, since it is the couple who actually exchange the marriage sacrament, and the priest is but a witness, deacons can also witness weddings as ordinary ministers.

Since the Order of Deacon was reestablished in the Latin Rite at the Second Vatican Council, it was also opened to married men. However, marriage occurs BEFORE ordination, which has always been the practice in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Church. In fact, a Deacon pledges, at ordination, that if he loses his wife, he will not remarry.

In the early church, women had a special role in preparing women for Baptism. the Greek word which we translate "Deacon" means servant. Most scholars acknowledge that "deaconesses", a term used in the New Testament, were set aside with a commissioning prayer, but were not ordained. 

"Constituting an official commission that might study the question?" Francis said, during a question-and-answer session touching on the possibility, according to the National Catholic Reporter. "I believe yes. It would do good for the church to clarify this point. I am in agreement. I will speak to do something like this."

During the discussion, Pope Francis reportedly commented on women serving as deaconesses in the early centuries of the church, according to The Washington Post. He stated that he asked a professor to educate him on the history, but the answers presented to him were "a bit obscure."

Although the pope did address the nun's question, his official stance remains unclear because this was an off the cuff remark. According to Senior Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, the statements was likely a form of "spontaneous conversation with a nun" and he may have been simply "calling for a study into the historical role of women as deacons in the early church," according to The Washington Post. 

The pontiff's definite intentions aren't currently known, and Vatican officials will need to further examine the transcripts from the conference to gain a better understanding of the pope's plans. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Sections 1569-1571) is the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church. It reads as follows:

"At a lower level of the hierarchy are to be found deacons, who receive the imposition of hands 'not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry."' At an ordination to the diaconate only the bishop lays hands on the candidate, thus signifying the deacon's special attachment to the bishop in the tasks of his "diakonia."

"Deacons share in Christ's mission and grace in a special way.The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint ("character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all.Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity."

"Since the Second Vatican Council the Latin Church has restored the diaconate "as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy," while the Churches of the East had always maintained it. This permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men, constitutes an important enrichment for the Church's mission.

"Indeed it is appropriate and useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether in its social and charitable works, should "be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come down from the apostles. They would be more closely bound to the altar and their ministry would be made more fruitful through the sacramental grace of the diaconate."

Unfortunately, in the rush to report on this extemporaneous response of Pope Francis in a question and answer session, many with agendas have misreported on its meaning. The Editor in Chief of Catholic Online is a Deacon. You can read one of his many articles on the vocation here.

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