Approaching Pope Francis' Commission About Women Deacons With Cautious Optimism

I promise part three of "The Talk" is still coming, but something pretty amazing has happened that needs a bit of a spotlight right now...

Phoebe the Deacon!! Find her in Paul's letters.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this breaking news: Women served as deacons in the early Church, and for the first time in forever, there is a new spark of hope that they'll be able to
serve in that role once again.  Someday.  Maybe.

Here's the deal.  During their triennial meeting with the Pope in Rome, the members of the International Union of the Superiors General (the leaders of the various women religious orders in the world), posed this question to Pope Francis:

"Consecrated women already work so much with the poor and the marginalized: teaching the catechism, accompanying the sick and the moribund, distributing communion, [and] in many countries conducting the common prayers in absence of priests and in those circumstances pronouncing the homily. In the church there is the office of the permanent diaconate, but it is open only to married and non-married men.

What impedes the church from including women among permanent deacons, just as it happened in the early church? Why not construct an official commission that might study the question?" (http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-create-commission-study-female-deacons-catholic-church)

In answer, the Pope said that "he had spoken about the matter once some years ago with a “good, wise professor” who had studied the use of female deacons in the early centuries of the church. Francis said it remained unclear to him what role such deacons had.

“What were these female deacons?” the pontiff recalled asking the professor. “Did they have

Pope Francis with members of the IUSG

ordination or no?"“It was a bit obscure,” said Francis. "What was the role of the deaconess in that time?”

“Constituting an official commission that might study the question?” the pontiff asked aloud. "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."

“I accept,” the pope said later. “It seems useful to me to have a commission that would clarify this well."" (http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-create-commission-study-female-deacons-catholic-church)

Now, obviously, this is super exciting news, and could lead to some pretty historic, groundbreaking events as a result.  If women are able to be ordained into the permanent diaconate, they would be able to preach openly at Mass, and conduct marriage ceremonies as well as funerals and baptisms.  Women would be able to participate in the sacramental life in the Church in a way that hasn't been possible for them since the early Church.  This could, down the line, open up an even larger conversation about women's ordination into the priesthood (but let's not get to ahead of ourselves here...one step at a time)!

However, while I'm very optimistic at this prospect and the possibilities this conversation could have for the Church, I remain cautiously optimistic.  A tiny part of me, a cynical part that's been knocked down again and again, and has seen these and related concerns pushed into the corner or systemically ignored over and over, is a bit skeptical of how far this conversation will actually go.  Here's the thing: This question has been asked before.  Many times.  By clergy, by religious, by lay people, by scholars...the question of whether or not women should be permitted into the permanent diaconate is not a new one.  What's new and exciting about this whole situation is that this is the first time the question has been asked, and a conversation has been allowed to happen rather than the subject being immediately shut down.

Yay Pope Francis for being open to the dialogue and listening to the concerns of the women that posed the question!

That doesn't mean anything's going to happen beyond the commission, however.  The risk is that the commission will come to the conclusion that, no, women can't be deacons, and we'll be right back where we started.  Worse, because it will be even harder to restart the conversation again.  It's a necessary risk, don't get me wrong, because we'll never get anywhere without the commission and the conversation to begin with, but it's a gamble all the same.  So, a few things have to happen to ease my skepticism and convince me that this discussion is going to get the fair, honest treatment it deserves.  First off, the commission cannot be made up solely of clergy.  Perspectives from outside the Church's hierarchy are essential in order for the dialogue to be fully formed.  Second, notable theologians and scholars must be included, and a good chunk of them need to be women.  In his discussion with the UISG, Pope Francis acknowledged that women need to be included in the decision-making processes of the Church, something that they have been routinely excluded from because of their exclusion from ordination.  This would be the perfect opportunity to show that the Church is really moving towards that greater inclusion.  In order for a real decision to be reached about this vitally important issue, women's voices must be included.  And third, the voices of the people on the ground, the Church, must also be heard.  The regular people living out their faith day-to-day, witnessing the work that is being done in parishes, in schools, in hospitals, etc.  Work, primarily done, but good, faithful women.  Their witness should be a component of the overall discussion, and their work taken into account when deciding what it means for women to serve the Church.

So, yes, this is an exciting time in the Church, and an exciting opportunity for women's voices to be heard in a way that has been permitted in much of the Church's history.  However, even with a Pope like Francis in the lead, the hierarchy is still the hierarchy, with thousands of years of patriarchal doctrine and exclusion of women within its ranks weighing it down.  Major change like this will only happen if the Church as a whole makes it voice heard, so I encourage any of you who believe this to be the right direction for the Church to head in to speak up.  Talk to your local priest, write to your bishop, even write to the Vatican if you can (I've handily included Pope Francis' mailing address below)!  Let the hierarchy know that women deacons is something our Church not only wants, but needs.  We need to make our voices heard so that it's not the same few people making the same decisions over and over again.  Think about it, pray about it, and let the Spirit guide you, but whatever side of this question you fall on, don't hesitate to make your voice heard.

Until next time,
Erin B.

P.S. As promised, Pope Francis' mailing address:
His Holiness, Pope Francis
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City