The possibility of female deacons in the Church is still an unresolved issue. Those who support it point to the past, where there were women who played key roles in the first Christian communities, especially in the East.
There are also references to these roles in the scriptures. In Chapter 16 in the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul refers to Phoebe, whom he called "deaconess" of the Church of Cenchreae. This is just one example of many found in various historical documents.
PHILIP GOYRET
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
In the Apostolic Constitutions, which is a document that dates back to the 4th century in Syria and has different versions, it speaks of deaconesses, there is even a rite of ordination of deaconesses. And again in the legislation of Justinian. Finally, even in the Council of Chalcedon there is a canon that has to do with deaconesses. In other words, there have been deaconesses. So, naturally, the argument is: well, if there have been deaconesses before, why can't there be now? That is the big question.
This was the question posed to Pope Francis by the group of nearly 900 women religious of the International Union of Superiors General in 2016. In fact, they sparked the possibility of setting up an official commission to study female deacons in the early Church.
SR. PATRICIA MURRAY
Executive Secretary, Union of Superiors General
For example, the issue of women deacons was raised three years ago with the Pope who set up a commission and he may speak in the future about the results of the work of that commission.
The commission, created in 2016, did not reach any conclusion. But during the Amazon Synod, the Pope formed a new one.
POPE FRANCIS
I accept the request to re-call the commission or, perhaps, to open it with new members to continue studying how the permanent diaconate existed in the early Church. They came to an agreement among everyone that was not clear.
In 2020, the Pope created the second commission of his pontificate dedicated to this issue. So far, the Vatican has not published any conclusions from this commission either.
The most recent time the issue came up for discussion was at the Synod on Synodality. And it was the most discussed point of all in the final document.
Experts like Philip Goyret point out that re-establishing a female diaconate in the Church will depend on the roles assigned to it. Many of the roles it had in the early Church are no longer useful. For example, female deacons were in charge of baptizing adult women, a sacrament that at the time was administered to them by submerging naked, so it was not appropriate for the bishop to be in charge. Goyret also points out that the concept of deacon has changed throughout the centuries.
PHILIP GOYRET
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
Is today's male diaconate—the only one that exists—the same as the female diaconate of the first centuries? This is the big question.
The best we can do is to compare the roles. From the comparison of the roles, the data that emerges is predominantly negative. Negative in the sense that we cannot copy the ancient female diaconate with the present diaconate.
Goyret emphasizes that it is necessary to keep the tradition and history of the Church in mind, because at a certain point, deaconesses were removed. But at the same time he notes that, at the theological level, there are no arguments that prevent a woman from being a deacon.
PHILIP GOYRET
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
The reason is respect for a tradition that is considered binding, but I insist that it is an issue that in the Church we do not have—it is fair to say—a negative dogmatic definition of the female diaconate.
The issue of the female diaconate in the Catholic Church is a delicate one. It came up in the last stage of the Synod and will be present once again at the October 2024 assembly.
CA/JRB
TR: AT
