Not even four months into his pontificate, Pope Francis had already ruled out the possibility of ordaining women.
July 28, 2013
POPE FRANCIS
Regarding the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says “no”. John Paul II said so and with a definitive formula.
But Pope Francis is willing to study other possibilities such as women's access to what he calls non-ordained "diaconal ministry." It was what he suggested at the last Synod:
“It is necessary to follow discernment in this regard.”
Today the diaconate is seen as the prelude to the priesthood. But in ancient times this was not the case. Deacons like Stephen were dedicated to social issues. The only deaconess in the Bible is Phoebe, but her work is not said to have liturgical implications. Centuries later, some churches did incorporate a ritual for the appointment of deaconesses but it is not clear that they were part of the clergy.
May 7, 2019
POPE FRANCIS
In the beginning there were deaconesses. but was it a sacramental ordination or not? There is discussion about this and it is not clear. Yes, they helped, for example in the liturgy, in baptisms: as baptisms were by immersion, when a woman was baptized the deaconesses helped; also for the anointing of the woman's body.
This issue was the one that generated the most tension within the Synod. Two proposals stood out.
Some suggested giving a title to women who are key in Catholic communities. That could be deaconesses. Others, on the other hand, called for full ordination to the priesthood for women who want it.
During one of the meetings the Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith did not seem convinced of this second option.
CARD. VÍCTOR MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ
Prefect, Doctrine of the Faith
If it turns out that there were women with great authority over communities and even over a region of the church on the planet, authority that even priests did not have, are they worth less if they were not ordained, if they were lay? Are they worth less? And here I understand when the Pope says not to “clericalize”.
In the meantime, the Pope ordered months ago the creation of a study group to analyze the issue. Its conclusions are expected in June 2025.
TR: JD
