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A Catholic woman has won a court case against the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, after being twice denied access to deacon training.
Veer Dusauchoit (pictured), 62, argued the refusal violated the Belgian Constitution. The court agreed, fining Archbishop Luc Terlinden and his predecessor Cardinal Jozef De Kesel €1,500 each.
The court however made the point that it does not have the authority to judge church matters.
Luc De Cleir, spokesperson for the Mechelen court, stated “The court considers that the archbishops made an error in assessing the application. It concerns only admission to training, not the question of actual ordination as a deacon”.
The archdiocese is reviewing the ruling and might appeal.
The Catholic Church restricts the diaconate, a degree of Holy Orders, to men.
“It’s not because she is a woman”
Father Tommy Scholtes, spokesperson for the Belgian bishops’ conference, highlighted “a certain paradox in the court’s decision which condemns while declaring itself incompetent to define who can be admitted to diaconal training”.
Scholtes defended against sexism accusations, stating “It’s not because she is a woman, but for now only men can be ordained as deacons. The bishops considered that since the person could not be ordained, it was inappropriate for her to undergo the training”.
He added “We could just as well have been criticised for admitting someone to the training while knowing she could not complete it”.
Scholtes suggested that the Belgian Church is relatively progressive regarding female deacons. “We have requested that a theological commission explore this question at the next session of the Synod”. This is scheduled for October.
Ambiguity in the judgement
Louis-Léon Christians, a law and religion professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, believes the ruling will not set a legal precedent. He pointed out the ambiguity in the judgment, where the judge acknowledged religious freedom and the Church’s internal affairs while ruling on compensation.
According to Mr Christians, two lessons can be drawn from this case. Firstly, the church would undoubtedly benefit from a better welcoming of individuals’ requests, where the judge noted an “immediate refusal to consider”.
Secondly, “there is a lack of a culture of credible conflict within the church” the Belgian canonist remarked. He added that “if the church were a little more concerned with its own law and procedures, the faithful would be more inclined to turn to it rather than to civil justice”.
Pope Francis recently reiterated that the ordination of female deacons is not under consideration.
In an interview with CBS, the pontiff had said “If we are talking about deacons with Holy Orders, no. But women always have the function of deaconesses without being deacons”. He highlighted the significant service women provide within the church without formal ordination.
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