Discussions about women’s ordination to the priesthood have become livelier in the waning days of the synod on synodality, Pope Francis’ month-long summit to discuss pressing issues facing the church. While there’s a consensus that women’s roles need to be promoted, participants remain divided on how to achieve that goal. The Vatican’s synod, which started Read more
An early church deacon’s example saw 56 pilgrims from four countries gather in Mexico City on Saturday. They were there to celebrate St Phoebe’s feast day. St Phoebe is mentioned in the New Testament’s Letter to the Romans just once. She was an associate of St Paul and a female deacon of the early church. Read more
The Vatican commission exploring the possibility of female deacons has not been able to agree on whether women in the early Christian church were ordained as deacons in the same way men were. Pope Francis says each of the 12 commission members (six men and six women) have quite different positions on the issue, and Read more
Austrian bishop Manfred Scheuer has written to Pope Francis explaining people are calling for married priests and female deacons in the future ordained ministry. Scheuer told Francis with regards to the Eucharist as the font, center, and summit of the life of the church, three changes are called for. Read more:
The possibility of the Church ordaining women as deacons remains an open question, according to Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Reflecting that he recently had ordained 14 men to the permanent diaconate, the Cardinal of Vienna said “perhaps one day also female deacons.” There had been female deacons in the Church in the past, he says. Read more