By all accounts, Pope Francis has had an eventful papacy. This first pope from the Americas has breathed new life into the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, refashioned the Vatican’s staid bureaucracy, and pushed the Catholic Church to focus on the needs of the environment and global peripheries. One especially interesting turn: Only 22 Read more
Australia’s fifth plenary council (PC) finished on a united note on the final day of voting last Friday. The PC’s final acts will now be compiled and sent to Rome for ratification. PC vice president Bishop Shane Mackinlay says he believes “in time we will look back on this as an extremely significant event in Read more
The Second Assembly of Australia’s Plenary Council was disrupted on Wednesday when a vote to include women as deacons failed to attract enough support from Australian bishops. As a result, some delegates protested – they refused to take their seats and stood at the back of the meeting room. The Catholic Weekly understands the protest Read more
The confluence of two events, one Roman Catholic and the other Orthodox, point to a growing appreciation of the fact that women are indeed made in the image and likeness of God and are suited for altar service. In Catholicism, the argument against ordaining women to any grade of order rests in the intimation that Read more
Casey Stanton wanted to offer encouragement, love and healing to the inmates at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where she served as a chaplain intern a few years ago. But as a Catholic woman she could not represent her church there in any official capacity. The state of North Carolina requires chaplains in Read more
It is almost two years since Pope Francis said he would re-form the commission on female deacons. Although he announced the new members’ names in April 2020, their meetings have been delayed as a result of COVID 19. On Monday, however, the new commission confirmed it will hold its first meeting in Rome in the Read more
Legions of female church workers at every level in parishes and chanceries, at episcopal conferences — and even at the Vatican — welcomed and welcome Pope Francis’ efforts to eliminate clericalism. The general perception that “they” (clerics) do not need “us” (women) seems to be fading. Or is it? The great diversity of the “church Read more
Now it is formally illegal to ordain a woman as a deacon. Or as a priest. Or as a bishop. On June 1, Pope Francis promulgated revisions to the Code of Canon Law detailing crimes and punishments. The new “Book VI: Penal Sanctions in the Church” takes effect on December 8. Most of the revisions Read more
Women deacons are in effect working well in the Church, except we do not call them deacons, and they are not ordained. This is the view of Dr Joe Grayland, theologian, author and parish priest of three parishes in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He questions whether we need another form of the clergy. Grayland made Read more
A new expert commission has been appointed to examine the possibility of women deacons. Pope Francis approved the 10-member commission, which is the second one he has appointed during his pontificate. The commission members include equal numbers of men and women representing the United States and six European countries. Deacons are ordained ministers who can Read more