Lots of conversation and little information: women are allowed to serve as lectors and acolytes since the new Code of Canon Law in 1983, but the interpretation in th 1990s did not say women could be formall installed as such, both of which are required for diaconal ordination.
Deacons are ordained and carry out some of the same duties as priests, such as preach at Mass and officiate at weddings. The issue will be discussed at Pope Francis' synod, or monthlong meeting, in Rome in October.
Thursday, Sept 3, is the feast of St. Phoebe, Deacon (in the martyrology but not the Ordo).
Through the intercession of St. Phoebe, we pray for the ministry of deacons, for the papal commission on the female diaconate, and for the Church to restore women to the diaconate.
Dear God, We praise you for the witness of St. Stephen, patron saint of deacons. More than ever, your Church needs women and men to minister as St. Stephen did. Send your Spirit to guide Pope Francis' discernment of the return of women to the diaconate. Amen.
Today is the feast of two deacons: 1) St Gregory the Great, who as a deacon was elected pope in the 7th century; 2) St Phoebe, who carried St Paul's Letter to the Romans and who he calls deacon (not deaconess). Pass it along.
@FrMatthewLC
@AlessandraH17
Sorry, incorrect St Paul introduces St Phoebe as a deacon of the Church and as such, she carried his letter to the Romans. Women were routinely ordained as deacons in the ancient Church, up to the 12th century, when only men destined for priesthood were ordained as deacons.
It is appalling to see an organization that claims to be Catholic project pro-abortion messaging onto a structure that celebrates the conception of the Mother of God. via
@americamag
Thought for the day: “The majority of bishops [at the Amazon Synod] were in favor of admitting women to the permanent diaconate…. My hope would be that they would find a pathway to make that a reality.”
BISHOP ROBERT W. MCELROY OF SAN DIEGO
+Pierre: "embarking on a new path involves growing pains...patience and discernment are necessary...a divided Church will never lead others to the unity desired by Christ."
@RichRaho
It is as simple as this: if the Synod does not ask for women to be ordained as deacons, it is denying their baptismal dignity and saying women cannot image Christ.
During the audience, the women invited the pope to consider the full and equal participation of women in the church, including through preaching in parish settings and ordination as deacons. via
@americamag
Your bishop is at the USCCB meeting. Be sure he knows he can install women as lectors and acolytes now! Here is the letter from the Dicastery for Divine Worship:
There is a place for apologetics, to be sure, but unless pastoral leaders distinguish apologetics from evangelization, we will continue to drive away five young people for every one we attract. via
@NCRonline
The only person in Scripture called “deacon” is named in Paul’s Letter to the Romans, where he addresses the deacon—the woman deacon—Phoebe. via
@americamag
The Commemoration of Saint Phoebe is Sept 3 in the Roman Martyrology. In 1969, the Vatican moved Gregory I (of the "Mary Magdalen was a prostitute story") from March 12, to Sept 3. So there is no way to celebrate Phoebe and her role as deaccon (Romans 16:1-2) is never heard.
Talking about restoring women to the diaconate need not be controversial—there is no need to whisper or look over our shoulders when we mention it. via
@americamag
@americamag
From the article: "But it’s not only about [making] everything about women deacons. There has to be another way in which we respect that women bring a particular gift..." (What about women imaging Christ?
@cwwhiteNCR
The work has been done and the topic has been discussed for 50 years. The ITC found in favor of women deacons in 1997, but the president, Cardinal Ratzinger, refused to promulgate the findings.
Through the intercession of St. Phoebe, we pray for the ministry of deacons, for the papal commission on the female diaconate, and for the Church to restore women to the ordained diaconate. Sept 3 is Feast of St. Phoebe.
@dearmisskate
@archedinburgh
Ordaining women as deacons has nothing to do with "activity" and everything to do with women made in the omage and likeness of God, thereby able to be icons of Christ.
@HeidiSchlumpf
Allowing women to legally be near the sacred is more than a baby step. The 1983 Code allowed any lay person to temporarily fulfill the ministry of lector or acolyte, but it took many years for women to be included in "any lay person". This signifies "equal humanity."
New structure for the Church in the
#Amazon
points the way for reform.
**Embeds a structure for discernment
**Builds on Vatican II
**Makes the periphery the centre
**Includes women, indigenous
Interview with
@mauloco29
in
@The_Tablet
#AmazonSynod
From this report: "Mescher recounted how when one survivor spoke with a bishop, describing sexual assault that began when she was 6 years old, "the bishop said, 'Well, you must've been pretty developed for a 6-year-old to catch the eye of a priest.'"
Fact: Pope Gregory I started the rumor that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute in 591. In 1969 Gergory's Memorial was moved from March 12, to Sept 3, the feast of St Phoebe, the only person in Scripture called "deacon." St Phoebe is in the Roman Martyrology as a Commemoration.
@holysmoke
@stambrose
Why is this guy so angry? St Ambrose U. created an event, and it was spectacular. This critic was not there, nor did he attend online, so how does he know anything about it?
"Most of the continental assemblies and the syntheses of several episcopal conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate." Synod document sets stage for wide-ranging debate on women via
@NCRonline
@cwwhite212
@BishopBarron
@NCRonline
Barron has suggested "something like a mandatum for those who claim to teach the Catholic faith online, whereby a bishop affirms that the person is teaching within the full communion of the Church." ??? It is already in Canon Law and ignored by preist-bloggers and their bishops.
Comments from the uninformed echo chamber of the anti-Francis crowd:
George Weigel: Melancholy overshadows tenth anniversary of Francis’ pontificate via
@catholic_weekly
So today, the Rome-educated associate pastor who preached that he dishonest steward showed how to make friends in business, said you only listen to 3 women: mother, grandmother, and the GPS lady.
@dianemontagna
@GrechMario
@EdwardPentin
@Synod_va
The Church is perfectly able to restore women to thecordained diaconate. Thr current impediment is a "merely ecclesiastical law" that can be changed. There is no Magisterial teaching against ordaining women as deacons.
@mfjlewis
Can. 906 Except for a just and reasonable cause, a priest is not to celebrate the eucharistic sacrifice without the participation of at least some member of the faithful
@holysmoke
@NCRonline
36 deacons were elected bishop of Rome between the 5th and 7th centuries and were never made priests, but were consecrated as bishops. This is well-known to historians, although it is no longer the practice.
@mfjlewis
Write the Metropolitan, archbishoplistecki
@archmil
.org--the Bishop of Madison supports Z's abuse of the ritual, which he is using twice today!
@father_rmv
This dated opinion article by Fr Scanlan is incorrect. There is significant documentation of the sacramental ordination of women as deacons, East and West.
Over the past eight years, a powerful U.S.-based media conglomerate has used its formidable wealth and power to turn a large portion of the people of God against Rome. via
@americamag
'How do we govern ourselves democratically? How do we do so in a way in which division and bigotry are not the hallmarks of our discourse and our public action?'—Cardinal Robert McElroy, listing questions for via
@NCRonline
@NCRegister
Actually, there is no doctrine against the restoration of women to the ordained diaconate. The writers mentioned all depend on scant historical resources to prove a negative. The writer of the newspaper article is misinformed. In any event, history alone is not dispositive.
@Chris_SmithsJ
@ThomasReeseSJ
@Cindy_Wooden
The CNA article is based on a mistranslation and misunderstanding of Chapter 12 of a book, which repeats an interview of some 8 months ago. Pope Francis did not rule out the diaconate.
@HeidiSchlumpf
Many deacons were consecrated as bishops between the 5th and 7th centuries. "Priestly faculties" are a very late way of describing the abilities of certain clerics to celebrate Eucharist.
@joshjmac
The history of C. 1024 is rooted in priestly ordination, which equals "sacred ordination" which is not the term used for the diaconate. The diaconate is not part of priesthood.
Grace on the Margins: Pope Francis may want to condemn violence against women, but my own experience of domestic violence showed me that sometimes church teaching only makes things worse.