A Question of Female Deacons: Let’s Not Get Ahead of the Church.

But We Already Had a Commission!

Right you are! In 2002 the International Theological Commission studied this question. They leaned heavily toward the “don’t ordain” side of the argument, but when it came time to make a recommendation they left the question open, saying:

In the light of these elements which have been set out in the present historico-theological research document, it pertains to the ministry of discernment which the Lord established in his Church to pronounce authoritatively on this question.

Nothing was done. The Pope at that time, did not pronounce authoritatively. And so now the Church looks again.

This is Just Like Female Altar Servers, and Will Only Take Away from the Priesthood.

Yes! Someone actually said this to me! This betrays two extremely serious misunderstandings! 1) Deacons are clergy. Altar boys are not, not even close! The Deacon has given his life for the Church and made some very serious sacrifices after discerning a vocational call. The altar boy did what his parents told him to. 2) The Diaconal ordination is not “a step on the road to priesthood.” The permanent diaconate is a completely separate ordination, different from priestly ordination not merely in degree, but in kind. The Priest and Bishop are configured to Christ the High Priest. The Deacon is configured to Christ the Servant. The Deacon is not a Junior Priest. He has roles and tasks that are right and proper to him.

So let’s clear this up quickly. As much as I prefer a mass with altar boys, there is nothing particularly more holy or more orthodox to it. The mass is not dependent on whether the altar servers are all boys. The mass isn’t even dependent on whether altar servers are present. It can help introducing children to the Holy; but there are many other things that accomplish the same thing. So let’s not even bring them into this clerical question, mmkay?

As to the second misunderstanding, it’s a little bit more understandable. For many years, in the absence of a permanent diaconate, priests were first ordained to the transitional diaconate, as a clerical step toward their final ordination. This created the illusion that these deacons were “junior priests” because everyone knew their intent was priesthood, and they wouldn’t be finished until they’d arrived there. This is, and was always a false illusion.

Take a good look at Pope Francis next time you see him on the TV screen, and realize you’re looking at a deacon. Ordination to the diaconate leaves an indelible mark on the soul in the same way that baptism and the priesthood do. Pope Francis will never be “not a deacon.” This is true of every priest you know. He didn’t graduate from the diaconate. He is permanently configured to Christ the Servant. He is currently both Priest and Deacon. These two configurations to Christ coexist. One does not wipe out the other. As I said earlier, they are two different vocations, two different ordinations. Now that the permanent diaconate has been restored, we are still trying to figure out all the implications, but the Church has made steady progress in her understanding of this essential order.

Well, It Seems as if They’ve Already Made Up Their Minds!