A response to the videos on women and the diaconate: ‘We are second-class clergy’

A deacon in one archdiocese dropped me a line this morning and made a few pointed observations about the video roundtable I took part in with America Media.

He felt there are other aspects of diaconal ministry—and the challenges deacons face—that should be kept in mind:

I cannot help but feel that the video did drift towards a more aspirational wish list as opposed to being rooted in reality.

It may seem provocative, but given the fact that women have had second-class status in our society and within our church’s structures, would women be satisfied within the reality of the diaconate that you and I and many deacons  are faced with every day?

• Each bishop can decide to have permanent deacons or not.
• Each bishop may decide to put a strong diocesan diaconate on ice on a whim when he comes, and not fill chancery posts as they become vacant.
• The quality of our formation may or may not be the same.
• Our formation / training may not result in a higher academic degree (unlike seminaries or even lay church professionals).
•We are not given opportunities to receive certification for our ministry such as a (Certification in Pastoral Counseling) that is afforded seminarians.
• We are often seen as interlopers/amateurs by both groups – we are rivals on their turf.
• We are neither fish nor fowl.
• If we apply for full-time church position, we compete for them as secular persons. Our insights and growth from our diaconal ministry is ignored.
• If we try to up our qualifications for a Master’s on our own dime—so that we can compete—we have to start from nothing. We may get letters like this: “We would love to have you join the MA program… however unless the formation classes you took were for graduate credit, they can’t be transferred in to replace our classes.”
• We are not compensated for our time… neither salary or health benefits, as you noted.
• If we loose our jobs the church is not obligated to help us.
• In an increasingly aggressive secular culture, we may be subject to discrimination and silently persecuted to the cost of our jobs and benefits.

Would true justice be served? We are second-class clergy. We are neither fish nor fowl.

Obviously, your mileage may vary. Not every diocese (or every deacon) has the same problems. But the issues he raises are worth noting, and people should understand that, along with opportunities, this particular level of clergy brings its own set of challenges.

As I mentioned in the third segment: being a deacon doesn’t necessarily confer the status some think—and a number of deacons still encounter marginalization, if not outright hostility, from some priests and bishops.

I hasten to add: I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m blessed to have a deacon-friendly pastor—who is himself the son of a deacon—and a deacon-friendly bishop, who has put deacons in key positions in the diocese and has been immensely supportive of our ministry. But I know, from a lot of encounters around the country, that not everyone is as fortunate.