deacon /deaconess

Are Women Deacons Coming to the Catholic Church?

There’s been much talk recently at the highest levels of the Catholic Church about the possibility of women deacons, and one theologian close to Pope Francis says that he’s in favor of it. Are women deacons even possible in the Catholic Church?

The Mother Church: Turning God Trans

Current rumblings about the introduction of deaconesses into the Catholic faith as a potential prelude to the ordination of female priests are as nothing compared to the latest gender-crazy news from the Church of England.

The Deaconess Idea Redux

The much-anticipated Synod in the fall is to discuss the question of deaconesses. As is the case with so many other stupid ideas, the Protestants have been ahead of us for centuries on the issue.

The Gnostic Feminism of Phyllis Zagano

One of the most high-ranking feminists in the Catholic Church is Phyllis Zagano, the well-known advocate for the ordination of women to the diaconate. A member of the papal commission to examine the historical precedents of deaconesses, Zagano has researched the subject extensively and is the author of many learned articles and several books. Phyllis … Read more

A Challenge to St. Paul on Women and a Reply to Fr. Scanlon

Editor’s note: The following essay by Dr. Harriet Murphy is a response to a column published in Crisis on July 27, 2016 by Fr. Regis Scanlon OFM Cap on the possibility of a female deaconate. Fr. Scanlon’s response to Dr. Murphy’s critique may be read here. Cultural historians of the future may well say that Fr. … Read more

Getting Scripture Wrong: A Response to Harriet Murphy

Dr. Harriet Murphy has taken a leap off a cliff of her own making in her broadside against my essay in Crisis on the female deaconate. She concludes that anyone (namely, me) who accepts the “literal” interpretation of 1 Tim 2:12-14—“I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man”—is somehow … Read more

Deaconesses and the Dangers of Antiquarianism

“Huge news: The female diaconate is not only an idea whose time has come, but a reality recovered from history.” ∼ Father James Martin, SJ With one “tweet” celebrating the new commission appointed by Pope Francis to study the possibility of the ordination of women to the diaconate, Father James Martin, SJ managed to perfectly encapsulate … Read more

When Dialogue is a Distraction

Pope Francis has announced a commission to study the female diaconate, following through on a suggestion he made to a group of women religious a few months ago. The announcement has been met with all manner of speculation and punditry, and not a little confusion. The confusion flows from the fact that the topic was … Read more

Women Deacons? A Matter of Authority

Pope Francis recently called for a commission to study the possibility of ordaining women to the diaconate in the Catholic Church. This might seem to be disturbing news because it suggests that the pope has opened up the possibility of ordaining women to the hierarchical and sacramental diaconate—a role which, throughout the history of the … Read more

Why the Church Needs a Commission on Deaconesses

The openness of Pope Francis to create a committee on deaconesses has been met with another uproar from traditionalists in the Church, many with the eye-rolling Reagan-esque response: “There he goes again.” Meanwhile the theological dissidents in the Church see the commission as another opportunity for women’s ordination. Both the traditionalists and the dissidents seem … Read more

In Lieu of Female Deacons, a Proposal

On October 6, 2015, Archbishop Paul-André Durocher of Gatineau, Canada surprised Catholic Synod observers when he called for more study on the possibility of women deacons. In the course of his allotted three-minute address to the assembled bishops at the Synod on the Family, the Archbishop suggested that admitting women to the permanent diaconate could … Read more

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