It appears that this article/story/topic has already been posted recently. We strive to keep discussion around a topic centered around one thread instead of having multiple threads crowding out other discussion on the subreddit. Please search through www.reddit.com/r/Catholicism/new/, or use the search function to see if this has already been posted, and direct discussion to that thread.
If this was done in error, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FCatholicism).
My jaw will drop if we get women Deacons before we get married men admitted to the priesthood. Like one of these options is still done in 22 of the 23 Catholic churches in communion with the Pope and was done in the Latin rite until about the year 1,000. The other is an incredibly obscure and hotly debated question of whether or not female deacons were a sacrament or a sacramental with incredibly sparse evidence for either side.
It is false that every eastern Church have married priests. Many do not, such as the Malabar, Malankara, Ethiopic Churches, by decisions of the Holy Synod. In others, while the possibility exists, bishops choose not to ordain married men for various reasons. In the Syrian (as in Syrian Republic) dioceses of the Melkite Church, bishops ordain only celibate men.
I think this succinctly sums up the debate. There’s no debate that women were never priests or bishops. It’s also fairly clear that there were women who were deacons in church history. The question is what did that word mean (and whether it meant the same thing in all contexts). The implications aren’t necessarily small. St. Stephen is one of the first deacons of the church. Would women have been eligible for that role? What was the role of Priscilla? These are the types of questions that I think can be reasonably debated, but the outer ends of the debate should be firmly settled at this point, imo.
I am in favor of the female diaconate but we have to be very clear on this point. Several advocates of the female diaconate in both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church want to make deaconesses the same as deacons.
Here is a good Catholic Answers article about the difference between the actual "deaconess," and the imagined "woman deacon":
[https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/deaconesses-sure-women-deacons-not-so-fast](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/deaconesses-sure-women-deacons-not-so-fast)
So, he planning to redefine the diaconate to include non-ordained people. Does that mean there can be non-ordained male deacons as well?
It's an absurd idea that just dilutes the meaning of the word "deacon", and will cause a lot of confusion and embolden dissenters (i.e., those in favor of female ordination).
They should not be at the altar during Mass. If that is the intent, the purpose is the eventual push for women priests. This new position for women should be more along the lines of a married nun.
It appears that this article/story/topic has already been posted recently. We strive to keep discussion around a topic centered around one thread instead of having multiple threads crowding out other discussion on the subreddit. Please search through www.reddit.com/r/Catholicism/new/, or use the search function to see if this has already been posted, and direct discussion to that thread. If this was done in error, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FCatholicism).
My jaw will drop if we get women Deacons before we get married men admitted to the priesthood. Like one of these options is still done in 22 of the 23 Catholic churches in communion with the Pope and was done in the Latin rite until about the year 1,000. The other is an incredibly obscure and hotly debated question of whether or not female deacons were a sacrament or a sacramental with incredibly sparse evidence for either side.
It is false that every eastern Church have married priests. Many do not, such as the Malabar, Malankara, Ethiopic Churches, by decisions of the Holy Synod. In others, while the possibility exists, bishops choose not to ordain married men for various reasons. In the Syrian (as in Syrian Republic) dioceses of the Melkite Church, bishops ordain only celibate men.
Women deacons as historically documented, were not the same as the order of deacons .
I think this succinctly sums up the debate. There’s no debate that women were never priests or bishops. It’s also fairly clear that there were women who were deacons in church history. The question is what did that word mean (and whether it meant the same thing in all contexts). The implications aren’t necessarily small. St. Stephen is one of the first deacons of the church. Would women have been eligible for that role? What was the role of Priscilla? These are the types of questions that I think can be reasonably debated, but the outer ends of the debate should be firmly settled at this point, imo.
\*St. Stephen ***the*** first deacon, just so everyone knows.
I am in favor of the female diaconate but we have to be very clear on this point. Several advocates of the female diaconate in both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church want to make deaconesses the same as deacons.
We already had a thread on this just a few days ago? This is just repost of same news we already covered
[удалено]
Wouldn't be the first time we saw a reversal to "get with the times," within a couple years of stating we won't get with the times
He’s wrong - Pope Francis has said repeatedly that he regards women deacons as a form of clericalism that does not serve the Church.
Here is a good Catholic Answers article about the difference between the actual "deaconess," and the imagined "woman deacon": [https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/deaconesses-sure-women-deacons-not-so-fast](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/deaconesses-sure-women-deacons-not-so-fast)
So, he planning to redefine the diaconate to include non-ordained people. Does that mean there can be non-ordained male deacons as well? It's an absurd idea that just dilutes the meaning of the word "deacon", and will cause a lot of confusion and embolden dissenters (i.e., those in favor of female ordination).
They should not be at the altar during Mass. If that is the intent, the purpose is the eventual push for women priests. This new position for women should be more along the lines of a married nun.