Women engage in diakonia

All week I have been thinking about posting something that was not a homily. In pondering that I also thought it would refreshing to write to about something other than the pandemic, which I am following with interest, as I suspect nearly everyone is. This morning an article from The Tablet came to my attention. The article, written by Mary Ring, is entitled "Women are already deacons."

Before even reading "Women are already deacons," I thought, with the words of the short title in mind, "No truer words could be written." I am happy to report that I did persist in reading Ring's piece. It mostly amounts to her critique of the newly formed commission established by Pope Francis. Unlike the previous commission, which had the mandate to examine the history of woman deacons, the new commission's mandate is about the possibility of ordaining women deacons. Ring is quite right, I think, to point out the glaring fact that the first commission's report has never been released. I agree with her that it should be, at least at some point. I, for one, would like to read it. Perhaps both reports will be made public together because the first report will be used to inform the deliberations of the newly appointed Commission.

I understand the misgivings of many people about the composition of the new Commission on Women Deacons appointed by Pope Francis. I guess, at least for me, I am not going to pre-judge. This commission has a broader mandate than the previous one. Its focus is more immediate. Given the members of the commission, none of whom seem, based on their previous work, to favor ordaining women, it occurred to me that, if nothing else, it might surface and articulate the biggest issues/objections to undertaking such a historic change to sacramental practice, which, being sacramental, has to do with the Church's very constitution.

Armenian woman deacon chanting the Gospel

While I agree with the Holy Father that we can't wait for the theologians to reach a consensus to do anything substantial, this particular issue requires re-starting the work of the Council, which, by calling for a permanent diaconate that could even be conferred on married men, began to address a not-very-good theology of orders that developed in the Latin Church, particularly the cursus honorum.

Let's not forget, just as there is a priesthood of all the baptized, there is a diaconate of all the baptized. Diakonia is an inherent part of any genuinely Christian spirituality, which fundamentally consists of three basic disciplines, taught by Christ himself: prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. I contend that another name for alms-giving is diakonia. Women, generally speaking, are more engaged in diakonia than men. In my view, this should count for a lot in the Church's discernment.

Keeping the above in mind, there is another matter that Pope Francis keeps mentioning, namely his concern that the Church not be thoroughly clericalized. He is very serious about overcoming clericalism. We need to always keep in mind that the fundamental sacrament of Christian life is not orders, but baptism. This is fundamental to the Council's teaching and an important retrieval for which we owe a debt to Protestant reformers.

Now, the Holy Father's expressed concerns do not by themselves exclude the possibility of women being ordained deacons. Obviously, the Holy Father sees this as an important matter. As a result, he is looking at the question in-depth. He is also serious about including women in the Church's governance. He has made notable strides regarding this in the Roman Curia.