A commission formed at the request of Pope Francis to study the history and theology of a female diaconate concluded its work in February. At the request of Pope Leo, its conclusions were published today.
The commission "rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders."
But it says that it does "not at present allow for a definitive judgment to be formulated, as is the case with priestly ordination.”
The commission also notes that there is need for “a rigorous and wide-ranging critical examination focused on the diaconate in itself — that is, on its sacramental identity and its ecclesial mission — clarifying certain structural and pastoral aspects that are currently not fully defined.”
Indeed, there are entire continents in which the diaconal ministry is “almost nonexistent” and others where it is active with functions often “coinciding with roles proper to lay ministries or to altar servers in the liturgy.”
Vatican News published an explanation of the findings as well as a history of the work of the commission. It can be read here.
