Do We Need Women Deacons?

Marie Therese Levey rsj, 3 August 2023

This week I am sharing an article written by Marie Levey rsj that she has kindly offered for publication. Marie lives in Sydney, New South Wales.

In Chapter 16 of his letter to the Romans, St Paul writes “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the Church at Cenchreae, that you may receive her in the Lord ….and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many.”

In the third century Didascalia and the fourth century Apostolic Constitutions, deaconesses were placed in a higher rank than widows. The Catholic Encyclopedia points out:

There can be no question that before the middle of the fourth century, women were permitted to exercise certain definite functions in the Church, and were known by the special name of diakonoi or diakonissai.

CONSECRATED WOMEN IN SERIOUS DECLINE

Since the nineteenth century, many fervent young Australian Catholic women desired to serve the Church they love in fulltime active ministry. The only realistic choice they had seems to have been the consecrated life in a religious order. The active ministry which was most needed and which attracted most candidates, was/is that of Catholic education. But they also served in caring for the altars, in nursing and in pastoral ministries. Yet professed religious women, for such a choice, not only had to give up marriage and motherhood (Vow of Chastity), they also had to give up the right to property ownership (Vows of Obedience and Poverty).

Amazing as it seems now, from c.1900 to c.1970 such religious orders were flourishing in developed countries like Australia. Since then, in general, they have gone into serious decline. Why, how, has this decline happened?

POST WAR YEARS

In the 1950s post-war baby-boom years, some members of religious orders, to keep Catholic schools open, worked under well-nigh impossible conditions with classes each of 60-100+ children. Clearly such a situation could not go on. Diocesan authorities were forced to build new schools. Lay teachers had to be trained and employed. The administration of school fees, wages for lay staff, and stipends for religious, were gradually taken over by the dioceses.

In 1953, Pope St Pius XII, arguably the most forward-thinking leader of the 20th century, recommended that religious women modify the habits for practical use. He did not mean get rid of them altogether.

Over the years from then on however, various models of religious dress were tried. Few have succeeded in achieving, for active ministry, a realistic street length, modest yet becoming, recognizable religious dress. By the 80s many had lost their original public identity.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Prior to the 60s Australian Catholic parish schools were generally staffed and managed by consecrated religious Sisters. Such Sisters taught girls to leaving school age (NSW the old Intermediate Certificate, age 15) when the girls were considered ready for work. Boys left the parish schools at Years 3- 5 to go to the Brothers in secondary schools. Australian governments recognized that Education for our youth needed to be upgraded for the future of our nation. In NSW the Wyndham Scheme for Secondary Education began in NSW in 1962. It radically altered the nature and size of parish schools which then became Primary only. Girls were lost to their local parish schools during the years when life decisions were made. In the new Catholic Colleges largely staffed by competent lay teachers, religious women became less visible.

In December 1972 Gough Whitlam became Australia’s 21st Prime Minister and abolished university fees. The financial cost to the country was extreme, but people of all ages, including religious women who would never otherwise have had such an opportunity, enrolled for university degrees.

CHANGE IN AUTHORITY

From c.1975 local principals of schools, at first mainly religious Sisters, became responsible for recruiting staff, and were accountable to diocesan authorities. This moved responsibility for missioning from religious superiors and its association with the Vow of Obedience. Stipends went directly to religious superiors and teaching Sisters were not legally employed. Lay teachers, on the other hand, were of course legally employed. Thus the employed teacher was sometimes given preference over religious personnel. It was not lost to perceptive young women considering their futures.

My beloved founder, St Mary MacKillop, once wrote to her Sisters: “Don’t be troubled about the future of the Institute. I am not. He whose work it is, will take care of it.”

Would that we all had such faith!

CONCLUSION

The above article is not meant to be a criticism of consecrated religious life. The present writer has never regretted the decision that she made those many years ago. But the statistics are not promising for the consecrated life in active ministry.

The Church needs the female genius in evangelization. Dedicated Catholic women need more life choices in carrying the Gospel message. They should be given every possible opportunity of spreading the love of Jesus Christ in ways that only women can.

Would female deacons be the answer?

Marie Therese Levey has been a school teacher and liturgical musician most of her life. She has written five books on liturgical music, the most recent (2021) being The Place of the Kyriale in Catholic History, Liturgy and Music. This book, which also becomes a history of Western Music Theory, is available in hard copy from The Shop at Mary MacKillop Place and in ebook from Amazon.

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