28th May, 2026
In the last few months, several of the writers/speakers featured on this Liturgy on the Margins blog have published responses to the Report from the president of the Vatican Commission on Woman Deacons, Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, to Pope Leo XIV.
Firstly, for the January edition of the Australian Catholic Deacons Association Newsletter, Elizabeth Young rsm was asked to write about women and the Vatican Synod Study Group reports. The above-mentioned Commission report came out just before the newsletter went to press. Her conclusion is as follows:
At this time, unfortunately, no one can tell what this means for the ‘open discernment’ [of Synod on Synodality paragraph 60 on women deacons]. Heidi Schlumpf, writing in Commonweal, seems to have a good grasp of the matter. Her title raises the challenge: Will the Women Deacons Debate Doom Synodality? Indeed. As women who have been exploring the value of the diaconate for both women and men, we have had great faith in the synodal processes. Yet who knows how the Spirit works? The Synod on Synodality has certainly raised this topic as one for legitimate discernment around the world. However, it may take an unexpected and non-synodal prompt to shift it into gear. Still, God has always moved in mysterious ways and anyone who reads the bible cannot fail to live in hope.
Addendum:
Since this article was written, the Vatican Commission on Woman Deacons has published the results of their investigation… This finding was reached in July 2022, before the Commission was given the study task by the Synod on Synodality, and was not agreed to by all members of the Commission. The results also highlighted two theological ‘schools of thought’ regarding the diaconate and other ministries. It raises questions about the nature of the entire diaconate and the meaning of ordination. These are certainly worthy of more exploration. May we continue to discern, and I pray that it includes sincere theological and synodal processes.
Then, in February, Patty Fawkner SGS wrote an article in The Good Oil called ‘Baptismal inequality exposed as ordination of women deacons denied’. Here are some of her words:
The continuing ban on women’s ordination to the diaconate reminds me of an event I attended a few months ago, when the Lawson parish community celebrated a Mass to thank and farewell the Good Samaritan Sisters who had served in the Blue Mountains area for nearly 100 years.
At the beginning of Mass, six adults occupied the sanctuary – two priests, one deacon, two altar servers and an MC – all male.
Towards the end of Mass, three politicians were invited to speak – the Federal Minister, the State Member and the Deputy Mayor – all female. A potent ‘sign of the times’.
These three women were warm, articulate, competent and inclusive of each other and of the congregation.
It occurred to me then, as it does now, how anachronistic the Church continues to be regarding women. The visible absence of women in ordained liturgical leadership is in sharp contrast to the roles women play in civil society.
With this latest exclusion of women to the diaconate, I feel demoralised, disappointed and, above all, deeply sad that our Church, which, let’s be honest, wouldn’t function without women’s contribution, puts stringent boundaries on this contribution and in so doing limits the efficacy of the Church’s mission…
Women already practice Diakonia, that rich Greek term which essentially means compassionate service to others in imitation of Jesus. We know that there were women deacons in the early Church, but contemporary opponents of women deacons argue that though they existed they had a different function than ordained male deacons.
I hope and pray that one day for those women who feel called, their service will be officially recognised by allowing them to be ordained as deacons with the same function as their male counterparts.
In March, Nimmi Candappa wrote an article for Eureka Street called ‘The Vatican said ‘no’ to women deacons. But is the theology that simple?’ Here is a some selected sections of her piece:
While the question of women priests has been considered closed by the Church, the extension of this argument to women deacons warrants closer examination. In particular, it raises questions about what it truly means to act ‘in the person of Christ’, and whether the application of this concept to the diaconate is theologically consistent.
When we consider the wide diversity of those admitted to Holy Orders across race, ethnicity, age, height and build, facial features, hair and skin colour, we can comfortably conclude that resembling or representing the ‘person of Christ’ has never been understood as a matter of physical appearance or ethnicity…
This narrowing raises an uncomfortable question. Can the fullness of who Christ is, the source of mercy and justice, wisdom and self-giving love, saviour and servant, be reduced to biological sex alone? Such a reduction risks flattening the richness of Christ’s humanity and mission into a single physical attribute, rather than a total life offered for the salvation of the world…
For example, when considering women deacons, focus is placed on the sex of Jesus, while other scriptural dimensions are downplayed. The Gospels present Christ as embodying both the Word (Logos) and the Wisdom (Sophia) of God, imagery traditionally gendered as male and female. Yet this richness is rarely integrated into contemporary arguments.
A similar pattern appears in relation to physical disability. Scriptural passages once excluded those with bodily ‘blemishes’ from serving at the altar (cf. Leviticus 21). Today, such texts are interpreted symbolically, allowing men with disabilities to be ordained on the basis of spiritual rather than physical perfection, leaving open the path to Holy Orders for men with disabilities…
In line with true synodality, grass-roots-level discernment also needs to be considered. Convinced of the Holy Spirit’s consistent teaching in such matters, one constructive path forward would be to assess women expressing a diaconal vocation through the same processes used for male candidates.
If discernment consistently confirms that such vocations are not of God, it would offer clarity and closure for these women nurturing a particular vocation. If, however, the Spirit reveals something broader than current assumptions allow, the Church would be invited into deeper fidelity…
A deacon’s life is one of service, liturgy, and proclamation of the Word. There is no gender to loving God. No gender to sacrifice. No gender to justice, mercy, compassion, or service. These are the qualities Christ embodied and entrusted to his Church. Rather than excluding women solely on the basis of sex, the Church might better serve its mission by embracing all who seek to embody Christ’s self-giving love, and to draw others into the wide mercy of God.
Then in the April edition of Australian Catholic Deacons Association Newsletter, which is only available to subscribers, Deacon Anthony Gooley wrote an ‘Initial Response to the Study Commission on Female Diaconate: Part 1″ (pages 8-14). We eagerly wait for Part 2. Here are some of his words:
The first commission also claimed, “It seems evident that this ministry was not intended as the simple female equivalent of the male diaconate.”
Without the work of this commission publicly available for scrutiny by the wider scholarly community it is impossible to assess what evidence was considered to reach this “obvious” conclusion. I wonder how many sources would be required to offer a counter conclusion. It is not evident to me nor to many other scholars that the ministry of female deacons was not intended as the sacramental equivalent to male deacons. This is so even if they exercised different functions. The question is not equivalence of functions but equivalence of sacramental theology. Throughout history the functions of presbyters and deacons and bishops have changed dramatically from one era to another…
As noted, we cite the Apostolic Constitutions in Lumen gentium 29 with reference to the ministry of deacons. We take this document and its ritual for the ordination of men as deacons as reflecting what at the time the Church would have considered the sacramental ordination of men. If this same document contains the same ritual for women deacons, should we not also accept the sacramental basis of women as deacons. If not, what reason could we give for accepting one and not the other?…
Our first obvious reference to a woman deacon is Phoebe mentioned in Romans 16. She is simply described as the deacon (diaconos) Phoebe. Diaconos is the same word Paul uses to describe male deacons. She is not called a diaconissa (deaconess).
Did people contemporary with Paul and in the early Church understand the reference to her as deacon as title designating her participation in the ministry of deacon? The answer is affirmative…
The December 4 document states that “a purely historical perspective does not allow us to reach any definitive certainty. Ultimately, the question must be decided on a doctrinal level.”
I agree, the doctrinal questions are key. We need a very careful examination of what we mean by ministry, ordained ministry and the relationship between the three forms in which the sacrament of Holy Orders is present to us. In this consideration we need to ask questions about the necessity of insisting on sequential installations and ordinations based on the cursus honorum (course of honours). The meaning of ordination, the understanding of sacramental grace, who is considered clergy, and the relationship between the lay and ordained ministers which have all undergone historical, cultural and doctrinal development…
The history needs to be explored fully and we need to ask of the sources how the sacrament of Holy Orders was understood at the time of the sources in order for us to develop doctrinal clarity about the ordination of women deacons, in a similar process that repeats what the Council was able to achieve with regard to bishops.
The December 4 statement concludes about the question of the ordination of women as deacons, “Therefore, the issues relating to the ordination of women as deacons remain open to further theological and pastoral study.”…
I strongly suggest that this work be done in public and not through commissions bound to secrecy. I suggest that there be regular seminars and conferences around the world over the next few years to explore these questions. The papers from such conferences could be collected and made available for episcopal conferences throughout the world to reflect on this important question. Part of this reflection process must include investigation of what is diaconal ministry. We have not yet, in my view, fully received this ministry into the Catholic Church…
One caveat on this reflection on the diaconate in general, is that it should not be seen as lock step, that is, we don’t need to articulate the male diaconate fully and then reflect on women deacons. The two reflections can and should proceed together.
Finally, in May, Dr Phyllis Zagano published her book ‘The Vatican and Women Deacons’, available in Australia at Catholic sources Pauline Book Centre or Garratt Publishing. It is a fantastic read, which could leave the reader informed and frustrated. The history of Vatican commissions on women deacons since Vatican II has been a roller coaster, with much of it hidden from public view. Zagano is comprehensive, with clear references to the sources she has put together. There have been numerous discussions of reinstituting women deacons at the highest levels. However, hope has often given way to yet more inconclusive study.
Somehow, in a beautiful conclusion, Zagano still has the following vision:
The most likely scenario is that the current pope, or the next pope, will present a motu proprio that affirms the decisions of several popes before him, granting permission for bishops to ordain women as deacons: “…what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.” (page 174)
In this week after Pentecost, may we feel the Spirit moving through these discussions and studies, and may they lead to the ripening of the diaconal fruit.
Liturgy on the Margins 