Before the deacon's role becomes permanent...

Now that ordination (to the diaconate) is approved for married men, why not for women?

When, in 1967, the catholic church of the man Rite instituted a program authorizing the ordination of married men to the diaconate, it sent a mixed message to the bishops, priests, religious, and lay members of the church. The diaconate itself had long been part of the church as one step in the progression of men to the ordained priesthood. Men were ordained subdeacon, then deacon, then priest, but these orders, together with lesser orders such as acolyte, were temporary. The new order was--as its title indicated--permanent, and, probably more important, it was open to married rather than celibate men.

The reaction to the introduction of the new order was indeed mixed and continues so to this day. Some bishops, for example, wanted no part of the new married diaconate for a variety of reasons. Some were suspected of considering married deacons a kind of "watering down" of ordination to the priesthood. Others were said to object on the basis of "What am I going to do with them?" Many priests, especially pastors, raised, privately or publicly, the same kinds of objections. Laypeople on the whole were somewhat puzzled--but open to persuasion.

But the permanent married diaconate, more than likely, is here to stay. There are more than 12,000 permanent married deacons in the United States, with more than 600 in the Archdiocese of Chicago alone. Permanent deacons are recruited with much care. They are screened assiduously and must complete several years of theological and pastoral education before they are accepted for ordination.

Deacons "can be" (mark those words carefully) authorized to baptize, witness marriages, preach, and perform other apostolic duties. They may not, of course, consecrate the Eucharist, celebrate Mass, hear Confessions, or confirm.

In some parishes--few, it is to be hoped--pastors use the new deacons as glorified altar boys. Other pastors, especially in these days of fewer priests, welcome the new ordinati with open arms. Some have incorporated deacons creatively by enlisting the special talents they have. Marriage counseling, for example, might be work that some married deacons, especially when buttressed by supplementary education in that field, would be uniquely qualified for. Deacons possessing other special talents might be helpful in a parish, provided their work does not overlap work that just as easily could be performed by nonordained parishioners.

In some parishes with many minority members, married deacons have proved especially helpful in view of the disproportionately low number of ordained priests among Hispanics and particularly African Americans. The ability of some married deacons to overcome language barriers that handicapped pastors in ethnic parishes has proved welcome.

By and large the role of permanent married deacons in the U.S. Catholic Church has been fruitful and with thoughtful nurturing can be a blessing to it. Not all of the problems surrounding the diaconate have been solved, of course. Some pastors, other priests, laypeople, even bishops still look down their noses at the very idea. Not all deacons--just as not all priests and religious--are as qualified for their role as we might wish. Not all deacons (unlike all priests!) are inspired nor even skillful preachers, but insightful pastors will assign these to work better suited to them.

The introduction and apparent success of the married diaconate opens up the very important question that cries out for an answer: Why not married women deacons?

To begin with, there is evidence of deaconesses, probably ordained, in the early church. Several bishops have called publicly for the ordination of women deacons. Both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II have left the question open. In early March, the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, which receives official Vatican approval, again encouraged study of the matter. The International Theological Commission, which advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has been studying the issue and addressed it during its plenary session last fall.

The proposal for women deacons has been opposed by both antifeminists and feminists in the church, the first because the thought of women in altar vestments makes them shudder, the latter because they fear it could allow the powers-that-be to finesse ordaining women to the priesthood. But now that ordination (to the diaconate) is permitted and approved for married men, why not for women? In these days when women are increasingly well educated and most women are working, many in highly professional jobs, why not? Why not indeed?