Cardinal Fernández on the female diaconate: There is still no space

Cardinal Víctor Fernández, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that there is still no space for a female diaconate, although he reported on the study and deepening of a “more decisive” female presence in the Catholic Church.

During his intervention at the opening of the final stage of the Synod of Synodality, held on October 2, the cardinal declared that “there is still no room for a positive decision by the Magisterium regarding women’s access to the diaconate, understood as a degree of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.”

Likewise, the prefect of Doctrine for the Faith indicated that they have also taken into account “the work carried out by the two Commissions established by Pope Francis on the female diaconate” and recalled that “we are aware of the public position of the Pontiff, who does not consider the question”.

The approval of the female diaconate without due study and depth would become, according to the cardinal, “a kind of consolation for some women” and the most decisive issue of women’s participation in the Church would remain “neglected.”

In this way, in dialogue with the General Secretariat of the Synod and also at the request of the Holy Father, he indicated that the Dicastery “wants to deepen theologically the question of the place of women in the Church.”

A more decisive female presence

He stated from the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican that it is necessary to especially study their participation in decision-making “and in the guidance of the community.”

Cardinal Fernández also defended a reflection on the “expansion of the ministerial dimension of the Church,” to suggest the recognition of charismas or service institutions of certain women and “not necessarily linked to sacramental power.”

After naming some holy women of the Catholic Church, such as Catherine of Siena, Joan of Arc or Saint Teresa of Ávila, he remarked that “the question of access to the diaconate is resized” and, therefore, “we are trying to lengthen the spaces for a “more decisive female presence.”

Pope Francis’ position on the female diaconate

Pope Francis created a first study commission to analyze the possibility of establishing a female diaconate in August 2016.

Subsequently, in April 2020, he established a second commission chaired by the Archbishop of L’Aquila (Italy), Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi.

Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has expressed his stance against an ordained female diaconate. In May 2019, during a press conference on his flight back from Macedonia, he explained that, once the commission’s work was completed, the possibility of ordaining deaconesses in the Church “until this moment, it is not possible.”

This rejection was reiterated in May of this year, when he responded with a resounding “no” to the journalist’s question. CBS News on the possibility of ordaining women as deaconesses.

“There is a lot of work to understand the perspective of authority in the Church”

Asked about this topic during the press conference offered this morning at the Holy See Press Office, Bishop Riccardo Battocchio, special secretary of the Synodality Synod, pointed out that Cardinal Fernández “has very clearly indicated the perspective.” .

He emphasized that “now is not the time” to make a decision, but that “it is good that it goes deeper.” “Also because the diaconate itself is not clear, how to configure it,” he added.

“There is a lot of work to understand the perspective of authority in the Church, which is fundamental to establish a path that continues and that returns to that question. I think that the perspective is quite clear, regarding a search and an ecclesial path in which steps forward are taken together,” said the prelate.