Synod Organizer: Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith studies the female diaconate

Organizers of the Synod of Synodality revealed on Tuesday that Pope Francis has asked the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) to study women’s participation and leadership in the Catholic Church, including the possibility of female deacons, with the objective of publishing a document on the subject.

At a press conference at the Vatican on July 9, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod, commented that the DDF is studying “the women’s diaconate” within the context of its in-depth study of the ministries, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Synod.

Although the female diaconate is off the table for discussion in the second session of the Synod of Synodality, which will be held in October of this year, according to the working document or Instrument of Laborpublished on July 9, the topic will be included in the Vatican study on women’s leadership.

“The Holy Father has notified the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to study issues, including also the question of ministries. And speaking of ministries, there is also the issue of the diaconate for women,” said Cardinal Grech.

“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will study this issue, not only the issue of the diaconate, but the issue of the ministries,” he added. The cardinal did not mention the possibility of women being ordained to the priesthood.

Following his comments at the press conference, the Vatican confirmed that the DDF has already begun studying “theological and canonical questions around specific ministerial forms.”

The in-depth study, led by consultant Mons. Armando Matteo, will focus particularly on “the question of the necessary participation of women in the life and leadership of the Church,” with the aim of “publishing a specific document” on the topic.

The DDF study is one of 10 study groups on Synodality themes announced by Pope Francis earlier this year. The Vatican on July 9 published the names of the members of each study group, as well as a description of the DDF group, which is called “Group Five.”

In a recent interview with the American program 60 MinutesPope Francis was asked about the possibility of women becoming deacons or clerics, to which he responded with a firm “no.”

Ministry of listening and accompaniment

At the press conference at the Vatican, Synod organizers also highlighted the proposal for a new “ministry of listening and accompaniment,” which will be discussed at the final assembly of the Synod of Synodality in October.

He Instrument of Laboror guiding document for the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, called the proposed ministry a reminder that “listening and accompaniment are an ecclesial service.”

“It seems extremely opportune to give life to a recognized and possibly instituted ministry of listening and accompaniment, thanks to which this characteristic feature of a synodal Church can be concretely experienced. “We need an ‘open door’ in the community, through which people can enter without feeling threatened or judged,” says the Instrument of Labor.

When asked at the press conference whether the proposal for a new ministry of listening and accompaniment could be a step towards greater “bureaucratization” of the Church, Cardinal Grech stressed that the purpose of the ministry would be to “educate the community.” to advance in your listening and accompaniment service.

The general secretary of the Synod of Bishops added that all Catholics are invited to proclaim the Word and be catechists, but this does not make the existence of ministries of readers and catechists within the Church a “bureaucratization.”

The cardinal also announced that the Synod Secretariat will soon publish a “theological aid” to complement the Instrument of Laborwhich will provide theological and canonical analyzes of it to help Synod participants “recognize and understand the roots and implications of what it contains.”

“Maturation on the synodal path”

During the press conference, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, general rapporteur of the Synod of Synodality, said that the reports presented to the organizers of the Synod by the episcopal conferences around the world show that the multi-year synodal process “has been and continues “being a time of grace that is already bearing numerous fruits in the life of the Church.”

“From Kenya to Ireland, from Korea to Brazil, reports underline this renewed dynamism that listening offered and received is bringing to communities,” he said.

Cardinal Hollerich noted how he has observed a difference between the reports the General Secretariat received from episcopal conferences at the beginning of the Synod of Synodality and the reports presented this year by 108 episcopal conferences.

“If the first ones emphasized more resistance and opposition to the synodal process, these reports emphasize more the tiredness and fatigue of a path of conversion that is not immediate,” he commented.

The cardinal added that he sees this as evidence of “a maturation in the synodal path,” noting that many episcopal conferences identified fruits of their local synodal experience.

The October 2-27 meeting of the Synodality Synod will mark the end of the discernment phase of the Church’s synodal process, which Pope Francis opened in 2021.

Participants in the fall meeting, including Catholic bishops, priests, religious and laity from around the world, will prepare and vote on the final consultative document of the Synodality Synod, which will then be delivered to the Pope, who will decide the next steps of the Church and whether you wish to adopt the text as a papal document or write your own.

The third phase of the synod, after “the consultation of God’s people” and “the discernment of pastors,” will be “implementation,” according to the organizers.

“The synod is already changing our way of being and living the Church independently of the October assembly,” Cardinal Hollerich concluded.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.