Pursuing Peace and Justice: Women’s Roles in Our Evolving Church

Since Pope Leo XIV’s election, I have been excited to hear him speak about what will be some of his priorities – building bridges, promoting dialogue, peacemaking, continuing to become a synodal Church. These are all things we care about as diaconal people in ministry, and it’s exciting to think about the ways we can support Pope Leo’s efforts.

However, I also was concerned to see headlines and posts claiming Pope Leo is against women deacons. And as I talked about in a reel on Instagram, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. But we honestly don’t know where Pope Leo personally stands on a number of topics — yet.

So what do we know? Then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was deeply involved in a synodal process with historic levels of women’s participation. He participated in two month-long Synod Assemblies in ‘23 and ‘24 that included 54 women voters along with women theologians and facilitators. And that process led to a powerful development in Church teaching:

This Assembly asks for full implementation of all the opportunities already provided for in Canon Law with regard to the role of women, particularly in those places where they remain underutilised. There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church: what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped. Additionally, the question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open. This discernment needs to continue.

Paragraph 60 from the Final Synod Document is our roadmap during this implementation phase of the Synod. We can’t forget — this isn’t up to one man. Synodal discernment about women in the diaconate is a collective effort.

We’re still building the structures to do that discernment well — as a Church, as women, and with our bishops.

So, don’t despair. There is much unfolding as Pope Leo guides the next steps of our becoming a more synodal, listening, inclusive Church. In the meantime, I commend a few articles that help to clarify, including the opinions of those who have worked with Pope Leo in this piece written by Nicole Winfield in the Associated Press, and by Dr. Phyllis Zagano’s in RNS.

And for fun, I’m sharing these brief, delightful IG posts between Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP and CBS News Norah O’Donnell speaking near St. Peter’s Square in Rome about – the possibility of women deacons! Post I, Post II, Post III

I am especially grateful for Sr. Rose’s insight: “[I]f there’s a problem and women are not part of the solution it will not be solved in any type of long term, meaningful way. Women have to always be part of the solution.”

Let’s keep honoring this remarkable moment of living into a new papacy — and take Pope Leo at his word when he first spoke from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica where he offered thanksgiving and an understanding of what it means to be the Successor of Peter:

“…to walk together with you as a Church, united, ever pursuing peace and justice, ever seeking to act as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, in order to proclaim the Gospel without fear, to be missionaries.”

This is our path forward.