Discerning Deacons Statement on Pope Leo XIV and the Diaconate

Para publicación inmediata: September 18, 2025 

Pope Leo affirmed that including women in the ordained diaconate is a legitimate topic for ongoing discernment during his recent interview with CRUX’s Elise Allen. He underscores the need for a renewed understanding and lived practice of the whole diaconate – permanent and transitional – in the universal Church. 

The Holy Father adds: “I am certainly willing to continue to listen to people.” We at Discerning Deacons applaud Pope Leo’s commitment to the synodal journey with listening as its central practice. We are committed to the Synod’s Implementation Phase and to working cooperatively to explore a renewed diaconate, as inspired by Paragraphs 60 and 73 in the Documento final del Sínodo. After all, there is no Church doctrine against restoring women to the ordained permanent diaconate. 

Discerning Deacons will submit a request to meet with the Holy Father to share testimonies of how the Holy Spirit is calling forth the vocational calls of women to diaconate ministry in our local communities. We ask you – Discerning Deacons friends and followers – to pray that this request be received so that we have the opportunity to enter into dialogue and mutual listening with Pope Leo.

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About Discerning Deacons

Discerning Deacons involucra a los católicos en un discernimiento activo sobre el papel de las mujeres en la Iglesia y la renovación del diaconado para que la Iglesia pueda servir a todo el pueblo de Dios en todo el mundo. Más información: DiscerningDeacons.org

Contact: Comms@discerningdeacons.org

Comparte este Artículo

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Ser testigos
“I know that women are being called by the Holy Spirit and women are living diakonia in creative, ordinary ways today. Now, as a mother of a toddler girl, I want to discern with the Church on how to make way for her to discern her own future calling, should the Spirit call her.”
Ana López
Spiritual Director and Theology Teacher, Los Angeles, CA
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Ser testigos
“If women were able to serve as deacons, it would magnify the grace and love of God and make it more widely available.”
Judith Oberhauser
Retired Chaplain, St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN
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Ser testigos
“I was not raised Catholic but converted in my adult life. As a child, Mother Mary would appear to me often…I believe Mary appearing to me as a child who knew nothing about the Catholic Church was more than her wanting me to find Christ through the Church. I believe she came to me because I was meant to do more for the Church.”
Christina Kovar
Adult Faith Formation Leader, Chicago, IL

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