Dare to Hope

Statue of St. Catherine of Siena near the Vatican

By Luke Hansen

In the comedy series “Ted Lasso,” an American football coach is inexplicably entrusted with leading an English Premier League soccer team. When the team begins to experience some success, Coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) quickly learns a saying common among fans of AFC Richmond: “It’s the hope that kills you.”

Any sports fan will understand this sentiment.

In conversations about the leadership of women in the Catholic Church, a more significant matter, I can find myself oscillating between doubt and hope. Might we hope that this conversation is actually going somewhere, that it is bearing fruit, that our Church could finally re-open the door to women as deacons?

Last week, Discerning Deacons celebrated “Launch Week.” Our hearts are filled with gratitude for everyone who participated and made it possible. More than 50 people participated in Zoom calls on Monday and Friday. This group alone sent more than 5,800 emails to share the good news about the Church’s discernment of women deacons. Our new website received over 1,800 unique visitors de la 10 different countries. More than 100 people have signed up for Welcome Calls. Last Thursday, the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, about 325 people participated in the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry webinar that featured the Discerning Deacons team. These are signs of hope that Catholics are excited to participate in this conversation and to see it bear fruit.

St. Catherine of Siena writes, “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” It’s a powerful invitation and challenge for all of us together, as a Church.

We know the many ways our Church already embodies God’s dream of love, mercy and healing. It’s often through the extraordinary and unrecognized work of women in every part of the world. And in some painful ways, our Church can obscure and hinder God’s dream — when we remain behind locked doors, afraid to recognize the gifts and call of women. That makes me sad, frustrated and even angry.

Might we dare to hope that our Church will continue to live more fully into its vocation — to fly with both wings, to breathe with both lungs, to receive and empower the gifts of every person? We know the world needs it.

The ministry of deacons — of both men and women — is one important pathway for God’s renewal of the church and healing of the world. It’s not everything. But I believe it’s an important part of God’s dream.

To hope in the Holy Spirit can feel dangerous. Yet this hope is a gift from God, and I’m willing to take the risk.

Luke Hansen is a co-director of Discerning Deacons.

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Testigo
"[Espero que la Iglesia ordene mujeres al diaconado] para aportar un testimonio y una expresión más amplios de la vida, el amor y la presencia de Dios al pueblo de Dios. Las voces y el liderazgo de las mujeres sanarán, animarán y potenciarán las vidas de hombres, mujeres y niños. Provocará una nueva comprensión de la vocación eclesial y enriquecerá la vida familiar católica".
Deedee Van Dyke
Capellana Católica en Joliet, Illinois
Testigo
"La primer Apóstol fue una mujer, María Magdalena. Ella sigue siendo hoy una torre de fortaleza para las mujeres en el ministerio. Si se ordenaran más mujeres al diaconado en la Iglesia Católica Romana, creo que tendríamos homilías más significativas y espiritualmente enriquecedoras, y nuestras liturgias acogerían y darían la bienvenida a todos a la mesa eucarística."
Sonja Grace
Testigo
"Si fuera ordenada diácono, no sería un medio para alcanzar un fin, sino más bien una invitación continua a un camino más profundo y amplio con Cristo. A los diáconos se les pide que se hagan más visibles como manos al servicio de la Iglesia. Responder a tal vocación sería un tesoro, una profundización de mi vida de fe interior enriquecida por las experiencias exteriores de ministerio y servicio. Tanto el camino interior como el exterior se convierten en un anhelo de buscar y conocer al Cristo al que estamos llamados a servir."   
Nina Laubach
Estudiante, Programa de Doctorado en Divinidad, Seminario Teológico de Princeton

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