All papal and curial statements against the ordination of women specifically address the “ministerial priesthood” and “priestly ordination,” not the diaconate. In 2002, the International Theological Commission stated about women deacons: “It pertains to the ministry of discernment which the Lord established in his Church to pronounce authoritatively on this question.” Even as Pope Francis has confirmed that the reservation of the priesthood to males “is not a question open to discussion,” he has established two papal commissions to study the question of women and the diaconate.

Pope John Paul II taught that the Church “has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women,” and his successors have confirmed this teaching. The ordination of women as deacons does nothing to change this doctrine. The diaconate is a “proper and permanent” order that is distinct from the priesthood. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this distinction: “Bishops and priests receive the mission and faculty (‘the sacred power’) to act in persona Christi Capitis [in the person of Christ the Head]; deacons receive the strength to serve the People of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word, and charity, in communion with the bishop and his presbyterate” (No. 875). In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI revised church law to make clear the distinction among deacons, priests and bishops.

The enhancement of lay ministry is an enduring legacy of the Second Vatican Council and a tremendous gift in the Church. This commitment should remain strong. At the same time, the Church retains ordained ministries, which are always in need of renewal and “de-clericalization.” The restoration of women to the diaconate, a prophetic ministry of service in the Church, would strengthen this process. The presence of women in ordained ministry means that they would be clerics, not necessarily clerical. The struggle against clericalism is a struggle for both men and women, not women alone.

It is true that the vast majority of permanent deacons live and minister in the Global North, so this ministry is more familiar to Catholics in the United States and Europe than in other parts of the world. Yet at the recent Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazonian Region, the leaders of the Church in the Amazon – both bishops and lay leaders – were very clear that women in the Amazon are already doing the work of deacons, and it is the desire and hope of that church to ordain these women as deacons. Moreover, paragraph #64 of Enlarge the Space of Your Tent indicates that “almost all reports [from the consultation phase of the global Synod on Participation, Communion and Mission] raise the issue of full and equal participation of women” and call for the entire Church to discern women and the diaconate.

The diaconate is an ancient ministry of liturgy, Word and charity, modeled on servanthood of Christ, which embodies the Servant Church and helps the Church fulfill its mission to proclaim the Gospel and baptize all nations. If the diaconate serves important pastoral needs in the Church today, then it should be open to men and women. In many places today facing severe shortages of priests, deacons assist in the sacramental ministries of baptism and marriage, preside at funerals and give homilies. Women deacons could also exercise ministry in places where it is difficult for men to serve, like the homes and hospital rooms of women, domestic violence shelters and in women’s prisons.

Local bishops could train, ordain, and give faculties to these women, expanding the presence of ordained ministers in many spheres of life, and connecting these women with parishes, pastors and local bishops. These women would be able to receive the grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders as deacons, exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction, serve in offices currently restricted to clerics, and be officially recognized by the Church in a lifetime commitment to its ministry. Particularly in rural and marginalized communities, there is a need for more laborers in the vineyard. Women deacons could preach at Liturgies of the Word with Communion, celebrate baptisms, witness weddings, officiate at funeral services and accompany those most in need of a pastoral presence.

The Apostolic Constitutions (circa 380) emphasize that women deacons do not exercise the same liturgical roles as presbyters and bishops, but they are ordained by the bishop with the laying on of hands. The Council of Chalcedon (451) recognized the ordination of women deacons and required them to be 40 and celibate. Women deacons were ordained by bishops in the sanctuary with an epiclesis and the laying on of hands (e.g., an eighth-century Byzantine ordination rite).

According to the Synod’s Final Document, “The synodal process does not conclude with the end of the current Assembly of the Synod of Bishops but also includes the implementation phase,” (#9) which will culminate with an Ecclesial Assembly in 2028. This assembly will have the goal of gathering “fruits that have matured” from the Synod process to guide Church renewal. In short, while the 2021-2024 Synod as a discrete event is over, synodality as a way of being church is only just beginning.

According to Ecclesiae de mysterio, within the context of a Eucharistic liturgy lay persons (including women) may offer “a form of instruction designed to promote a greater understanding of the liturgy, including personal testimonies…as a means of explicating the regular homily,” provided that such explication “may not be such so as to assume a character which could be confused with the homily” (Article 3, n. 2). Practically speaking, this often takes place following the post-communion prayer. The parameters around preaching are much less narrow outside of Eucharistic liturgies, so some parishes and institutions may decide, for example, to host a special Liturgy of the Word featuring a homily given by a woman, or another sort of prayer service that incorporates women’s preaching. For more information, see the complementary norm on Canon 766 promulgated by the USCCB in 2001 and Ecclesiae de mysterio, articles 2-3.

When Pope Francis adopted the Synod’s Final Document into his ordinary Magisterium, this included the affirmation, “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” (#60). This means that, unlike the 60 Minutes interview from May 2024, this statement carries the weight of the Church’s teaching authority and should be welcomed, received, and implemented by the local Churches, as clarified in the accompanying letter by Pope Francis appended to the Synod’s Final Document.