Sharing the fruits from our season of listening

“A Church that teaches must be firstly a Church that listens.” Pope Francis

Discerning Deacons has responded to Pope Francis’ call for a synodal church. During the summer of 2021, more than 1,500 Catholics from Canada, India and the United States gathered via video conference and in-person to actively discern the question of women and the diaconate in our Catholic Church.

This report conveys the ideas, hopes, and concerns raised in these discussions.

Report was prepared by Laura Boysen-Aragon and Casey Stanton, with contributions by Ellie Hidalgo, Lisa Amman and Luke Hansen. With thanks to Certified ToP® Facilitators Laura Johansson and Maria Teresa Gaston who led ~60 hosts in a series of consensus workshops as we sought to grow our capacity to walk together in a listening, discerning, participatory endeavor. Additional thanks to Jack Rogers for his work on graphic design. 

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Witness
“Being able to be educated on who St. Phoebe is and giving others the chance to meet her, being part of a community of women who promote an inclusive model of the church, and seeing my own community come alive and heal from division provides a vision of what can and will be possible one day in the Catholic Church.”
Kathleen O'Brien
Maryknoll Bay Area Regional Coordinator in the Mission Formation Department
Witness
“I have witnessed these women become Catholic high school teachers, professors, writers, administer parish life and leaders of prayer services. Women have been my peers and supervisors, except in diaconal ministry. I continue to hold out hope that women’s gifts for ministry and service can and will be acknowledged by the church.”
Fr. Tom Cwick, SJ
Pastoral Minister, North Side, St. Louis, MO
Witness
“I am grateful as a pastor and a part of the BCCs here to learn and journey together with others. As a priest in our community, I am proud to be a part of this ministry to uplift women who are struggling. It is great joy and fulfillment. In my personal life, I have experienced the richness of acknowledging and uplifting the witness of women in the early Church and also in our Church today.”
Fr. Vincent Dsouza, SJ
Pastor and Base Christian Community Leader, India

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