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Witnesses
Luke Hansen
August 4, 2021

“I dream of a Church that receives and empowers the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to each member. Ordaining women to the diaconate is one important way to recognize and strengthen the diaconal ministry that is already exercised by Catholic women everywhere. I’m excited to walk with others into a vision of a listening and participatory Church, opening up new pathways for encounter and dialogue between Church leaders and Catholic women.”

Luke Hansen, a former co-director of Discerning Deacons, has worked as a teacher, campus minister, journalist and prison chaplain. He has an MA in social philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has studied the history of women as deacons and the restoration of the permanent diaconate at the Second Vatican Council. He has served as a contributing editor for the Jesuit journals America and La Civiltà Cattolica in Rome. He has reported from three Synods of Bishops in Rome, and he has won several awards from the Catholic Press Association for his writing.

Witness
“[I hope the Church ordains women to the diaconate] to bring a wider witness and expression of God’s life, love, and presence to the people of God. Women’s voices and leadership will heal, encourage and empower the lives of men, women, and children. It will call forth a new understanding of church vocation and enrich Catholic family life.”
Deedee Van Dyke
Catholic Chaplain, Joliet, IL
Witness
“The first Apostle was a woman, Mary Magdalena. She continues to remain a tower of strength for women in ministry today. If more women were ordained to the diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church, I believe we would have more meaningful and spiritually enriching homilies, and our liturgies would embrace and welcome all to the Eucharistic table.”
Sonja Grace
Witness
“If I was ordained as a deacon, it would not be a means to an end, but rather it would be a continual invitation to a deeper and broader journey with Christ. Deacons are asked to become outwardly more visible as hands in service to the Church. To respond to such a vocation would be a treasure, a deepening of my inner faith life enriched by the outward experiences of ministry and service. Both the inner and outer journey become a longing to seek and know the Christ we are called to serve.”   
Nina Laubach
Student, MDiv program at Princeton Theological Seminary

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