Witnesses
"You will be my witnesses."
(Acts 1:8)
The preparatory process for the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon involved 87,000 people bearing witness to their laments, hopes and dreams for their communities and the Church they love.
At the synod in Rome, bishops repeatedly affirmed that women are already doing the work of deacons in the region, and they asked that this ministry be seen and recognized.
The Synod formally requested to share their “experiences and reflections” with a papal commission on women and the diaconate, and Pope Francis immediately responded, saying:
“I pick up the challenge. A glove has been thrown down. The women have put up a sign: ‘Please listen to us. May we be heard.’ And I pick up that gauntlet.”
Here, we gather to listen to women serving in ministry today who are ready to be received as deacons in the Church. We also share prayers and hopes for our Church’s discernment, as we seek to bear collective witness to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
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Endorser
“I have worked alongside many lay and religious women in my ministry who have exhibited outstanding ability for ministry. Many have taught me by their example how to be a more effective minister, and by their instruction, helped me to grow in this role…It’s time that the Church gets in step with society and recognizes the equality of women in the workplace. Women are as capable as men in the work of ministry, and have demonstrated the same equality in scholarship, skills and education as men.”
Fr. Joseph A. Genito, O.S.A
Pastor, St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, Philadelphia, PA
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Witness
“If there were women deacons in my parish, lay women would relate in a deep and meaningful way to deacons who look, act, speak and feel more like themselves…Though I am an unlikely choice to wear the alb and stole, I have a deep commitment to service in Christ’s name and I try to live it every day. Any need that arises, I am ready to shoulder it, though some needs of our sisters and brothers would be well- or better-served by a woman’s different compassion.”
Deacon Bill Zapcic
Parish Deacon and Homilist, Retired Journalist, Tinton Falls, NJ
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Endorser
“Not only is ordaining women as deacons a restoration of the dynamism of the early Church, it is a matter of justice!”
Fr. Stephen P Newton, CSC
Executive Director, Association of US Catholic Priests, Notre Dame, IN
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Witness
We don’t have a shortage of priests as much as we have a shortage of listening to the Holy Spirit. Jesus has told us not to be afraid. I think we very much need the courage of women, who bring unique gifts and vision to the service of the people and the Church.
Mary Ellen Thomas
Retired Hospice RN, Columbus, OH
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Witness
“Without women there is no Catholic church, hospital, school, university, social service, prison ministry, etc. The role of deacon would pour out the Spirit on the Church and the world through the women in whom He/She resides.”
Daryl Grigsby
Author, Board Member for Leadership Foundations and Color Me Human Nevada County, Volunteer for Get On The Bus, Nevada City, CA
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Witness
“The Discerning Deacons project reflects our prophetic responsibility as baptized believers through its mission…It also identifies the need for the restoration of the women’s diaconate in a synodal way, which is Pope Francis’ invitation to church proceedings ‘to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands’ (Preparatory Document, #32).”
Dr. Luz Marina Diaz
Director of Religious Education, Spiritual Director and Supervisor, Adjunct Professor at Fordham University, New York, NY
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