Even though women make up more than half of U.S. Catholics and 80 percent of lay ecclesial ministers, a new report found that Catholic women still struggle to have their contributions recognized.
Deacons
Posted inFaith, News
Report: There are 19,000 deacons in the U.S., but that number is dropping.
The number is dropping, mirroring trends seen in religious life and the priesthood for the past half-century.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Eight U.S. deacons are ordained in Rome
Hundreds of faithful were also present at the ordination Mass, which was more subdued than past years because of travel restrictions and limited seating due to the pandemic.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: Will the new commission on women deacons turn out any differently from the last one?
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle speaks with Phyllis Zagano about the church’s history not only of ordaining women deacons, but also the conversation around ordaining them again.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Phyllis Zagano makes the case for women deacons
While Phyllis Zagano thoughtfully draws out the theological implications of her research, her main point is historical: There is simply no precedent on which to base the exclusion of women from the diaconate in the Catholic Church.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
This was no ordinary ordination for transitional deacon during pandemic
The ordination of a transitional deacon in Kansas shows how even a pandemic can’t stop one of the church’s cherished rituals, even if it sets limits on participation by family and loved ones.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis has set up a new commission to study women deacons
This is the second commission established by Pope Francis to study the question of a women’s diaconate.
Posted inFaith, Interviews
What we can learn from the women deacons of the early Eastern Christian church
The Very Rev. Mark Morozowich on the role of women deacons in the early Eastern church and how historical theology shapes our discussion on the question of women deacons now.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
The church needs to listen to Catholic feminists
The clergy need to rethink our approach to ministry through wide research and consultation among women of diverse ethnicities, languages, sexual identities and classes.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
The scriptural case for women deacons
The synod on the Amazon has again raised the possibility of women deacons. The New Testament gives us a model and precedent, writes Micah D. Kiel of St. Ambrose University, by the name of Phoebe.