Women served as deacons in Europe for about a millennium in a variety of ministerial and sacramental roles.

Because the church has long defined marriage as central to lay Catholic identity, Catholic single mothers have sometimes stayed hidden in the shadows.

Kerry Alys Robinson is confronting the twin crises of sexual abuse and distrust in church leadership.

If we look at the qualities required to fulfill the request rather than the connotation of the word itself, what is simply being asked of women and men is sacrificial love.