Vatican commission reiterates opposition to ordaining women as deacons, but encourages other roles in ministry

ROME A second Vatican commission has concluded that women should not be ordained as deacons, marking another disappointment for Catholic women seeking the ability to lead weddings, baptisms, and funerals. On Thursday, the Vatican released a summary of the commissions findings, including the votes of its members on key theological questions.

While the report leaves the door open for additional research, it primarily recommends establishing new lay ministries for women outside the ordained diaconate. Deacons, who are ordained ministers, can perform many functions similar to priests, including presiding over ceremonies and preaching, though they cannot celebrate Mass. For men preparing for the priesthood, the diaconate serves as a transitional stage, while married men may be ordained as permanent deacons. Women, however, remain ineligible, despite historical evidence that women served as deacons in the early Church.

Pope Francis first commissioned a study on women deacons in 2016 following a request from the International Union of Superiors General, which represents female religious orders worldwide. Since the initial commission failed to reach agreement, a second commission was formed in 2020 under Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, whose report was released this week.

Petrocchi noted that two theological schools of thought on the issue remain incompatible: one supports a female diaconate, the other opposes it. The commission concluded that, for now, the evidence does not support admitting women to the diaconate as a sacramental order. However, it acknowledged that further study could be warranted.

Catholic women play a central role in church activities, from education to healthcare, and often are key in passing on the faith. Yet they have long expressed frustration over limited roles in decision-making and ministry. Advocates for female deacons argue that inclusion would enhance women's participation in church leadership and help mitigate priest shortages in some regions. Opponents warn that ordaining women as deacons could lead to pressure for women priests, which the Church currently forbids, citing the example of Christ choosing only men as Apostles.

The topic has been discussed in several synods under Francis, including the 2019 Amazon synod and his broader reform process, which in 2024 recommended keeping the question open. A synod-affiliated study group on women deacons transferred its findings to the Petrocchi commission earlier this year, effectively ending its work. Petrocchi observed that only a small number of countries were involved and only 22 submissions were received, hardly representative of the global Church.

The report's publication under Pope Leo XIV signals that the matter may now be considered settled. Some church figures, like former Cardinal Robert Prevost, maintain that women cannot become priests and remain noncommittal about female deacons, warning that ordaining women could create new challenges rather than resolving existing ones.

Phyllis Zagano, a member of the 2016 commission, criticized the report for presenting the topic negatively and argued that it provides no strong theological argument, only a call for further study. They cannot say no, they simply do not want to say yes, she remarked.

Author: Zoe Harrison