VATICAN CITY — A years-long process to reform the Catholic Church concludes Saturday with recommendations that are expected to fall far short of hopes for greater equality for women but reflect the pope’s goals for a church that is at least more listens to her flock.
The Vatican’s top doctrinal official, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, told the extraordinary meeting of bishops and laity this week that Pope Francis said the moment for allowing the ordination of women as deacons in the church “is not ripe.” .”
The multi-year synod process had raised great hopes for change, especially among women, who have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens in the church. Women are excluded from the priesthood and the highest positions of office in the Catholic Church, yet they do the lion’s share of the work in running Catholic hospitals and schools and passing on the faith to future generations.
In his address to the synod on Thursday, Fernandez explained that a special working group would continue beyond the close of the meeting, but the focus would be on discussing the role of women in the church – not in the diaconate. He added that while they worked with women in previous pastoral roles, “most did not ask or want the diaconate, which would be difficult for their lay work.”
He did not respond directly to a request to define what would determine “maturity” for an expanded role for women.
The outcome is becoming a disappointment for Catholics who have campaigned for recognition that women share a spiritual calling no different from that of men. They also noted that despite women’s participation in the synodal process, the working group leading discussions on the role of women is led by the Roman Curia, which operates outside the synod.
“I think it’s very clear that ordained men get to decide when the time is right, and they get to decide what equality in baptism means. It’s very frustrating, but they captured it all,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference.
The first phase of the synod process ended last year with the conclusion that it was “urgent” to ensure fuller participation of women in church governance positions, and with a call to continue theological and pastoral research on allowing women to be deacons.
Deacons perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals, but they cannot celebrate Mass.
While the idea of allowing women to become deacons was a fringe proposal by Western progressives before the synod, the idea gained attention during the debate. It became something of a litmus test of how far the church would or would not go to meet women’s demands for greater equality and representation in the highest ranks of the church.
Francis, however, had other ideas, insisting that ordaining women would only “clericalize” them and that there were plenty of other ways to empower women in the Church, even in leading Catholic communities, without resorting to take for ordination.
Supporters say allowing women to become deacons would help offset the shortage of Catholic priests and address long-standing complaints about their second-class status.
Opponents say the ordination of women as deacons would mark the beginning of a slippery slope toward the ordination of women to the priesthood. The Catholic Church reserves the priesthood for men.
Francis has repeatedly reaffirmed the all-male priesthood and sharply criticized “stupid” agitators pushing for a female diaconate.