WOC Responds to Pope’s Comments on Women Deacons Commission

May 7, 2019
For Immediate Release

WOC’s response to Pope Francis’ remarks on May 7 indicating that the Vatican study commission on the history of women deacons in the Catholic Church has been unable to reach consensus:

For centuries, women have served in the tradition of Phoebe (Rm 16:1) and our parishes and communities are blessed by their gifts. Women are called to be deacons — by God and their communities — and model diaconal service for the Church. Recognizing the ministerial gifts and vocations of women is not optional.

In his recent exhortation, Christus Vivit, Pope Francis wrote: “A Church that is overly fearful and tied to its structures can be invariably critical of efforts to defend the rights of women, and constantly point out the risks and the potential errors of those demands. A living Church can react by being attentive to the legitimate claims of those women who seek greater justice and equality” (42).  

We call on Pope Francis to act as the leader of a living Church, not an overly fearful one. The claims of women who seek justice and equality in ministry are legitimate, and must be attended to in a spirit of courage.

We must not allow our attempts to study the past prevent us from moving where the Spirit calls us today: to be a Church with doors open to the fullness of women’s gifts and vocations.

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Founded in 1975, the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) is the oldest and largest organization that works to ordain women as deacons, priests, and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Catholic Church.

www.womensordination.org

Contacts: Kate McElwee, Executive Director
kmcelwee@womensordination.org +1.607.725.1364, +39 393 692 2100 (Rome, Italy)

Katie Lacz, Program Associate
klacz@womensordination.org 720-259-9976 (Colorado, U.S.)