A report presenting the results of the Commission’s work has been released. It rules out admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders, but says that it is not currently possible “to formulate a definitive judgment, as in the case of priestly ordination.”

“The status quaestionis of historical research and theological investigation, as well as their mutual implications, rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders. In light of Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Church’s Magisterium, this assessment is strongly maintained, although it does not at present allow for a definitive judgment to be formulated, as is the case with priestly ordination.”
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A Vatican commission studying the possibility of female deacons reported that the current state of historical and theological research “excludes the possibility of proceeding” toward admitting women to the diaconate, a conclusion that slows momentum on one of the church’s most debated questions while stopping short of a definitive no.

In a letter sharing the results of its work with Pope Leo XIV and released by the Vatican Dec. 4, the commission reported a 7-1 vote in favour of a statement concluding that the church cannot currently move toward admitting women to the third degree of holy orders, the diaconate.
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With sadness, we announce the death of our friend and colleague, Sister Anne Keffer. She died Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Waterloo after a long illness. She will be remembered by her ecumenical colleagues for her sense of humour, compassion, and dedication to the path of unity.
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Church and civil leaders across Saskatchewan and Canada paid tribute to Canon Michael Jackson, the Anglican Church of Canada’s longest-serving deacon, after his death on Nov. 22 at the age of 82.
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On Wednesday, the members of a new commission to study the possibility of women deacons in the Catholic Church are announced. The daily noon bulletin released by the Holy See Press Office contained an announcement regarding the institution of a new commission to study the possibility of women deacons. It contained the information that Pope Francis, in a recent audience with Cardinal Luis Ladaria, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had decided to create a new Commission.
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