Vatican Rules Out Women Deacons for Now – Moves Toward New Lay Ministries for Women
The Vatican on Thursday published the conclusions of its study commission on women deacons.
The Commission rules out admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders, but without issuing a definitive judgment at this time.
The report stresses repeatedly that the negative assessment is “strong” yet “does not permit formulating a definitive judgment,” unlike the case of priestly ordination.
Submission of the Report to Pope Leo XIV
On 18 September, Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, President of the Study Commission on the Female Diaconate, submitted to Pope Leo XIV a detailed synthesis of the Commission’s work.
The report reflects several years of historical, theological, and pastoral investigation.
Historical Findings: A Non-Sacramental Ancient Practice
The Commission revisited the findings of two earlier Vatican commissions.
Historical research confirms that, in the early Church, the title deaconess appeared in different regions and periods, but with …More
I’m pretty sure John Paul II permanently closed the door on that, with what may be an infallible definition of the priesthood, but memories are short now as legacy is considered a faux-pas.
A Vatican commission set up by Pope Francis in 2020 concluded that the Catholic Church should not move forward with ordaining women as deacons, based on historical and theological findings that rule out admitting women to the sacramental diaconate. However, the commission emphasized that its conclusion is not a final or definitive judgment.
Study begun in 2020 published its summary results today -- “The status quaestionis of historical research and theological investigation, as well as their mutual implications, excludes the possibility of proceeding 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 ecclesiastical Magisterium, this assessment is strong, although it does not allow for a definitive judgment to be formulated at this time, as in the case of priestly ordination”
Ordinatio Sacerdotalis states -- “I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women & that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful” In 2018 the Vatican said this text had the mark of “infallibility”
YES, YES! Despite all his flaws John Paul II was unambiguous on this point of doctrine. That's why he was hated by the modernists of his day.
Bozo woman. The Vatican takes two steps forward and one back. They want and may eventually get women "priests" in their phone so called church. The real Catholic Church will never have them.
The Vatican’s study commission on women deacons concluded that, based on current historical and theological evidence, the Church should not move forward with ordaining women to the diaconate, though the matter cannot yet be definitively settled. Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi’s report noted that while women were called deaconesses in various periods of Church history, their role did not correspond to the sacramental diaconate. The commission stated that the issue ultimately requires doctrinal discernment, not just historical analysis. Although divided on key theological points, members agreed that women’s access to new non-ordained ministries should be expanded.
The push for women deacons will undoubtedly persist, even in the face of negative pronouncements from Rome. In an August '25 article, Dr. Monica Miller lays out why the Church—from Scripture, the early Church, and every pope who’s weighed in—has always said no. Solid, readable, and unapologetic. Women Deacons? Here’s Why Not
Not liking the words - "for now". They read like a threat to the faithful & false hope to the dissenter. Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your NO be NO WAY!!!
Vatican releases Summary of the Study Commission on the Female Diaconate, convened by Pope Francis as part of the Synod on Synodality