Pope 'opens door' to female deacons with new panel

Yahoo – AFP, Angus Mackinnon, August 2, 2016

Pope Francis greets a group of nuns at St Peter's Square in the Vatican, on
June 30, 2016 (AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a commission to study the issue of female Church deacons in a move seen as a potential first step towards women entering the Catholic clergy.

The 13-member commission, made up of seven men and six women, will examine the question with a particular focus on the history of women having played this role in the early years of the Church, the Vatican said in a statement revealing the commission members.

The panel will be chaired by Spanish Archbishop Luis Ladaria, the secretary of the Vatican's theological watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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A Jesuit, Ladaria is seen as a neutral figure without strong ties to either the progressive or conservative wings of the Vatican hierarchy.

The establishment of the commission follows a pledge made by Francis in May during a question-and-answer session with members of female religious orders.

That was warmly welcomed by Catholic feminist groups such as the US-based Women's Ordination Conference (WOC).

But Francis subsequently complained that the media had blown his comments out of proportion, saying he had not raised the possibility of women serving as deacons.

Advocates of such a move have long argued that women are pitifully under-represented in the Church's hierarchy and decision-making processes, despite the number of women in religious orders far outweighing the total of priests and monks combined.

'A good sign'

Allowing women to enter the clergy at a rank just below a priest would represent a first step towards correcting this imbalance, they argue.

They also insist there is no theological obstacle to the move because of the precedent established by women performing the role in the early centuries of Christianity.

Francis said in May that he was unclear about the history and that it "would do good for the Church to clarify this point."

He made it clear that he did not see women becoming priests. That option was examined and categorically rejected by one of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II, in 1994.

In 2001, a commission charged with looking into the term "deaconess" concluded there was no basis for ordaining women to the role.

Lucetta Scaraffia, an editorialist for the Vatican daily Osservatore Romano, said studying the history of female deacons was tantamount to re-examining the issue of whether the Church should allow them again.

"I cannot say if it could happen soon, but it is encouraging. The fact that the pope acted quickly on what he said in May is a good sign," she told AFP.

The Vatican did not set a deadline for the commission to reach conclusions on what is a vexed issue.

After Francis's comments in May, one of his closest allies, the liberal German Cardinal Walter Kasper, predicted a fierce debate.

Pope Francis greets deacons at the end of a mass for the Jubilee of Deacons,

in May 2016 at the Vatican (AFP Photo/Vincenzo Pinto)

"On this issue the Church is split down the middle," the leading progressive theologian said, while cautioning that all previous attempts to open the clergy's door to women had been rejected.

More open Church

Although deacons cannot celebrate mass on their own or hear confessions, they are ordained and can carry out many tasks in place of a priest, while remaining free to marry and have a family.

Their tasks can include presiding over baptisms, weddings, funerals and prayer services. They often help with parish management and offer pastoral guidance to believers.

Francis has often championed the special qualities of the female sex, saying in December 2014: "Women are like strawberries on a cake -- you always need more of them."

He has also repeatedly said since becoming pope in 2013 that he does not represent all Church teaching as being set in stone.

He has tried to make the global institution more understanding, less judgemental in its approach to divorced, cohabiting and gay believers.

Some critics say he has delivered little concrete change but his supporters have hailed the new mood music as hugely significant.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”