ROME — Pope Francis said Thursday that he will set up a commission to study whether women can serve as deacons in the Roman Catholic Church, revealing an openness to re-examining the church’s long-held insistence on an all-male clergy.
His move was hailed as a breakthrough by Catholic women who have clamored for years to be given a more prominent role in the church, and who cite research showing that women in the church’s early history served as deacons.
But the idea will face stiff resistance from those who warn that ordaining women as deacons is the first step toward ordaining female priests — which recent popes have ruled out, citing church doctrine.
The pope’s comments were made during an assembly of leaders of women’s religious orders.
During a discussion at the Vatican on Thursday, which at one point touched on the role female deacons played during the early years of the church, Francis was asked about the possibility of an official commission to study the issue. His response was, in essence, “Why not?”
Deacons are ordained ministers in the Roman Catholic Church, and in many parishes they perform many of the roles entrusted to priests. They are permitted to preach at Mass, perform baptisms, witness marriages and conduct funeral services. Deacons must be men over age 35, and they may be married (though if a deacon’s wife dies, he is expected to remain celibate).
This is not the first time the issue of female deacons has come up. In 1995, an American group of canon law experts said that ordaining women as deacons in the church would be in keeping with Catholic theology and past practice, though the Vatican never acted on that recommendation. The topic has continued to be discussed, however. Just last week, scholars met at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto for a conference titled: “Women, the Diaconate and the Future of Ministry.”
Groups that have pushed for women to play a greater role in the church welcomed the pope’s declarations, as an important — if embryonic — step.