VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — A Vatican commission denied the possibility of a sacramental “female diaconate” but without making a “definitive judgment.”
In December, the Vatican released the report of the Petrocchi Commission, headed by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, which ruled out admitting women to the diaconate as a sacramental degree of Holy Orders but suggested that a form of “female deacons” could be possible.
“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,” the commission said.
“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,” it continued.
The commission was established in 2021 by Pope Francis to examine the possibility of women being ordained as deacons. The commission’s final seven-page report was submitted on September 18 to Pope Leo XIV and has now been openly published by the Vatican.
Within the commission, some argued that preventing women from being ordained as deacons undermined the “equal dignity of both genders, based on this biblical reference” as well as the profession of faith that “there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all ‘one’ in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
This group expressed hope that women would be able to become deacons, as they argued that the ordination of a deacon is for ministry and not for the priesthood.
However, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the diaconate is one of the three degrees of Holy Orders, not just a ministry or function.
Some members of the commission pointed this out and insisted “on the unity of the sacrament of Holy Orders, together with the nuptial meaning of the three degrees that constitute it.”
This group rejected the hypothesis of a “female diaconate,” noting “that if the admission of women to the first degree of Holy Orders were approved, exclusion from the others would become inexplicable.”
The orthodox group further pointed out that “the masculinity of Christ, and therefore the masculinity of those who receive Holy Orders, is not accidental but is an integral part of sacramental identity, preserving the divine order of salvation in Christ. To alter this reality would not be a simple adjustment of ministry but a rupture of the nuptial meaning of salvation.”
This thesis was voted on by the commission but not passed as it received five votes in favor and five opposed.
At the same time, while the commission ruled against women being ordained as deacons, members votes 9-1 in favor of expanding women’s role in the Church.
The commission expressed hope that “women’s access to ministries instituted for the service of the community might be expanded (…) thus ensuring adequate ecclesial recognition of the diakonia of the baptized, particularly of women. Such recognition will be a prophetic sign especially where women still suffer situations of gender discrimination.”
In conclusion, Petrocchi called for a continued examination of the role of the diaconate “on its sacramental identity and its ecclesial mission—clarifying certain structural and pastoral aspects that are currently not fully defined.”
Meanwhile, teachings of the Catholic Church reserve the vocation of priesthood to “baptized men.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Church is bound by Christ’s decision to ordain men to the priesthood and “for this reason the ordination of women is not possible.”
