German Bishop Promotes Ordaining Women Deacons/RCWP Offers a Model of Full Equality for Women in Renewed Priestly Ministry

Contrary to Bishop Voderholzer's view, women were deacons in the bible. Check out Romans 16:1-3. Paul commends Deacon Phoebe as a leader, overseerer, of the church . However, the institutional church's post Vatican 11 recent tradition of permanent deacons is not the path to full equality for women or for men because it limits sacramental ministry to presiding at Baptism and Matrimony. The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement offer a viable model the Vatican should be studying now. We are living a renewed priestly ministry in a community of equals that calls forth the gifts of the community and affirms their baptismal call as co-leaders in sacramental ministries. It is my hope that  Pope Francis needs to focus on the full equality of women in every area of church life including ordination to deacons, priests and bishops. We need a Vatican 3 Council of the People of God! Bridget Mary Meehan, www.arcwp.org, sofiabmm@aol.com

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/latest-news/5263

The president of Germany's bishops' conference has called for the creation of a new, specific office for women deacons.

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch told delegates at a four-day conference in his Freiburg archdiocese on church reform: "I will promote further in-depth study of the common priesthood of all the faithful, encourage diversity as far as church ministries and offices are concerned and I will do so based on the Church's teaching. This will include promoting new church ministries and offices which will be open to women as, for example, a specific deacon's office for women."

But a spokesman for Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, whom Pope Francis has appointed cardinal-adviser for Europe, said ordaining women deacons was "not on the agenda".

And Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg said the office of deacon was inseparably bound to that of priest and bishop and the sacrament of ordination, and the "tradition that only men can be ordained is based on the Bible".