“Enormous frustration” and protests from the German Church over a new postponement of the female diaconate And the Pope said that the question "is not yet ripe" for debate. "

 https://www.clarin.com/mundo/enorme-frustracion-protestas-iglesia-alemana-nueva-postergacion-diaconado-femenino_0_rb0b4WNKFY.html

“The president of the German bishops, Monsignor Baetzing, acknowledged the “enormous frustration” caused by the umpteenth postponement of the issue of the diaconate.”

Bridget Mary Meehan, a US "bishop" in full rebellion against Pope Francis. Photo: Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP Image: 1/2

" The Synod of Bishops concluded a few days ago without any news on the subject.And the Pope said that the question "is not yet ripe" for debate. German women are at the forefront of the protests and are deeply disappointed."

"A significant proportion of women, more than half of the 1.4 billion Catholics, are protesting. The Synod of Synods of Bishops ended two weeks ago after meeting in two phases in 2023 and 2024, without having taken a substantive decision on the question of the female diaconate , which has been postponed to a commission of ten that will present its conclusions to the Pope in June 2025 and will deal with other difficult issues that explain the decision to postpone them beyond the Synod.

German women are at the forefront of the protests and are very disappointed. Claudia Lucking-Michel, vice-president of the Committee of German Catholics, said: “My capacity for suffering has come to an end. Women are valued for their capacity for suffering and this makes me very nervous.”

“Should we be happy that they have not yet banned the female diaconate and have left the door open for us? But how long do they think women can wait for something to be done and say something like: ‘Oh yes, now you can become a deaconess’?”

A significant proportion of women, more than half of the 1.4 billion Catholics, are protesting. The Synod of Synods of Bishops ended two weeks ago after meeting in two phases in 2023 and 2024, without having taken a substantive decision on the question of the female diaconate , which has been postponed to a commission of ten that will present its conclusions to the Pope in June 2025 and will deal with other difficult issues that explain the decision to postpone them beyond the Synod.

German women are at the forefront of the protests and are very disappointed. Claudia Lucking-Michel, vice-president of the Committee of German Catholics, said: “My capacity for suffering has come to an end. Women are valued for their capacity for suffering and this makes me very nervous.”

“Should we be happy that they have not yet banned the female diaconate and have left the door open for us? But how long do they think women can wait for something to be done and say something like: ‘Oh yes, now you can become a deaconess’?”

The president of the German bishops wrote a first letter to Fernández accompanying the document of the Synod of German bishops with the evolution of the issue of women.

The second letter responded to the position that Cardinal Fernández took when, in the final phase of the Synod, he announced that the Pope considered that the issue of the female diaconate “was not yet mature.”

"I see this issue in a very different light," wrote the president of the German bishops.

Since Francis had firmly blocked proposals to allow women to become priests, the diaconate seemed like a way out. In the early days of Christianity, there were deaconesses , women who helped with mass, could perform births and weddings, but could not celebrate mass. They were not priests, but they had climbed a step with the diaconate, which declined over the centuries and became extinct in the 12th century.

The president of the German bishops, Monsignor Baetzing, acknowledged the “enormous frustration” caused by the umpteenth postponement of the issue of the diaconate.