Cardinal Marx in favour of female diaconate
The office of deacon is one of the oldest in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Reinhard Marx has now spoken out in favor of opening the diaconate to women.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx from Munich has spoken out in favour of opening the diaconate to women. "I believe that the time is ripe that it must and should be open to men and women," he said on Saturday at a service in Munich's Liebfrauendom, as the Archdiocese announced. "A new approach" is needed.
The ministry of deacon is one of the oldest in the Catholic Church
In general, the diaconate is "an office that is intended to make the connection between prayer and commitment for the poor visible in a special way and I very much hope that we can find a way to give this office a greater profile". The archbishop emphasized that there is still a lot of work to be done "theologically and practically": "I am convinced that this renewal can be a great gift for the church."
The office of deacon is one of the oldest in the Catholic Church. At first, deacons worked in the care of the poor and sick or as assistants to the bishop. Beginning in the fifth century, ordination to deacon became a stepping stone on the way to ordination to the priesthood. The third stage is episcopal consecration.
Pope: More participation of women, but no ordained offices
Pope Francis has already appointed two commissions to examine the role of deacons or women in comparable offices in the early church. Catholic organizations are calling for women to have access to the diaconate and some also want women priests to be ordained.
Several bishops support the demand for female deaconate. Pope Francis repeatedly advocates greater participation by women, but has so far rejected ordained office for women.
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