The Catholic Church announced on Saturday that the issue of ordaining women as deacons remains "open" following a global summit on the future of the Church at the Vatican.
The final 51-page document, approved by Pope Francis after a month of discussions, states that the question of women’s access to the diaconate will continue to be explored.
Currently, only men can be ordained as deacons in the Catholic Church, unlike some other denominations. Deacons can perform baptisms, marriages, and funerals, but not Masses.
The document asserts that there are no obstacles preventing women from holding leadership roles in the Church but does not specify what these roles could be. It does not address the possibility of women priests, a demand from several groups in Europe and North America.
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Since 2 October, 368 participants – including clergy, bishops, and laypeople, some of whom are women – from about 100 countries, convened behind closed doors at the Vatican for the General Assembly of the Synod on the future of the Church, which first met in October 2023.
The paragraph on women received the most objections, with 97 votes against and 258 in favour.
The document also suggests reorganising the training of priests and increasing lay involvement, including in the selection of bishops. However, it offers no proposals regarding the inclusion of LGBT+ faithful.
