A Catholic Ordained Person’s Perspective on Women’s Ordination: What Can We Learn From This Reverend?

As a young woman who wishes to become a deacon when I am of age, I decided to interview a deacon I know about women’s ordination. He requested anonymity for this interview, and I have summarized our conversation. We have talked about this topic many times before, but I found it helpful to ask directly: as a Roman Catholic deacon, do you support women’s ordination, why, and how? 

Do you support women’s ordination in the Roman Catholic Church? I asked directly.

“As a Catholic, my personal feeling is that women’s ordination is just, it is right, and it is inevitable.” 

He said he finds the theological arguments against women’s ordination to be ambiguous and unconvincing. Historically, women played prominent apostolic roles in the life of the church, especially Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles. He went out to say that the current teachings of the church are not consistent with how the Spirit is calling people today, and it is a matter of social justice. Having daughters and sons also informed his conscience around this issue, knowing and teaching them that they should be able to answer any vocational call within the church. He also highlighted how women’s ordination exists in some of our sister churches, and in conjunction with Vatican II, we must have greater respect for these churches, and as he says, “they offer a blueprint for what the Catholic Church might consider doing.” 

His answers shed light on the problematic clericalism in the structure of the church, when asked how he works to support women’s ordination, particularly in his role as a member of the clergy. 

He first stated that fostering a spirit of respectful dialogue is important. He finds that we must listen to all perspectives on the issue, but support the Spirit and flame within those women who wish to pursue ordination. 

He recalled a time when a young woman asked him if she could be ordained. He told me that when he dons the robes of a deacon, he handles that type of question with care, because he speaks for the church in an official capacity and cannot say his true opinion. He is not allowed to advocate for women’s ordination publicly as a deacon in a homily or church announcements, but has no concern in sharing his views in private discussions when not representing the church, so to speak. 

This struck me, as it displays the power dynamic that deacons are faced with. Though deacons are a part of the clergy, they have the least amount of power in that structure, and what they are allowed to say and do is greatly impacted by how their local church leadership allocates power. By joining this flawed institution, he must be at least neutral publicly towards the church’s teachings, even if he personally feels they are wrong. Otherwise, he may be further silenced and stripped of his ministry. This is saddening and frustrating information to hear, because we may have allies and advocates in the clergy, yet they cannot say so. But, perhaps as we attempt to tackle clericalism, we can see many more advocates emerge from their controlled position.

In his conversations within the hierarchy, he said that if the person is equal within the power structure to him and they are both outside the public view, he will share his support for women’s ordination. If the church leadership member is above him in the hierarchy, he will respectfully listen to their perspective, and if they ask him his view, he will give them his honest opinion.

While working within undemocratic institutions such as the Catholic Church, one must unfortunately make tactful choices about how they approach the conversation of women’s ordination, as sometimes the most effective results will come from changing when you put forth your opinion. It may seem to some that this approach is apologetic, and may not be everyone’s choice of advocacy style. In terms of his relationship to different clergy members in the power structure, this idea ties back to the reality that clergy members cannot be candid in their response to those above them in the hierarchy. The deacon laments the clericalism in this structure, and wishes he could share his opinion more openly without fear of consequences.

The average parishioner assumes that decisions are made by the male church leadership, and that is a partly true perception. In his opinion, “By actively denying a womens vocation to be a cleric, you have, in their minds, and in the broader perception, actively kept their voice out of what we might call church leadership,” and this fosters inequality within the church. This is a vestige of clericalism, as parishioners have not always had their voices heard. But now, parishioners have more power within the church, explicitly and in small ways, and can make more change than they think they are capable of.

I feel that the deacon’s response to focusing on clericalism demonstrates his view of the Catholic Church and his relationship as a clergy member. It is difficult to be a part of an institution that holds these views, so rather than focusing on how to navigate that, the deacon spoke on a related issue that was easier to focus on: clericalism. He lessens his focus on the church’s actual current teachings, and instead focuses on the people of the church, advocating for them to challenge church power. Perhaps in a way, this is how he reconciles his views with the church’s teachings: by encouraging others to change the church teachings by de-clericalism. But, as a deacon, he must face this question head on himself, to clarify his actions.

To conclude this interview, I posed the question: how realistic is women’s ordination in the Catholic Church? Is it an achievable goal?

Again he said, women’s ordination is just, it is right, and it is inevitable. He went on to say that it is part of the natural evolution of the church, and we must let the wonderful changes brought by Vatican II fully breathe through the church. Allowing women’s ordination would be immense in symbolic and real value, and timing is key to the movement. He feels that church leadership in significant positions of power must be open to the movement, and we must have a grassroots movement from the parishioners, inspired by the Spirit to open their hearts to a concept they have not experienced. He said that the timeline of women’s ordination in the church is “unclear” but we are currently on the cusp of change. This cusp includes, as of recent, many Amazonian bishops’ work to attain permission for women’s ordination to the diaconate, and a worldwide synod about discerning a path forward for the global church to respond to the needs of its people today. Perhaps women’s ordination will occur in parts of the church initially to imagine what it would appear like in the broader church. Other parallel movements, such as removing the celibacy requirement in the priesthood, also factor into our movement. The deacon ended the interview with the hope-inducing support of an ally and advocate: “I would warmly welcome anyone called to the vocation of the diaconate.”