“How many working groups on women's deaconess should there be…

The former president of the German Council of Presidents, Katharina Kluitmann, criticized the Vatican's handling of the issue of women's ordination.

It is “disappointing” that this topic in particular has been postponed again, Franciscan Sister Katharina Kluitmann said Saturday, according to Cathapress of the Catholic News Agency in Augsburg. She was referring to the Vatican's announcement that it would remove the issue of women's ordination and other issues from the current global church council. “How many working groups on the women's diaconate should there be?” Kluitman asked rhetorically. The early stages of the World Assembly showed that this issue was on the minds of many around the world. There seems to be a lack of courage to discuss this matter publicly in the council and make decisions.

Kluitmann, who is a member of the Synodal Committee and was a delegate of the German reform project “The Synodal Way,” added that she wrote an open letter to Pope Francis some time ago to show him once again the urgency of the dialogue on equality. conditions. But unfortunately, so far you haven't even received confirmation of receipt.

On Thursday, the Vatican presented ten study groups, each addressing a set of topics formulated by Pope Francis. The defining question in the group should be whether women can become deacons. Until now, the ordination of deacons in the Catholic Church has been reserved only for men, as is the case with the priesthood. The Roman Catholic Church justifies this traditional discrimination against women by the supposed will of the founder of the faith, Jesus Christ, who, according to tradition, chose all men to be his disciples. However, in other Christian churches women are already accepted into the priesthood. In October, the experts are scheduled to present the status of their work at the central meeting of the World Synod in the Vatican. However, councils cannot vote on topics. The groups will work out their final results by June 2025 and then present them to the Pope.