Now they want women Deacons!



H/T to Get Religion www.getreligion.org who carries the story of US teacher, Diane Dougherty. Ms Dougherty has ambitions at taking on the Catholic Church in a move to achieve for women, the status of Deacon. Now, I am not all that keen on male deacons but female ones fill me with dread. Dread as a consequence of many issues but none of them being a dislike of women. Moral support comes from a priest, Fr Roy Bourgeois, who is already under Vatican scrutiny for participating in an "ordination of a female priest" two years ago.



Fr Bourgeois, left and two deaconesses





The Atlanta Journal, (who originally reported  the story) describes Ms Dougherty as a woman who shares her house with two cats (she must be loveable), smiles a lot and has 'eyes that flash with intellect'. Wow! In brief then: "She hardly looks like someone flouting centuries of tradition, challenging the Roman Catholic Church". What? You mean no Martin Luther costume? No Cromwelian helmet and pikestaff? Just the same old boring twin set and pearls (a definite sign of evil in my book).

According to DD she is at the forefront of a womens' movement that is determined to make a break with tradition, one that has resulted in over 200 women being ordained or created deacons in the other (small 'c') catholic church in the USA in the past few years.

The question is, does the Holy Father stay awake at night worrying about Ms Dougherty and her movements........I think not.







If you're dying...do you call for the parish administrator?

Something a Deacon just cannot do

My guess is not and now here comes the unkind cut; all too often a sick call request to the Presbytery results in the appearance of a Deacon. I am sure Deacons are good and well intentioned people but, in extremis, I would want a priest to hear my confession and/or to administer the Sacrament of Extreme Unction euphemistically called, these days, The Sacrament of the Sick.
On two occasions in the past month urgent requests on behalf of potentially dying relatives and friends have resulted in a Deacon arriving to administer Holy Communion. I suppose I should be grateful that it was not an Extraordinary Minister.
Priests are, busy people (at least all the ones I know are) but the salvation of a soul is the very essence of their  vocation. It must be a tremendous feeling to have administered the last rites to someone who has not been near a confessional in 50 years - a soul snatched from the grasp of the devil! A real and wonderful success for their priestly aims. And just think how many souls a priest could save by this method over the years, hundreds, maybe thousands.
A Deacon turning up deprives that person of the Sacrament of Penance, it's as simple as that. In a management situation one would review the duties that occupy the priest and see if the roles could not be exchanged. The Deacon remains at the Presbytery drafting sermons or doing the Diocesan accounts while the priest goes out to do what he is there for.
It can't be as simple as that can it?