Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/APWomen deacons are not to be allowed in the Catholic Church, it was announced on Thursday. A Vatican Commission said in a report that it “rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders”. In 2022, an island-wide consultation with practising Irish Catholics found that 96 per cent favoured the ordination of women as deacons and priests. The commission was the second set up by Pope Francis to make recommendations on the issue of women deacons. Quoting arguments for and against allowing women deacons, Thursday’s announcement noted how an argument against led to deadlock at the commission.

Source: The Irish Times December 05, 2025 13:43 UTC