By Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Oct 25, 2023 / 12:35 pm Pope Francis reaffirmed the impossibility of women becoming priests, or even modern Church deacons, in an interview for a book released Tuesday in Italy. The question of whether some women in the early Church were “deaconesses” or another kind of …

Question: I have been told that women served as deacons in the early Church? If this is true, what was their role? Answer: Instances of women serving as deacons in the early Church, especially in Syria, are referenced in various documents. However, evidence shows deaconesses did not have the same …

Yesterday Pope Francis raised eyebrows around the world after declaring his openness to establishing a commission to study the female deaconate, but a careful look at his full response is less of a shocker, and points to nothing new. In fact, in addition to giving a brief summary of a …