The Permanent Diaconate in the Latin Rite was restored by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1967 following the discernment of the need for and relevancy of the Order by the Council Fathers of Vatican II.
Eastern Catholic Churches consistently maintained the Apostolic Tradition of a Permanent Diaconate ordered to service and the work of charity, while the Latin Church suppressed the Order as a permanent Clerical state, still considering it to be part of the Sacrament of Holy Orders but only as a transitional stage to the Order of Priesthood.
In 1968, just one year after the Pope restored the Permanent Diaconate, United States Bishops petitioned the Holy See for permission to restore the Order in this country.
As of 2017, there were 18,287 Permanent Deacons in the United States, compared to 37,181 Priests, comprising almost 50% of Catholic Clerics in the country.
Remarkably, 40 % of all Permanent Deacons worldwide are in the United States.
Every diocese in the country has Permanent Deacons. Almost every diocese has an active Permanent Diaconate recruiting and formation office.
I raise the subject of the history of the Permanent Diaconate as a sign of what we might expect will happen should Pope Francis allow for the Ordination of married men of proven virtue to the Priesthood.
We should remember that the impetus for restoring the Permanent Diaconate was the lack of Clergy to serve the needs of the missionary efforts of the Church especially in South and Latin America.
Pope Francis has signaled an openness to ordaining married men of proven virtue even as he named an 18-person preparatory committee to help draw up next year’s Synod whose official theme is “Amazonia: New Pathways for the Church and for an Integral Ecology”.
The Synod will address the difficulties of a region troubled by poverty, environmental destruction and a lack of Clergy to cover a vast area.
Several Bishops and theologians in the Amazon region have proposed allowing married Priests as a necessary and practical response to the Priest shortage.
Neo-conservative reactionaries have already labeled the proposal a “backdoor” way to undermine Clerical celibacy in the Church.
In previous posts, I have suggested that Pope Francis will most likely respond to such a proposal by leaving the decision in the hands of the local Bishops of the area who know best what is needed to care for those entrusted to their spiritual and Sacramental care.
But, let there be no doubt that, should the Church go forward with the ordination of married men of proven virtue in the Amazon, one can expect that in a decade or so the overwhelming majority of married Priests will found in the United States.
No question in my mind whatsoever.
And why not.
No one can doubt there is a shortage of Priests almost everywhere around the world.
Why would a proposal to supplement the Cleric in the Amazon with ordained married Priests not be an equally acceptable response to the shortages of Priests elsewhere?
The virtue of individual Permanent Deacons and their commitment to their vocation notwithstanding, the reality is that they provide little in the way of vital Sacramental care in the fulfillment of the ministry available to them.
Permanent Deacons are not able to offer Holy Mass, hear Confessions, anoint the sick and the dying. And, while they occasionally witness weddings and baptize infants as well as preach here and there on weekends, theirs is what I refer to as an “attendant ministry” assisting but not providing much needed Priestly ministry.
The point I am making is simply this.
Should the Amazon Synod open the door to married men being ordained Priests, they will in a decade or so constitute the majority of Priests serving in the United States and American married Priests will far outnumber those in any other part of the world as well.
All this is dependent on whether Pope Francis, by the grace of God, is still alive and well at the time the Synod is to be convened in 2019.
If he is not, it's anyone's guess whether or not the Synod will even proceed.
But if Francis is still Vicar of Christ, I think the proposal will be made and the response which I have suggested the Pope will make are rather certain.
So the Church needs to prepare for what may be coming in the way of how the face of the Priesthood may appear in the not too distant future.
And remember: you heard it hear first!
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