Ordaining Female Deacons

The Catholic Church teaches that only baptized men can validly receive Holy Orders as deacons, priests, or bishops — a position definitively stated by Pope St. John Paul II in his 1994 document Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. However, throughout Pope Francis’ pontificate pressure has been applied to allow the ordination of women as deacons, a move that critics believe to be a crucial step to allowing ordination of women as priests. Although Francis has publicly rejected the possibility, he has left the issue open for discussion.