Rorate Caeli

For the Record: Pope on "Deaconess Commission", and clarification

The Future of the Church? (Image of Lutheran Female Deacon)

What happened on Thursday:


In response to a request from an international gathering of Catholic nuns on Thursday, Pope Francis said he will create a commission to study women deacons in the early church, to help answer the question of whether women could also serve as deacons today.
...

“Constituting an official commission that might study the question?” the pontiff asked aloud as quoted by the National Catholic Reporter. “I believe yes. It would do good for the church to clarify this point. I am in agreement. I will speak to do something like this.”

“I accept,” the pope said later. “It seems useful to me to have a commission that would clarify this well.” [Source: Crux]

Questioned by many, the Holy See spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said the following afterwards:

“I think it’s too early to say what [the pope] has exactly in mind.”