Tuesday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time
(I Timothy 3)
Pope John Paul II raised the ire of many when he judged that the Church cannot ordain women to the priesthood. His call that the question not be discussed seemed to salt the newly opened wounds of those who see the issue as a matter of human rights. He probably only wanted to limit everyone’s frustration, but significantly he never said that ordaining women deacons is out of the question. Proponents of women deacons will find some support in today’s first reading.
Where the First Letter to Timothy speaks of deacons, it first refers to males but their role is indeterminate. Are they ordained to administer the sacraments as we have in the Church today? Or are they principally table servers as the word “deacon” implies? The text is not clear either in its reference to women. Are they the deacons’ wives, or are they women who share equally in the ministry of the diaconate with the men? At least one biblical authority believes that the latter is the more probable case.
So this reading may refer to ordained or non-ordained deacons and to women who are deacons or deacons’ wives. It will take far more than these few lines to determine whether women should be ordained to the diaconate. We trust that the pope will decide on the issue in truth, and we pray that the people will accept that decision in faith. We might also add that whether as deacons or in some other capacity women’s visibility and audibility in church should enhance everyone’s appreciation for the glory of God.
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