Women and Diakonia: The Ministry of Women and Diaconal Ordination in the Catholic Church

The Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology was founded to enable and form women in ministry in the Church. As we celebrate our Pearl Anniversary, we are proud to see so many alumnae ministering as catechists, chaplains to hospitals, prisons, schools and universities, counsellors, educators, parish pastoral workers, theologians and in spiritual accompaniment.

So with the synthesis documents from the ongoing Synod of the Catholic Church voicing a strong call across the Church for the recognition and development of women's ministry, including the possibility of reviving women deacons (remember Phoebe, Romans 16:1?), we were delighted to be approached about holding a conference on the subject by Prof Phyllis Zagano of Hofstra University, New York. Phyllis is an expert on women and diaconate and as such was a member of the inaugural Papal Commission on Women and Diaconate.

Over the past year we've been working with Phyllis to shape the conference so that we situate women deacons in the wider context of women's ministry in the Church today and above all the needs of the Church's mission.

The word 'diaconate' actually comes from the New Testament Greek word diakonia, which primarily means 'ministry' - what many people, women and men, clergy and lay, are already doing in the Church. The evidence of the New Testament shows that there were women deacons. But what did they do? Why did they disappear? If women deacons were to be restored, how would this be enabled without falling into the clericalization Pope Francis has warned us against - i.e. so that the authentic ministerial expressions of the lay vocation are also fostered without diminishment?

The great tradition of Catholic theology in which Margaret Beaufort is proud to follow is a tradition of dialogue: St. Thomas Aquinas always considered every theological question by starting with the opposite point of view to his own - even the question of whether God exists! So in this conference, we're excited to bring in a broad range of points of view and expertise, both theological and pastoral. Dr Ann Catherine Swailes OP, known to many at Margaret Beaufort as a visiting lecturer, is also a Assistant Catholic Chaplain to Cambridge University; Mia Fox has been for 18 years Lay Catholic Chaplain to the Universities of Newcastle and Northumbria; Prof Bernard Pottier from the Centre Sevres in Paris and Communio journal was also a member of the inaugural Papal Commission on Women and Diaconate. Dr Cathy Jones RA of St Mary's Catholic University, London is an expert in Mariology, and will be exploring the forgotten relationship between Our Lady and the diaconate, and Prof Petros Vassiliadis (Thessaloniki) will bring an ecumenical perspective, speaking on women and the diaconate from the Greek Orthodox tradition.

And above all, there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion, so that your voice can be heard in this vital contribution to the synodal process. We look forward to welcoming and hearing you.

Fr Dominic White
Acting Director of Research

The Ministry of Women and Diaconal Ordination in the Catholic Church
24th and 25th November 2023
University of Cambridge, Faculty of Divinity at the Lightfoot Room (also you can join online)

Bursaries available.

Find more information and register HERE