Changes in the Permanent Diaconate?
by Kristen West McGuire
Last week, you took a true-false quiz on the basics of the permanent diaconate.
This week, we have the essay portion of the test. Your question is, "What
changes are likely in the permanent diaconate as the Church approaches the year
2000?" (Limit your focus to the U.S.!) The following "Cliff
Notes"
will help you prepare your response:
The United States bishops received permission from Rome to ordain permanent deacons in
1968, with the first ordinations in 1971. The first deacons in the U.S. are now
reaching retirement age. The diaconate has grown and changed. Deacons now have a
stronger sense of identity and purpose than they did in those
early years.
The difficulty of the early years stemmed from the "newness" of the office of
permanent deacon. Identity necessarily began with what deacons were not-- not
priests and not lay persons. Today, most deacons identify themselves positively, in terms
of service: service to the altar, service to the Gospel, service to the poor and needy.
However, there are still issues facing the worldwide diaconate. (Rome was not built
in a day!) In November of this year, the Congregation for the Clergy will devote a
plenary session to these questions. Documents produced from this meeting will help clarify
some difficult questions. We will look at some of the issues to be covered, and their
potential impact on U.S. deacons.
1) How can the formation process be improved?
The implicit observation is that it needs improvement. In remarks to the
National Catholic Diaconate Conference last summer in New Orleans, Archbishop Crescenzio
Sepe, Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, raised this question. He
outlined formation deficiencies gleaned the dispensation
requests of deacons seeking a dismissal from the clerical state. "During the
period of formation...there is a lack of genuine education regarding chastity in one's own
state in life...Frequently, there is a lack of information about authentic aspects of the
sacrament of Orders...Sometimes there is excessive reliance on desired future growth and
improvement which is uncertain at best."
To be fair, the majority of these deacons probably received their formation in the early
years of the diaconate. Formation has vastly changed since then. According to
Deacon John Pistone, director of the National Association of Permanent Diaconate
Directors, "There is a renewed emphasis on the spiritual life of the deacon
candidate. The candidate brings his vocation to the formation process. We try
to add onto that foundation the skills and knowledge to apply the power of the ministry of
service to the man's life and work." Formation today engages the deacon
candidate spiritually, intellectually and emotionally.
"Formation programs across dioceses are voluntarily developing a standard
curriculum," says Deacon Samuel Taub, director of the office of the permanent
diaconate at NCCB. He points to the lack of a structured catechesis after Vatican II
as a major factor in the difficulties the diaconate has had in some
dioceses. "There is a wide disparity of views as to who deacons are for the life of
the Church. Where there was adequate catechesis, the diaconate was successful."
Archbishop Sepe also criticized post-ordination education that was "not in effective
communion with the mind of the Church." It would appear that there is a vocal
minority of deacons who openly question the doctrines of the Church. Could this be
the result of inadequate catechesis? From his Orlando office, Deacon Henry Libersat,
Editor and General Manager of The Florida Catholic, noted, "The deacons in my diocese
are respectful of the pope and the college of bishops." He said the majority
would agree with the Magisterium on all matters of faith and morals. "While
some may have personal questions about certain teachings and disciplines, most of these
deacons would still defer to the Church in decisions of doctrine, especially in preaching
and teaching. The majority of faithful deacons in any diocese should never be judged
on the actions of a minority."
The restoration of the permanent diaconate within the reforms of Vatican II has its
difficulties. Deacons tend to be viewed by more conservative Catholics as an
innovation of post-conciliar American liberals, whereas they are seen by more liberal
Catholics as heralds of a "progressive" era in the Church. Both views
raise unfair expectations of the deacon, who owes allegiance to Christ and His Church
first and foremost. Formation programs are designed to help deacons find balance in
every way. It should be no surprise that this is a difficult task.
2) Do the real ecclesial needs of each diocese correspond to the number of deacons and
deacon candidates?
Deacon Pistone tells the following story. There was a priest on the advisory board
for the permanent diaconate in his diocese. He noted the large numbers of deacons
already ordained, and asked the permanent diaconate director, "Are there enough
deacons?" The director responded, "Are all the needs of the poor and the
marginalized in our diocese being met?"
Still, with over 11,000 deacons (out of a world-wide diaconate of 20,000), American
dioceses must assess ecclesial needs carefully. The shortage of priests may mean
that deacons will serve where priests are usually placed. There are dioceses with
waiting lists of parishes who have requested a deacon to assist their priest. This
development is a threat to the Church's vision and primary calling of the deacon to
service. Deacons ideally devote equal time to the altar and the Gospel, but
emphasize service of justice and charity. Many deacons interviewed for this story
were concerned that the diaconate might become too "liturgical" as the shortage
of priests intensifies.
Sometimes, placement in a local parish can prove less fulfilling than a direct placement
into a service role. Deacon Frank Lukovits of the Diocese of Albany (NY) has served
as a deacon in a rural church, as director of the permanent diaconate in his diocese, and
as a hospital chaplain. He relates, "Deacons who are placed in a parish where
they are not fully utilized often become frustrated. In recent years as a hospital
chaplain, I have experienced the most fulfillment in my eighteen years as a deacon.
I believe the reason is that the needs of the sick and dying are generally greater than
those I encounter in the parish setting." He also noted that there were more
opportunities for deacons and their wives to serve as a couple in a hospital setting.
"My wife, Anne, and I are able to minister together more easily than in the
parish."
Clearly, bishops, priests, deacons and laity will all have to work together to serve the
needs of the Church.
3) Should deacons be classed as part of the presbyterate of the diocese, or of the
hierarchical ministry of the Church?
Like diocesan priests, deacons are incardinated in ("belong" to) the diocese in
which they are ordained. Unlike priests, however, most deacons hold down a full-time job
outside of their service ministry. The average American family will experience more
than one move over the course of a lifetime. When a deacon is transfered, the new
diocese is under no obligation to incardinate him, or even to grant him faculties to
minister. This is a particularly thorny issue as some dioceses do not have a
permanent diaconate.
Deacon Bill Vivio was ordained in the Phoenix diocese in 1977. When he and his
family relocated to San Diego in 1987, it was an easy transition, but it might not have
been. "God was looking out for me, " he said. "I was befriended by a deacon
in our new parish. He took me under his wing and walked me through the incardination
process, which took over three years. I know of some deacons who were refused
incardination."
A protocol for the incardination and excardination of deacons has just been published by
the NCCB Committee on the Permanent Diaconate. This document should provide some
guidance to deacons and bishops alike. There are still questions it cannot answer,
however.
If deacons were classed within the hierarchical ministry of the Church (i.e. incardinated
through the National Conference of Catholic Bishops? the Vatican?), it might solve several
problems. First, formation would be standardized. Real ecclesial needs could
be determined on a national basis. Finally, deacons transferring to a diocese
without a permanent diaconate would have an easier time finding a place to serve the
Church.
Those benefits may not outweigh the liabilities of such a change. Deacons within a
diocese have a direct line of support in the diocesan office for the permanent diaconate.
The bishop of a diocese serves as a shepherd to both the priests and the deacons of
a diocese. Furthermore, the bishop of a local diocese is in a much better position
to assign deacons where they are needed.
4) Should deacons administer the sacrament of anointing of the sick?
Many deacons in the U.S. are involved in some form of pastoral care to the sick and dying.
Thus, the answer to this question will affect them directly.
Deacons involved in pastoral ministry usually have access to a back-up priest for the
sacraments of penance and anointing of the sick. Of course, they are able to bring
communion to the sick, and Viaticum to the dying. Usually, the deacon has been
praying with and counseling the patient and his/her family. It
seems only natural that the hospital minister who began the initial pastoral care should
be the one who follows through with the anointing.
Tt the same time, the general concern over balance in diaconal service shows up in this
area as well. Deacons do not want to appear as "mini-priests".
Their identity is centered on service, not the sacraments. "It may not be
absolutely essential for the deacon to have the faculty to anoint the sick to do good
hospital ministry," stated Deacon Lukovits.
Sacraments administered by an outside priest might be "set apart" in the mind of
the patient. This reliance on the priest can lead patients to question the validity
of holy orders held by a deacon. Further, Deacon Lukovits noted that there are times
and situations in which a priest is just not available. "After spending hours
with a critical patient, I find it awkward and perhaps inappropriate to call in someone
else. It seems to me that deacons should be allowed to anoint the sick."
5) Should women be ordained as deacons?
There are wives of deacons who resent the fact that their service is not officially
recognized in the same way as the service of a deacon. They often undergo the same
formation and serve the Church in lay positions. Citing Romans 16:1, some believe
that deaconesses were part of the early Church ministry. Why not today?
Several of the early Church councils, including the Council of Nicea, condemn the
ordination of "deaconesses". In addition, the Bible itself clearly
prohibits women from preaching the gospel in the mass. (cf. ICor. 14:34-36) Deacon
Taub said, "In the early years after Vatican II, this question was regularly an
agenda item for the bishops who served on the Committee for the Permanent Diaconate.
Over the years, interest in the diaconate abated as women's interest in
presbyteral ordination became more evident. In any case, it is clear that
deaconesses in the early Church were not ordained in the sense we understand ordination
today." Archbishop Sepe made much the same point in a recent interview in St.
Anthony Messenger. It is unlikely that women will be ordained as deacons or priests
in the Catholic Church.
"Most wives find a way of making peace with this issue," said Anne Lukovits.
"One wife I know came to our support group meeting and said, 'I preached
yesterday, and it felt great!' We were silent, until she clarified that her audience
was the second grade catechism class at her parish. She had found great meaning in
her work, and an outlet for her speaking talents. In many ways, her ministry to
those children is just as important as the deacon preaching a homily in the mass."
All deacons will benefit from a clear statement of the Church's expectations and support
for the permanent diaconate. The need of the world for Christ remains acute. The
Church must respond with all of the power open to her. Deacons are an instrumental element
of the Church's response.
In many ways, the deacon brings the needs of the parish and local community into sharp
relief. He lives as a bridge between the Church and the world. His family, friends,
co-workers and local parish benefit from the power of the Holy Spirit in his life.
Deacons bring to the Church a wealth of service and humility - the very richness of the
gospel itself.
As sign and sacrament of the service of Christ, deacons lead others to be His hands and
feet in the world. All Christians, lay or religious, are obligated to service in
some way. Deacons witness to the gospel by modeling this humble service daily.
"It could happen that the diaconate will fulfill the mission for which the
Spirit raised it. In that case, we shouldn't be afraid for the diaconate to
disappear again," observes Deacon Taub.
The End.
Taken from the May 21, 1995 issue of "Catholic Twin Circle." For
subscriptions contact: Catholic Twin Circle, P.O. Box 260380, Encino, CA 91426-0380,
(800) 421-3230.
Send comments to the editor, Loretta G. Seyer, to CATHOLIC TWIN CIRCLE, 15760
Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1201, Encino, CA 91436, (800) 421-3230
NOTE TO CRNET REVIEWERS: Although this article is perhaps not as scholarly as some CRNET
subscribers might need, I hope that it might be useful to you as more and more lay
Catholics join
CRNET in search of solid information that is easily readable.
To contact Kristen West McGuire: 714 G Avenue, Unit B Coronado, CA 92118, ph/fax (619)
435-5350
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