Limerick priest expresses disappointment over Pope’s comments on women deacons
A COUNTY Limerick priest said Pope Francis’s comments on women deacons is “kicking the can down a timeless road”.
Fr Roy Donovan, a spokesperson for the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), said it was a “major disappointment”.
This month, Pope Francis said that a commission to study the possibility of women deacons he established in 2016 ended without a clear conclusion.
“We had come to expect reactions like this from previous popes, but we thought Francis was different, and consequently our disappointment is greater.
“The equality of women is critical for the credibility and the future of the Church. Introducing women deacons is such a minimalist step that if he cannot move on that, there is little or no prospect of any real movement towards equality,” said Fr Donovan, parish priest of Caherconlish / Caherline.
The ACP believes there should be women priests and allow married men be ordained as priests.
Fr Donovan said Pope Francis’s comments “confirm that women are not good enough, and that in the eyes of the ‘official’ Church men are more worthy than women”.
The Galbally man said it confirms that many of women’s gifts will continue to be wasted and that the official institutional Church is a men’s Church.
“This is an enormous blow to reforming the Church and bringing it into the 21st century. Now is the time for all of us who believe in equality to make our voices heard, clearly and without equivocation.
“There must be no fudge about where we stand; bishops, priests and people in the pews. Now is not the time for looking over our shoulders, thinking of our chances of promotion, or of offending those in authority. This is much too important,” said Fr Donovan.