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Keywords: Women Deacons

  • RELIGION

    The quiet revolution in women's roles in the Church

    • Joanna Thyer
    • 07 November 2024

    At the World Synod in Rome, four women joined to advocate for ordaining women as deacons. Though the topic remains off the table officially, the message highlights the Church’s internal conflict between traditional values and growing calls for inclusion and change.

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  • RELIGION

    Women deacons: Is it time?

    • Elizabeth Young
    • 15 August 2024

      Copious research has demonstrated the historical existence of women deacons, including St Phoebe, the only person in scripture with the descriptor Deacon. So how far off is Australia from ordaining women deacons? 

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  • RELIGION

    Women deacons: A closed book?

    • Bill Uren
    • 11 June 2024

    In a 60 Minutes interview, Pope Francis was asked whether there would ever be the prospect within the Catholic Church of a woman being ordained as a deacon. The Pope’s reply was a blunt ‘No’. This negative response came as a surprise to many Vatican watchers. 

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  • RELIGION

    Painful times for Church reformers

    • John Warhurst
    • 29 May 2024

    We are now witnessing a changed dynamic within the movement for church reform. The balance within its component parts has changed towards a more pessimistic view. A minority is still hopeful; a few even remain optimistic, but most are struggling.

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  • RELIGION

    Unearthing hidden gems of reform following the synod

    • Bill Uren
    • 12 December 2023
    2 Comments

    The Synod on Synodality raised possible Church reforms like expanding communion to non-Catholics in interchurch marriages and reevaluating the stance on divorced and remarried members. This raises the question: Can the Church reconcile longstanding traditions with emerging calls for inclusivity and ecumenical openness?

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  • RELIGION

    A Church for everyone: In conversation with Phyllis Zagano

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 26 May 2023
    3 Comments

    In a discussion with Michele Frankeni, Catholic scholar Dr Phyllis Zagano explores the question of whether there is a need for increased recognition of women in the Catholic Church, particularly regarding their potential in the diaconate. She investigates both the historical evidence for ordained female deacons and the modern arguments for their re-introduction.

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  • RELIGION

    The First Synod: Procedure or reforms?

    • Bill Uren
    • 18 May 2023
    8 Comments

    The Vatican's recent refusal of proposed reforms in preparation for the Synod reflects not only the ongoing tension between the Vatican Curia and the German Church but also a reminder of the forces that aim to keep a tight lid on real synodal reforms.

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  • RELIGION

    Catholic, female and struggling: Survey reveals women's desire for Church reform

    • David Halliday
    • 17 March 2023
    8 Comments

    Over 17,000 women worldwide have called for Church reform in a newly published survey by Catholic Women Speak Network. Respondents from 104 countries expressed dissatisfaction with a lack of transparency in governance and voiced the need to be seen, heard and valued. 

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  • RELIGION

    Original synodality: Consultation in the early Church

    • Constant Mews
    • 22 February 2023
    2 Comments

    Words get tired, and need to be reinvented, to recapture their original meaning. Synodality is simply the most recent way of regenerating traditions of consultation that go back to the earliest days of the Church. 

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  • RELIGION

    Two lives

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 17 January 2023
    11 Comments

    The two Catholic leaders who passed away this summer both lived in the public spotlight for much of their lives, but they also each lived a private life of which we only ever gained glimpses. Those of us who didn’t know them tend to fill in the details based on which aspects of their public persona best align with our own attitudes.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Speaking truth to power: In conversation with Tim Costello

    • Barry Gittins, Tim Costello
    • 07 October 2022
    1 Comment

    Reverend Tim Costello's informal status as a nagging conscience to many Australian governments, including the Howard government in which his brother Peter served as federal treasurer, was formally acknowledged when the National Trust of Australia chose him as a ‘National Living Treasure’. Barry Gittins speaks to Tim Costello about the nature of power, and its place and exercise in public life.

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  • RELIGION

    Stray thoughts: On using our talents

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 12 July 2022
    1 Comment

    Last week at the Plenary Council Second Assembly, it seems many of Australia’s bishops, for whatever reason, wanted to bury the talents available to them. They voted down motions related to the equality of dignity between men and women. The reaction according to commentators was visceral with members, not just women, upset and angry. It is likely the anger was more potent for the fact that the motions had become so anodyne that many assembly members are probably regretting the parsing and pruning. 

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