Will Pope Francis authorize the ordination of women deacons after the Synod? Can he? Bishop Strickland says the Church cannot ordain deaconesses.

In his latest pastoral letter, 19 Sept 2023, Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of the diocese of Tyler, Texas speaks about marriage and holy orders. This post replies to one particular paragraph of that letter, on women’s ordination.

Bishop Strickland claims that the Church has no authority to ordain women.

Bishop Strickland, 19 Sept.: “As we approach the Synod on Synodality, we must remember that God would never call a person to a role which they were not able to fulfill. As I stated in my pastoral letter from September 5, 2023, Sacred Tradition and the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church have affirmed throughout the ages that the Church has no authority whatsoever to ordain women, as Christ called those who would minister in His Name to image Himself as the bridegroom with the Church as His bride. Because the Church has no authority to ordain women, we recognize that God would never authentically call a woman to the sacrament of Holy Orders. As such, if any were to suggest a change could be made to this sacred and unchangeable doctrine, we must recognize this as a break from the Deposit of Faith and reject the idea as contrary to the faith.”

That is not what Strickland stated in his letter of 5 Sept 2023. Instead, he stated the following:

Bishop Strickland, 5 Sept.: “Another topic that I want to discuss because it will reportedly be a topic of discussion at the upcoming Synod on Synodality is the divinely-instituted structure of the Church as it applies to ordination of women. As Sacred Scripture tells us, Christ ordained only men as apostles. Sacred Tradition and the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church have affirmed throughout the ages that the Church has no authority whatsoever to ordain women to the priesthood. This cannot be changed because Christ instituted a male priesthood in order to image Himself as the bridegroom with the Church as His bride. As St. John Paul II solemnly stated in his apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis: “I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”

The previous letter (5 Sept) says “no authority whatsoever to ordain women to the priesthood”, and that is the teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. But now Strickland claims that Tradition and the Ordinary Magisterium has always taught that the Church has “no authority whatsoever to ordain women” period. And this second assertion is not true. There is no definitive teaching in the history of the Magisterium saying women cannot be ordained to the diaconate, nor any teaching settling the question of whether or not women can be ordained deacons. The fact that Jesus chose only men as Apostles is interpreted by the Church such that women cannot be Bishops. And because priests and Bishops stand “in persona Christi capitis” [in the person of Christ, the head], women cannot be ordained as priests or bishops. But deacons stand “in persona Christi servi” [in the person of Christ the servant], and nothing in Catholic teaching prevents a woman from having a role of service in the Church.

St. Paul Seminary, School of Divinity, University of St. Thomas:
“Bishops have been tasked with sanctifying, governing and teaching; they’re considered to have the ‘fullness’ of holy orders. The priests participate in the bishops’ ministry of ruling and teaching and sanctifying. Both bishops and priests serve in persona Christi capitis, or in the person of Christ, the head.

“Deacons, on the other hand, participate in their local bishop’s ministry, but they don’t serve as Christ the head. They serve in persona Christi servi, which means Christ the servant.”

Strickland claims that “Christ called those who would minister in His Name to image Himself as the bridegroom with the Church as His bride.” But this is only true as it pertains to priests and bishops. We are all called to image Christ in our lives — men, women and children — in one way or another. Then women have been non-ordained deacons in the Church in the past, serving the faithful just as Christ serves.

[John]
{13:13} You call me Teacher and Lord, and you speak well: for so I am.
{13:14} Therefore, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash the feet of one another.
{13:15} For I have given you an example, so that just as I have done for you, so also should you do.
{13:16} Amen, amen, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, and the apostle is not greater than he who sent him.

The argument that says that deacons must image Christ as bridegroom is not found in magisterial teaching at all. The claim that the Church has always taught that women cannot be ordained, is not true. Only ordination to the priesthood (which includes priest, Bishop, Pope) excludes women. Whether or not the Church has the authority to ordain women as deacons is an open theological question.

This error by Strickland is quite serious. It puts him in opposition to a future possible decision by the Magisterium, teaching that women can be ordained deacons. And he openly admits this possible future conflict: “As such, if any were to suggest a change could be made to this sacred and unchangeable doctrine, we must recognize this as a break from the Deposit of Faith and reject the idea as contrary to the faith.”

But, as I have shown above, the claim that women cannot be ordained deacons is not “unchangeable doctrine”. The Magisterium has the authority to decide this open question. Pope Francis could possibly decide, at the end of the Synod or at another time, to teach that the Church has the authority to ordain women as deacons. He could then permit the ordination of women deacons to begin by changing Canon law.

Strickland is openly telling his followers that if the Pope, or the Pope and the body of Bishops, decides to teach what is contrary to Strickland’s own understanding, that they should reject such a teaching of proper authority in the Church under the Magisterium, and instead follow Strickland as if he were the Pope. This is ever the error of papal opponents. They do not want the Pope to have authority over what they themselves believe. But they also want to teach and rule in his place. They seek to usurp the See of Peter over the faithful.

Strickland has no authority to declare that the Church cannot ordain women deacons. Strickland has no authority to declare, in advance, that the Synod and the Pope would be teaching contrary to the faith and would be breaking from the Deposit of Faith, if the ordination of women deacons is permitted. These assertions by Strickland are schismatic, since he publicly states that he will not, and that the faithful should not, submit to the authority of the Pope over doctrine and discipline. Those who submit to the authority of the Pope ONLY when the Pope teaches what they like, do not submit at all.

In my opinion, the Church does have the authority to ordain women to the diaconate, but not to the priesthood or episcopate. However, I will accept whatever the Magisterium decides and teaches on this subject.

Ronald L Conte Jr.