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The Maltese cardinal, who heads the Vatican's Secretariat for the Synod, stated in a recent interview that a female diaconate (unspecified whether ordained or not) would not be a “revolution” but a “natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”
If Cardinal Mario Grech held nearly any office other than the one he does, his recent comments in favor of the female diaconate and against the need for “uniformity of thought” in the universal Church might not be so significant.
After all, when prelates offer their theological opinions, it’s generally taken as just that — an individual Church leader’s theological opinion.
But Cardinal Grech isn’t an ordinary prelate — he heads the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Synod. And just one week before his March 21 interviewwith an Italian-language Swiss publication, Pope Francis had tasked the Maltese cardinal with implementing 10 study groups to focus on themes raised at the 2023 Synod on Synodality assembly. Among them: the possibility of “women’s access to the diaconate” and “shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues” in a way that pays “greater attention to the diversity of situations” in different parts of the world.
In other words, the cardinal’s comments can’t help but be read in the context of the study groups and how Cardinal Grech might intend to lead them, contributing to an already sizable list of concerns about the approach.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
If Cardinal Mario Grech held nearly any office other than the one he does, his recent comments in favor of the female diaconate and against the need for “uniformity of thought” in the universal Church might not be so significant.
After all, when prelates offer their theological opinions, it’s generally taken as just that — an individual Church leader’s theological opinion.
But Cardinal Grech isn’t an ordinary prelate — he heads the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Synod. And just one week before his March 21 interviewwith an Italian-language Swiss publication, Pope Francis had tasked the Maltese cardinal with implementing 10 study groups to focus on themes raised at the 2023 Synod on Synodality assembly. Among them: the possibility of “women’s access to the diaconate” and “shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues” in a way that pays “greater attention to the diversity of situations” in different parts of the world.
In other words, the cardinal’s comments can’t help but be read in the context of the study groups and how Cardinal Grech might intend to lead them, contributing to an already sizable list of concerns about the approach.
Continued below.
Cardinal Grech’s Controversial Comments Add to Growing List of Concerns on Post-Synodal Study Groups
The Maltese cardinal, who heads the Vatican's Secretariat for the Synod, stated in a recent interview that a female diaconate (unspecified whether ordained or not) would not be a “revolution” but a “natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”
