Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate

It pertains to the competent territorial bodies of bishops, of one kind or another, with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff, to decide whether and where it is opportune for such deacons to be established for the care of souls.

[4][5] The Catholic Church had examined the question of women deacons in 2002, a report by the International Theological Commission, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

[6] On 26 October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI modified canon law to clarify the distinction between deacons and priests, writing that only the latter act "in the person of Christ", that the diaconate and priesthood are specific ministries rather than stages within the sacrament of order.

[9] A few senior prelates took opposing positions on the possibility of a female diaconate, including Cardinals Walter Kasper[10] and Gerhard Müller.

Zagano has written a book titled Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church, while Menke has argued that women cannot be deacons because they cannot be priests.

[27] In May 2019, Francis said the Study Commission had not yet produced a "definitive response" due to a lack of consensus regarding the role of deaconesses in early Christianity.