As a recently ordained Permanent Deacon I was not aware that bishops are “panic-ordaining” us, (letter from Fr John Hanvey, The Tablet, 3 January). If the rigorous selection process that I underwent in Southwark is anything to go by that is far from the case. Deacons are not "second rate substitute priests", nor are we glorified MCs. The permanent diaconate is a calling of its own - the deacon's ministry is "to bring God's Word to believer and unbeliever alike, to preside over public prayer, to baptise, to assist at marriages and bless them. To give viaticum to the dying, and to lead the rites of burial. Once he is consecrated by the laying on of hands, he will perform works of charity in the name of the Bishop". The deacon is "to celebrate faithfully the liturgy of hours for the Church and for the whole world" (Rite of Ordination of a Deacon).
How I measure up to the to the criteria is not for me to judge, but I can assure Fr John that there are many permanent deacons performing a valuable ministry serving the people of our Lord in a wide variety of roles: chaplaincy in prisons and schools, interfaith relations, working with charities and so on as well general parish duties. Perhaps if there were to be permanent deacons in the Diocese of Salford he would have a better understanding of what we endeavour to do.
Dcn Barry Mellish, St Joseph's RC Church, Bromley
Oh dear! It seems that Fr Hanvey has forgotten that the commission to be “where people are most lost and abandoned” is one given to all followers of Christ, be they priests, deacons or lay people.
That some priests worry more about the “sanctuary being invaded by deacons” rather than being concerned about where they too are needed, among the lost and abandoned, and show such disrespect for their parishioners who dare “go to any lengths to put their children into Catholic schools” may explain why many people, feeling abandoned by the priesthood, and lost in a Church which appears to fail them, have chosen to walk away and become part of the “vast majority of those out of practice”.
As a serving deacon I try to fulfil all that is expected of my ministry with dedication, integrity and humility. I neither seek nor expect recognition, but I do take exception to my ministry being referred to as an irrelevance.
Dcn Shaun Howard, St John Ogilvie, Corby, Northamptonshire
What struck me most about Fr Hanvey’s comment on the “panic ordaining” of deacons was how the sub-editor labelled the diaconate “irrelevant”. In the longstanding theological and pastoral confusion attending talk of deacons, the adjective is sadly apposite, although not for reasons adduced by Fr Hanvey.
In stating that “deacons are not primarily for the sanctuary but for where people are most lost and abandoned”, he is indeed tapping into the source drawn upon by Mgr Jean Rodhain and the Bavarian social worker and would-be-deacon Hannes Kramer in their heroic efforts to get the diaconate onto the agenda of the Second Vatican Council. And the Council duly came up with a broad three-pronged ministerial objective for deacons: “a service/diaconia of the liturgy, of the Gospel, and of works of charity” (Lumen gentium 29).
No “prophetic call” will have the capacity to effect change in this. At the same time, much greater discernment is needed to determine what special character – if any – is to be attributed to these diaconal functions in having been brought together under the umbrella of diaconia. This loanword – so newly fashionable in Catholic circles then – acts still as a tripwire for the unwary. The Greek term had nothing to do then – or ever in ancient Greek culture – with serving the “lost and abandoned” or “the poor”. Fr Hanvey is easily excused for not being aware of the widespread misconceptions still attaching to the use of this term. Pope Francis has tripped up more than once, and his predecessor dropped eyes-wide-open into the trap (Deus caritas est, 25a).
John N Collins, Melbourne, Australia , author of Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources (1990); Deacons and the Church (2002); Diakonia Studies: Critical Issues in Ministry (2014)
Men who are discerning a call to the permanent diaconate are responding to a particular call from God. Having the privilege of being involved in the formation of deacons in Scotland it is clear to me that the men with whom I am working are responding to this specific vocation. It is not for them some kind of compromise to an unattainable ministry as married priests.
Deacons do have a liturgical role to play in the sanctuary, but the deacons that I know are involved pastorally, for example, in prisons, hospitals, visiting the housebound, and in chaplaincy within colleges of further education. Deacons also have opportunities to “minister” in their places of work. As our deacons are not all elderly men, we have deacons who teach, work in social work and care of the elderly, and spiritual care chaplaincy. It is would be sad to think that deacons are perceived simply as an irrelevant substitution for married priests, because, when used effectively, they enrich the pastoral and the liturgical life of the Church.
Fr John Eagers, Renfrew
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