Pope Francis’ proposal to set up a commission to discuss whether women may be raised to the diaconate has aroused much excitement. The excitement is misplaced. Setting up a Vatican commission could simply kick the ball into the long grass. By the time its report is on the table, it is more than likely the Church will have a new, and perhaps very different, Pope. Protagonists of women’s ordination believe there is plenty of historical evidence from the early and the early medieval Church, but it is far from conclusive. The very early Church did not have priests as we have them today, let alone deacons. It is highly unlikely that the commission will produce a clinching argument one way or the other.