Permanent deacons are a “gift for the Church” and “do not detract from the vital role of the empowered laity,” Archbishop Michael Neary said as he ordained Tuam’s first three permanent deacons.
In his homily for the ceremony at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam, Archbishop Neary stressed that a vibrant diaconate enhances, expands and empowers the ministry of the laity, the religious and of the priesthood “since the diaconate is a God-given grace and gift to the Church”.
He told the three men being ordained that as married men, as husbands and fathers, they brought an experience and expertise to the ordained ministry that is already “totally supportive of and fully committed to the vocation of the laity, of the priesthood, and of the consecrated way of life”.
The ministry of the deacon, understood and exercised properly, does not detract and should never detract from the vital role of the empowered laity, he said.
In October, a spokesperson for the Association of Catholic Priests criticised the decision by the Bishop of Limerick and the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin to proceed with a male-only diaconate in their dioceses, while a Vatican commission is still considering whether to reintroduce women deacons.
Fr Roy Donovan, who is parish priest of Caherconlish, said he would like to see an Irish bishop publicly back women deacons to show that the Church is serious about reform.
He called on men in every diocese in Ireland to show their solidarity with women by boycotting the diaconate until women are re-admitted to this role.
Fr Donovan said a worldwide boycott of the diaconate in the Church, in solidarity with women, would “send a loud message to the synod that women and men must be on a par where leadership, decision-making and voting at synods are concerned”.
Permanent deacons can baptise, assist the priest during Mass and bless sacramental marriages as well as bring Communion to the sick and preside at funeral liturgies and carry out Christian burials.
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