On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
This talk about considering whether women should be deacons–does that mean women could become priests? Because the Catholics not treating women like second-class citizens would mean a lot in my decision on whether to come back.
Let’s unpack these questions and comments in the order in which you raise them.
Yes, Pope Francis said last month he plans to create a commission to consider whether women should be able to be deacons. Should that plan move forward, the 
recommendation wouldn’t necessarily be yes. In Romans, Paul refers to Phoebe as a deacon, but whether that was an official status or Paul meant she like so many others was in service to the Church is unclear. For some, it is unclear based on other historical documents whether the terms deaconess and widow were separate and unique, and whether deaconesses closer to the sense we might consider the term today had to be widows and had to be of a certain age.
As for whether women deacons would mean women priests, it’s important to know there’s a big difference between deacons and priests. It is true that men in the process of becoming priests are first ordained as transitional deacons. But in addition, men, married and single, who are not called to the priesthood can be ordained as permanent deacons. Being a deacon is not “priest lite.” Deacons can perform some of the same activities as priests but cannot confer all sacraments. For example, a deacon can’t consecrate at Mass or hear confession; he can baptize or, if delegated to do so, officiate at marriages. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has an excellent FAQ page about deacons.
As for women becoming priest, John Paul II in 1994 declared the Church has “no authority whatsoever” to ordain women as priests.
Finally, I guess it’s all about perspective. It’s true that in this Church, men and women sometimes have different roles or vocations or charisms. For me, that doesn’t mean women are regarded as “second-class citizens” but rather honored for their unique gifts. I’d suggest you dip your toe into a parish community and see men and women in action serving the Lord; you may or may not come away with a different perspective.
