ARGUING YES
Co-director of Discerning Deacons
ARGUING NO
Theologian; Former Chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in California
MODERATOR
Journalist and Host of “Smart Girl Dumb Questions”
This week:
- New episode: Under a new pope, is there a new opportunity for women deacons?
- Your Sunday reading list
With the recent election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, attention has quickly turned to questions of reform—and none is more urgent to many than whether women will ever be ordained as deacons.
This question of female ordination raises larger societal issues of tradition, power, and influence within institutions.
Those arguing for change in the Catholic Church say that women already lead in practice —teaching, counseling, guiding congregations— and that denying them ordination is a structural blind spot. They say it limits the Church’s moral credibility, especially with younger generations and women worldwide, as other denominations become more inclusive and permit ordination.
Opponents hold that the diaconate has always been male by design, and it’s not about discrimination. They see ordination as tied to deep theological traditions. Changing that structure would risk diluting core teachings and destabilizing the Church’s global unity. In their view, the Church can elevate women in many ways without redefining ordination.
Pope Leo XIV has signaled openness to dialogue, but not disruption. Whether that leads to female ordination—or just another generation of debate—remains to be seen.
Casey Stanton, co-director of Discerning Deacons, and Pia de Solenni, a former chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in California, take on this important question in this week’s debate, hosted by guest moderator and host of the “Smart Girl, Dumb Questions” podcast, Nayeema Raza.
This debate idea was proposed by a newsletter subscriber and member of the Open to Debate community. We’d love to hear your ideas for debates as well, and as always, tell us what you think.
More soon,
Lia Matthow
Chief Content Officer
POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Is It Time for the Catholic Church to Ordain Women as Deacons?
YES: Casey Stanton
“The community has the power and authority to call forth the ministers that it needs. That’s actually the origin story in the scriptures of the diaconate. You have women who are being discriminated against and left out of the distribution, and then the community realizes they can call forth deacons in order to help share in the ministry.”
NO: Pia de Solenni
“So if we want to talk about a type of woman deaconess—not a woman deacon—but an unsacramentally ordained woman who provides a specific type of service in a capacity, I think that’s fair game. But if we’re talking about the ordained diaconate, we’re going to miss what it means for ordination. Particularly in the priest — the priest stands as Christ, and Christ actually does have a specific sexually differentiated role, and that is, he is the bridegroom to the Church.”
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