The present day theology of the permanent diaconate is based on:
- Vatican II - "Constitution on the Church"
- Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI 6.8.66 – "Ecclesiae Sanctae".
- Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI 18.6.67 – "Sacrum Diaconatus
Ordinem".
- Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI 17.6.68 – "Pontificalis
Romani Recognito".
- Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI 15.8.72 – "Ad Pascendum".
- General Directory "Peregrinans in terra" – 30.4.69
In recent years we have experienced great difficulty in
"defining" the nature of priesthood and the religious life. The experience
of priests at the Priests Assembly in 1986 is proof of this difficulty.
There is always a temptation to define in terms of function. Some have tried
to distinguish between function and role.
The same difficulty applies to defining the nature and
purpose of the permanent diaconate.
It is interesting to note that when the bishops of the
United States applied to the Holy See for permission to restore the
Permanent Diaconate (2nd May 1968) they offered the following
reasons:
- to enrich and strengthen the many and various diaconal ministries at
work in this country with the sacramental grace of the diaconate;
- to enlist a new group of devout and competent men in the active
ministry of the church;
- to aid in extending needed liturgical and charitable services to the
faithful in both large urban and small rural communities;
- to provide an official and sacramental presence of the Church in many
areas of secular life, as wall as in communities within large cities and
sparsely settled regions where few or no priests are available;
- to provide an impetus and source for creative adaptations of diaconal
ministries to the rapidly changing needs of our society.
In the light of the Church’s documents and experience in
recent years, the present day theology on the permanent diaconate may be
simply expressed in this way.
THE NATURE OR ESSENCE
The first Point to be made with regard to the teaching of the Second
Vatican Council on the diaconate, is concerned with the question of the
essence of this as a permanent official state as a sacrament in the
Church. In this teaching it is laid down first that the hierarchy of a state
which, through subordinate, does constitute a genuine and permanent degree
of the Sacrament of Orders, a visible sign or symbol, expressing service of
the world, the Altar, and Charity with a special effectiveness.
The Diaconate has a genuine and essential function of its own, distinct
from the order of priest. On this point the documents leave no room for
doubt.
THE FUNCTION
With regard to ‘function’, or the tasks which are, in practice, attached
to the order of deacon, the council documents distinguish between these
various tasks in almost the same way as in its presentation of the official
functions of bishops and priests. Three general functions were envisaged by
Vatican II:- the function of teaching, the function of Sanctifying, and the
function of leading – similar functions which apply to every official state
in the hierarchy of the church.
In various documents a variety of "lists of functions" or ministries may
be found. It is possible to distinguish three main areas:-
The Ministry of Love and justice
Taking up the meaning of ‘diaconia’ a being one who serves, a sign and
sacrament of the Lord Jesus who ‘came not to be served, but to serve’.
Surveys, particularly in the USA indicate deacons serving and responding
to the needs of the aged, the bereaved, the blind, the homeless, migrants,
refugees and a whole range of the disadvantaged people who look to the
church for support in their meeting injustice and discrimination.
The ministry of the Word
Especially in proclaiming the Gospel by preaching, catechetical
instruction, counselling, instruction of catechumens, those preparing for
baptism and marriage and various renewal programmes.
The ministry of Liturgy, and Sacrament as through sharing in the
eucharistic liturgy, baptising, witnessing marriages, bringing the Viaticum
to the dying, presiding over funerals and burials, presiding over liturgies
of the word, exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, leading
non-sacramental reconciliation services and other prayer services.
The ministry of leadership
