Pope Francis has appointed six men and six women to a commission to study the issue of women deacons, particularly their ministry in the early Church.
In addition to the 12 members named on August 2, the Pope named Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to serve as president of the commission.
The Pope set up the commission at the request of the International Union of Superiors General, the organisation for the leaders of women's religious orders around the world. Meeting the group in May, Pope Francis said that while his understanding was that the women described as deacons in the New Testament were not ordained as male deacons are today, "it would be useful for the Church to clarify this question."
