Survey of Vatican Studies on the Diaconate of Women

The question of women in the ordained diaconate arose in the early 1970s at a Synod of Bishops; it was then considered by three iterations of the International Theological Commission and two pontifical commissions. More recently, the worldwide Synod on Synodality has taken up the question and asked for a review of the research. This article assesses the various studies and synod discussions, concluding with Pope Francis’s stunning “no” in a televised interview.