Diocese of Killaloe closes door on Vocations

The Diocese of Killaloe closed the door on Christ who wishes to call men to serve and minister in the Diocese as Permanent Deacons.  The Diocese is saying no because of a small group of women who do not like men serving in the Church as Priests or Deacons.  It is interesting to note that now yet another group of dissenting Catholics has formed called 'Seeds of hope' and they are now pressuring the Bishop to divert funds from the Diaconate to lay ministry.  This group of women effectively are not interested in encouraging Vocations to the Priesthood or Religious life and are not interested in what Christ wants for His Church but only what they want.

Jesus continually calls men to the Ordained Ministry but these women have now shut the door in Christ's face and in the faces of those who wish to follow Him in serving the Church.   So what kind of a Church is that ?  It is certainly not 'inclusive' or Christocentric.   This group have completely ignored all the wishes of those who want the Permanent Diaconate to go ahead and they continue to dictate to the Bishop over and above all the Parish councils in the Diocese who have had no say in this matter.  Therefore the Parish councils are also no longer valid if they remain voiceless in their own Diocese.

As long as this continues we may forget about Vocations altogether in the Diocese of Killaloe and perhaps the Diocese should be closed and amalgamated with other Dioceses.  There was after all some discussion that there were too many Dioceses in Ireland.   But nothing happened.  But I do think that there is alot wrong with a Diocese when it caves in so easily to a small group of dissenters.  Alot of Prayer and Reparation is needed for our Church in Ireland.  

Much Talk and Little Understanding of What the Permanent Diaconate is...

There is much talk and confusion regarding the Permanent Diaconate in Ireland at the moment, but what is also reflected in much of the discussion that is going on especially in the Diocese of Killaloe,  is the total lack of Catechesis and understanding of our Catholic Faith and the role of Ordained Ministers and the Sacraments of the Church.  

I found this article quite useful from the Catholic Defense Blog, in explaining why the Catholic Church does not ordain women as Deacons.

Can the Catholic Church Ordain Female Deacons?

The writer (Joe) says; 
I explained last week the basic reasons that the Catholic Church can't ordain female priests.  In response, Tess asks,

Joe, what are the Catholic Church's reasons for not allowing women to be permanent deaconesses? Deaconesses seem much more justifiable both scripturally and by early Tradition. Are different arguments used against them, or the same (ie that the Twelve were all men)?

This is a good question, and after responding, I realized it was probably one that other Christians struggle with. After all, doesn't St. Paul describe Phoebe as a "deaconess" in Romans 16:1?  So here are the basics of what you need to know.

The Apostles restricted the diaconate to men only:  The office of deacon is created in Acts 6:1-6.  And the Apostles give clear instructions in Acts 6:3 -- “brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”  The seven chosen are all men: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas (Acts 6:5).  That's not a coincidence.

Scripture is clear that the diaconate is male-only: In addition to the above, St. Paul lays out the requirements for deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, and says things like “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well” (1 Timothy 3:12).  As has been discussed before, that's a one wife limit, not minimum.  But Paul's requirements presuppose that the deacons are all men.  Not only would the one wife limit not apply to female deacons, but female deacons wouldn't be called to rule over their own houses (Ephesians 5:23). If God wanted (or permitted) women to serve as deacons, then 1 Timothy 3 would seem to be wrong.  Obviously, we can't conclude that Scripture was wrong, so it must be the push for a female diaconate that's wrong.

The rest of this article can be found here:  Catholic Defense Blogspot - Can the Catholic Church have women deacons

Ordination of Three Permanent Deacons for Archdiocese of Dublin

Three men were ordained as Permanent Deacons in St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin on Sunday evening (June 23rd). Jimmy Fennell, Michael Giblin and Derek Leonard are the second group of men to be ordained in Dublin to this revived ministry in the Irish Church. Last year eight were ordained to the permanent deaconate, for the first time in centuries.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin ordained the three men and said the call to the deaconate today is a call to be configured in a special way to Jesus who serves and to represent in a special way in the life of the Church. In his homily, the Archbishop said, “Your configuration to Jesus who serves must from today onwards become part of your identity, something you must fully integrate into the way you live.   All ministry in the Church is service. It must reach out.  Whenever ministry looses the characteristic of service and reaching out then it degenerates into the opposite to ministry, to self-indulgence and self-promotion.” 

Above continued here:  Catholic Ireland News - Ordination of Permanent Deacons

Jimmy Fennell is a parishioner of St. Agnes Parish, Crumlin who runs his own electrical repair business. He has been actively involved in the Brú Youth Service in Crumlin and spent many years as an officer in the Naval Reserve.

Michael Giblin, from Knocklyon, is married to Eileen. They have three children.  He is an IT Manager and has been actively involved for many years in St. Colmcille’s Parish, serving among other things as Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council.

Derek Leonard is a parishioner of St. Mochta’s Parish, Porterstown, where he lives with his wife Orla and their son and daughter. A businessperson, Derek has been involved in the parish faith-friends programme, helping children to prepare for Confirmation.

Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Cloyne

The Bishop of Cloyne, Most Rev. William Crean, wishes to introduce the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Cloyne.

The diaconate is open to married men aged between 30 and 60 years of age and to unmarried men aged between 35 and 60 years of age.

For further information please contact the Diocesan Director for the Permanent Diaconate, Rev. William Bermingham, PP, Blarney – Tel: 021 4385105; 087 6561048; email:williambermingham@eircom.net.  www.catholicbishops.ie/diaconate

http://www.cloynediocese.ie/