Kahit ang Hongkong may PD na ang Pilipinas bakit wala pa?

HONG KONG Permanent Diaconate Moves From Uncertainty Toward Bright Future

July 12, 2007 | HK02903.1453 | 678 words Text size

HONG KONG (UCAN) -- One of Hong Kong's first two permanent deacons recalls feeling that his ministry was as uncertain and worrisome as the territory's future when he was ordained 10 years ago, four days after Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule.

Deacon Karl Tsang Fan-hing, 63, was ordained on July 5, 1997. Now, 10 years later, with nine permanent deacons and 11 candidates, the permanent diaconate is established in the local Church and accepted by Catholics.

Seminarians are ordained deacons before they become priests, but permanent deacons can be single or married men at the time of their ordination. Their roles include preaching and assisting the priest at Mass, administering Baptism, distributing Communion, and presiding at funerals and burial services.

Deacon Tsang, who is married and has two children and two grandchildren, was assigned first to a public hospital in Tuen Mun, a district without a hospital apostolate. Deacon Peter Lo Woo-lui, who was ordained with him and is now 67, led the lay prison pastoral ministry.

On July 8 Tsang, Lo and the seven other permanent deacons joined a thanksgiving Mass that Hong Kong diocese held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of the permanent diaconate. Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong led the Mass at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, with Auxiliary Bishop John Tong Hon and 23 priests concelebrating.

Deacon Tsang told UCA News on July 9 that he senses parishioners' trust and acceptance of permanent deacons has deepened. In the beginning, he recalled, lay Catholics preferred to have priests perform funeral services and officiate marriages, considering it more formal and sacred.

This began to change as he introduced traditional Chinese elements into the funeral liturgy, such as placing the censer before the deceased's portrait and letting family and friends put a pinch of frankincense in it.

After a decade of trials, "the permanent diaconate here has gradually opened up, and the way now is bright and clear," just like Hong Kong in the post-handover era, Deacon Tsang said. With more ordinations, permanent deacons now are also involved in the labor and family apostolates, dealing with areas in which they have real-life experience.

Apart from administering baptisms and officiating marriages, his work includes supervising Catholic schools, teaching catechism, and providing pre-marital formation as well as marriage and family counseling. His life is busier than ever. He struggles to spend time with his wife, who complains he is often away from home, he said.

At the July 8 Mass, which about 1,000 people attended, Cardinal Zen said in his homily: "We appreciate the humble and quiet service of these brothers and their wives during the last decade. They get no salary from the Church, but we demand a lot from them."

He recalled some diocesan priests raised doubts when the late Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung of Hong Kong "bravely started" the permanent diaconate in 1997.

At the anniversary Mass, two laymen were admitted as candidates to the permanent diaconate.

One of them, Stephen Kwok Ping-fai, 38, told UCA News the ministry is not solely for retirees, but a means of "lifelong commitment to serve." Kwok, a radiology technician, said he plans to serve in the diaconal ministry about 10 hours a week for now, as he waits for his 8-year-old twins to grow up and for the family finances to be more stable.

Hong Kong Vicar General Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming told UCA News the deacons have played a special role through their charitable work and by bearing life witness in society.

Cardinal Zen's concern for social justice and the marginalized has helped the diocese develop the social role of the permanent diaconate, explained the vicar, who is chairperson of the Diocesan Commission for the Permanent Diaconate.

With their advantage of being ordained persons living in the secular world, deacons can help develop a spirituality suited for laity, Father Chan said. Like Kwok, he added, some candidates have their specializations and are relatively young compared to those ordained earlier.

Hong Kong is the only diocese in China to ordain permanent deacons.

END

Solemnity of the Ascension

May 4, 2008

Joke sa isang text: Katutubo 1: Mag-ingat ka s 'yong babaybayin na daan dahil ito'y mapanganib. Kunin mo itong gamot para sa kagat ng ahas baka sakaling ika'y makagat. Kunin mo itong iang bote ng hamog dahil ito'y nakakatanggal ng uhaw at gutom. Dalhin mo ang balaraw na ito ng ating mga ninuno upang maprotektahan ka laban sa mga mababangis na hayop. Natatandaan mo pa ba ang mga sinabi ko? Katutubo 2: Opo ama... basta, txt2 na lang if ever! Katutubo 1: Ok basta miscol me pag feel mo na lost ka. huh?" Iba na nga talaga ang nagagawa ng makabagong teknolohiya lalo na sa aspeto ng komunikasyon. Kahit, mga tao sa liblib na lugar ay nabibiyayaan na nito. Karaniwan nang makakita ka ng "cell phones" at "computers" kahit sa mga bundok at malalayong isla. Tunay na pinaliliit ng makabagong komunikasyon ang ating mundong ginagalawan. Ang Kapistahan ng Pag-akyat ni Hesus sa langit ang siya ring pinili ng Simbahan upang ipagdiwang ang "Linggo ng Komunikasyong Pandaigdig". Naaakma sapagkat ng si Hesus ay umakyat sa langit, ay iniwang niya sa mga alagad ang utos na: "Humayo kayo at gawin ninyong alagad ko ang lahat ng bansa." Isinagawa ito noong una sa pamamagitan ng pagpapasa-pasa ng aral ni Hesus (tinatawag ding tradisyon) sa pamamagitan ng pangangaral at pagsusulat. Sa kasalukuyan ay ipinagpapatuloy pa rin ang mga ito sa mga makabagong pamamaraan ng pakikipagtalastasan: internet, video broadcast, tv & cable, tele conferencing, etc... Bagama't makabago, mawawalan ng saysay ang mga ito kung hindi kapani-paniwala ang mga nagpapahayag. Kaya nga't kasama ng utos ni Hesus ay ang pagiging kanyang mga buhay na saksi! Ang pinaka-epektibo pa ring pamamaraan ng komunikasyon ay ang "pagiging mga totoong saksi ni Kristo!" Sabi sa turo ng Simbahan: "Ang mga tao ngayon ay higit na naniniwala sa mga saksi kaysa mga guro. At kung sakali mang maniwala sila sa mga guro ay sapagkat sila ay mga saksi!" Ang pagiging saksi ay naipapakita sa ating pananalita at pagkilos. Pagpili sa tama at pagtalikod sa masasamang gawain, pagsasabi ng totoo at pag-iwas sa kasinungalingan, pagbibigay ng mabuting halimbawa sa iba sa halip na manirang puri... Marami tayong maaring gawin upang maipahayag ng makatotohanan ang utos ni Jesus. Gamitin natin ng tama ang mga makabagong paraaan ng komunikasyon upang ikalat ang Mabuting Balita ni Hesus! Kahit simpleng text o maikling e-mail message ay makakatulong upang maipalaganap ang Kaharian ng Diyos... Tayo ngayon ang mga buhay na saksi ni Kristo!

Fr. Duds Hila, SDB

Solemnity of Pentecost

May 11, 2008

Isang bata na may bagong mountain bike ang nagpark sa isang Simbahan at hinanap ang Parish Priest. Nang makita ito ay magalang na nagpakilala at nagsabi: "Father, puwede ko po bang ipark dito ang bike ko... kasi po baka mawala. Bagong-bago pa naman yan!" "Sige, anak" sagot ng pari, "magtiwala ka na walang mangyayaring masama sa bike mo." "Sure po ba kayo Father? Wala kasi akong nakikitang security guard dito." nagdududang tanong ng bata. Huminga ng malalim ang pari at sinabi: "Ay meron, ang pangalan ng "sikyo" namin dito ay "Holy Spirit." Sigurado ako, Babantayan Niya yan kaya't hindi yan mananakaw. Kung gusto mo magdasal tayo..." "Sige po Father... In the name of the Father, and of the Son. Amen!" Singit ng pari: "Teka me kulang ata sa dasal mo... bakit wala ang Holy Spirit?" Sagot ng bata: "Wag na nating abalahin Father, binabantayan niya ngayon ang bike ko!" Totoo nga naman, ang Espiritu ang "sikyo" nagbabantay sa bisekleta ng bata kung paanong Siya rin ang "sikyo" na nagbabantay sa Simbahan simula pa lamang noong ito ay itinatag. Sa katunayan ngayon ay "birthday" ng Simbahan! Ipinanganak ang Simbahan sa pagpanaog ng Espiritu Santo at ito ang patuloy na gumagabay sa kanya. Napakaraming pagsubok ang dinaanan ng Simbahan sa kasaysayan. Napakaraming pag-uusig, pag-aaway, pagsuway kahit sa mga pinuno at miyembro nito. Ngunit sa kabila nito ay patuloy na ginagabayan at ipinagtatanggol ng Espiritu Santo ang Simbahan. Pinananatili Niya itong banal sa kabila ng maraming makasalanan na bumubuo nito. Kung bakit hanggang ngayon ay nagpapatuloy pa rin ang Simbahan ay sapagkat pinananatili ito sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santo. Nadarama mo ba ang paggabay ng Espiritu Santo sa iyong buhay? Tinanggap mo ito nung ikaw ay bininyagan at kinumpilan. May epekto ba S'ya sa buhay mo ngayon? Kung nanlalamig ka ngayon sa pananampalataya, hingin mo ang tulong Niya. Kung paanong walang matigas na tinapay sa mainit na kape, walang ring matigas na puso ang di kayang palambutin ng mainit Niyang pagmamahal. "Come, Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love..."

Fr. Duds Hila SDB

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

May 18, 2008

May isang batang nagtanong sa akin: "Father, bakit isa lang ang Diyos at hindi tatlo? Di ba Siya ay Ama, Anak, at Espritu Santo? Di ba 1+1+1=3? " Ito ang sagot ko sa kanya: "Iho, ang Diyos ay hindi puwedeng gamitan ng arithmetic! Kasi puede rin na 1x1x1=1!" Lubos ang kadakilaan ng Diyos kung kaya't hindi Siya maaring bilangin ng ating mga daliri sa kamay. Lubos ang Kanyang kadakilaan na hindi Siya maaring pagkasyahin sa ating maliit na isipan. Siya ang Manlilikha... Siya ang walang simula at walang katapusan... Siya ang hari ng sanlibutan! Ang problema marahil ay pilit nating inuunawa kung sino ba talaga Siya. Ang napakatalinong taong si Santo Tomas Aquino, na nagsulat ng maraming aklat tungkol sa Diyos (halimbawa ang Summa Theologia), pagkatapos ng kanyang mahabang pagsusulat at pagtuturo ay nagsabing ang lahat ng kanyang inilahad tungkol sa Diyos ay maituturing na basura lamang kung dadalhin sa Kanyang harapan. Ibig sabihin ni Santo Tomas a hindi natin lubos na mauunawan ang Diyos! Kahit ang taong pinakamatalino ay kapos sa kaalaman kung ang "misteryo ng Diyos" ang pag-uusapan. Bagamat walang sino mang tao ang lubos na makakaunawa sa Kanya ay pinili Niya pa ring magpahayag sa atin. Ang pagpapahayag ng Diyos ay napakasimple na kahit na ang walang pinag-aralang tao ay maaring makaunawa sa Kanya: "Gayon na lamang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sanlibutan, kaya ibinigay niya ang kanyang bugtong na Anak, upang ang sumampalataya sa kanya ay hindi mapahamak, kundi magkaroon ng buhay na walang hanggan." Ipinahayag ng Diyos na Siya ay pag-ibig. Kaya nga't masasabi natin na ang Diyos ay mauunawaan lamang ng taong marunong magmahal! Ang Banal na Santatlo ay pagmamahalan! Nauunawaan mo ang Diyos kung marunong kang magpatawad. Nauunawaan mo ang Diyos kung mahabagin ka sa mga mahihirap. Nauunawaan mo ang Diyos kung ang hanap mo ay ang kabutihan ng iyong kapwa! Marahil hindi natin maiintindihan kung bakit ang 1+1+1 para sa atin ay 1. Huwag tayong mag-isip... sa halip subukan nating magmahal... at makikita mo na ang kakulangang ng pag-iisip ay mapupuno ng isang payak at malinis na puso.

Fr. Duds Hila SDB

Recommended Book to Read

Pastoral Care in Parishes Without a Pastor: Applications of Canon 517,2
Authors: Barbara Anne Cusack and Therese Guerin Sullivan, S.P.
Canon Law Society, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., pp. 69

An Excerpt from the Book:

With the promulgation on January 25, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church came to life in the Church. In the more than ten years hence, the Church has, with more or less success, responded to the challenges of approaching the law with a “new way of thinking.” It may be when we are confronted with new ecclesiastical institutions that we most easily recognize ths need for this new mind-set. Changing conditions call for new ways of approaching our mission as Church.

The newly introduced canon 517, 2 is a clear example of an effort to respond to new and different challenges in the Church. With the realization that declining numbers of priests will affect the form and structure of parish ministry and pastoral care, an innovative approach has been introduced in this canon. Canon 517,2 states:

“If the diocesan bishop should decide that due to dearth of priests a participation in the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish is to be entrusted to a deacon or to some other person who is not a priest or to a community of persons, he is to appoint some priest endowed with the powers and faculties of a pastor to supervise the pastoral care.”

While this canon opens the door to a new style of parochial ministry, the law does not provide a well-defined plan for applying and implementing this canon. This is well and good! The variations among local churches throughout the world are such that a universal plan of action would hardly be applicable. Local culture, customs concerns must help to shape the direction that implementation of canon 517,2 will take.

. . .In deciding to compile these materials into a handbook, it is the hope of this committee that its contents will be useful to dioceses who are already implementing this new model of parish life as they evaluate future directions as well as to those who are just beginning to venture into this area.

An Excerpt from the Book:

Parish Director

In the absence of a pastor, canon 517,2 recognizes the possibility that women and men who are not ordained may be entrusted with a participation in the pastoral care of a parish.

Basic Definition

The parish director is a woman or man to whom a participation in the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish is entrusted. This care includes the following areas: education and pastoral services, worship, administration.

Qualifications/Eligibility of the Parish Director

The search for suitable candidates to fill the role of parish director in a particular parish ought to be based on a needs assessment of the parish. A variety of desired qualities and skills, demonstrated in academic achievement and established in ministerial experience should be used in the selection process. The selection process should evaluate:

Profession Qualifications

a. Priority should be given applicants who have:

1. A master’s degree in pastoral ministry, theology, scripture, liturgy, or a closely related field of religious study;

2. experience of three or more years in some phase of parish ministry (e.g., sacramental preparation, RCIA, catechesis, liturgy, spiritual direction, counseling);

3. at least one year working in the diocese;

4. background in sacramental rites, liturgy of the word and communion services, prayer, homiletics, canon law, tribunal processes, administration, team ministry, budgeting and finance.

b. Consideration may also be given applicants who have:

1. A bachelor’s degree in a field related to parish ministry;

2. experience of three or more years in some phase of parish ministry;

3. background in aspects of pastoral administration and a willingness to augment their basic education and to develop new skills.

c. By way of exception:

1. Educationally qualified applicants who lack practical experience may be asked to complete a one year supervised internship with appropriate remuneration as a prerequisite to official appointment by the bishops;

2. promising applicants wh lack necessary educational requirements may be accepted on a probationary basis provided they undertake a college level program (e.g., an institute for pastoral life, etc.) financed by the diocese and judged by the diocese to include areas of ministry essential to the ministry of the pastoral administrator;

3. formal appointment by the bishop follows successful completion of the internship or studies program provided for through written agreement between the diocese and the applicant.

Personal Qualifications to be Considered

a. general good health (physical, psychological, spiritual);

b. liturgically based spirituality centered on the prayer life of the Church;

c. experience maintaining confidentially;

d. skill as initiator; ability to organize, to work in collaboration, to facilitate, to delegate;

e. reasonable familiarity with the area, people, culture;

f. commitment to personal and professional growth.

Need for Permanent Deacon in the Philippines

Below is an article which I read somewhere. It explained plausible reasons on the restoration of the Permanent Deaconate Ministry in the Philippine Catholic Church.

I hope and pray that the CBCP will study and open their hearts for the Ministry in the Philippines.

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ARE PERMANENT MARRIED DEACONS NEEDED IN THE PHILIPPINE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
Domingo Q. Reblora Jr. & Pio Antonio P. Viado

Many things maybe discussed on the topic permanent diaconate especially because of its rich history and its essential importance in the life of the Church. However, this paper intends to simply provide the readers a brief description of what permanent married diaconate is all about and its possible inclusion in the Philippine Catholic Church hierarchy. The author uses some writings of St. Paul and other Church documents which deal on the ministry/office of diaconate to support his view that permanent married diaconate is in fact very probable and necessary in the Philippine Catholic Church.

Introduction

The Philippines is considered to be the only predominantly Catholic Christian nation in the whole of Asia. Approximately, eighty percent of eighty five million Filipinos are Catholic Christians. (However, some experts are now contesting this declaration with the creation of East Timor, a former part of Indonesia, as the youngest nation in Asia.) Filipinos owe their being Christians from the Spaniards as early as 1521 when Magellan set foot on the Philippine soil somewhere in Mactan, Cebu. A few more years from now, the Filipino people will be celebrating their five hundred years in Catholic faith. At the outset, this reality calls the Filipino people in general to be grateful to the gift of faith given to them. However, if we look deeper and honestly ask ourselves where did this faith bring us, one cannot help but be saddened by the reality that our faith was not matched with efforts to transform our society into a genuine Christian society. The presence of massive graft and corruption cases among our political leaders or in government offices and the further widening of the gap between the rich and the poor are clear signs that our faith indeed has not been a potent force to effect change in our society. Evidently, there is a question on the aspect of faith-witnessing among Filipinos. The following words of St. James is so applicable to many of us.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:14-17).

Brief History of Permanent Diaconate

In order to shepherd the people of God and to increase its number without cease, Christ the Lord set up in his Church a variety of offices which aim at the good of the whole body” (Lumen Gentium, 18).

One of the offices in the Church included in the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition is the office of permanent diaconate. The other two offices are those of priests and of bishops. Originally, the word deacon comes from the Greek word diakonos which ordinarily means servant. In other instances, diakonos is also being translated as "waiter".

Russell Shaw (1969) in his book Permanent Deacons says that many scholars trace the history of diaconate to the incident recorded in the Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7. There was a dispute that arose among the early Christian community because of some complaints that there were members of the community who were left out in the distribution of the food. When the problem reached the twelve apostles, the twelve gathered the members of the community and instructed them to choose seven men known to be upright and respected upon whom they eventually lay their hands so that the seven may officially preside in the distribution of food to the needy (Shaw, 1969).

In those days, when the number of disciples was increasing the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait at tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them (Acts 6:1-6).

Some experts were questioning whether the seven mentioned above were really deacons in the full sense of the term. What is clear however is that the ministry of the diaconate became a separate office in the Church as early as 57A.D. The letter of St. Paul to the Philippians makes a specific reference to diaconate as a recognized order or office in the early Church (Shaw, 1969).

Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and ministers (In other version of the Bible, the word used was deacons instead of ministers.): grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Phils 1:1-2).

Indeed the letters of St. Paul to the different early Christian communities provide the unquestionable biblical foundation to the office of diaconate. St. Paul’s letter to Timothy was one of his most precise discussions about the ministry of diaconate where Paul laid down the criteria for those to be chosen as deacons.

…deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, not holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well. Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 3:8-10; 12-13).

Pope Paul VI in his Apostolic Letter Containing Norms for the Order of Diaconate says:

From the apostolic age the diaconate has had a clearly outstanding position among these ministries, and it has always been held in great honor for the Church. Explicit testimony of this is given by the apostle Paul both in his letter to the Philippians in which he sends his greetings not only to the bishops but also to the deacons, and in a letter to Timothy, in which he illustrates the qualities and virtues that deacons must have in order to be worthy of their ministry (Ad Pascendum, 2).

But even as the permanent diaconate flourished in the early centuries of the Church, the seeds of its decline began to appear. At the beginning of the sixth century, there was already a gradual decline in the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church. In fact, during the Middle Ages the diaconate remained only as a transitional order conferred on those who are preparing for ordination to priesthood. However, there were also some occasional exemptions to this rule. One of them is St. Francis of Assisi who was ordained only as a deacon. For many centuries however, the Catholic Church discarded the practice of ordaining candidates who intended to become permanent deacons (The Permanent Diaconate).

The idea about the restoration of permanent diaconate resurfaced in the Catholic Church during the Second World War. There were priests imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps who thought of possible benefits the Church can enjoy if permanent diaconate is still in practice. The interest on the idea of restoring permanent diaconate continued in the Church. It was taken up by many scholars and theologians and was even discussed in a number of Catholic books and periodicals. Consequently, Pope Pius XII spoke positively on the possible restoration of permanent diaconate, however, he thought that it was not yet the proper time (The Permanent Diaconate).

During the Second Vatican Council, the leaders of the Catholic Church decided that the right time for the restoration of the permanent diaconate has arrived.

The permanent character of the order was restored and renewed when the Council in October 1963 called for the reestablishment of the ministry of the permanent deacon. In June 1967, Pope Paul VI carried out the desire of the Council when he published the Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem in which he reestablished the permanent deaconate in the Latin Church. The Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, echoes the ancient image and concerns of the New Testament when it speaks of the ministry and nature of the deaconate (The Permanent Diaconate).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses the office of the diaconate and makes reference on permanent married deacons as significant members in the order of hierarchy in the Catholic Church. It states that:

Since the Second Vatican Council restored the diaconate as a permanent rank in the hierarchy, - while the Churhes of East had always maintained it. This permanent diaconate can be conferred to married men constitute an important enrichment for the Church mission. Indeed it is appropriate and useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether in its social and charitable works should be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come down from the apostles. They would be more closely bound to the altar in their ministry would be more fruitful through the sacramental grace of the diaconate (CCC, 1571).

Furthermore, the Second Vatican Council's Lumen Gentium clearly states that the ministry of diaconate has been part of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy since the beginning. Likewise, the same document speaks of the possible restoration of the ministry and office of the permanent married diaconate since it is understood as extremely necessary for the life of the Church.

At a lower level of the hierarchy are to be found deacons, who receive the imposition of hands “not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry”... Since, however, the laws and customs of the Latin Church in force today in many areas render it difficult to fulfill these functions, which are extremely necessary for the life of the Church, it will be possible in the future to restore the diaconate as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy. But it pertains to competent local episcopal conferences, of one kind or another, with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff, to decide whether and where it is opportune that such deacons be appointed. Should the Roman Pontiff think fit, it will possible to confer this diaconal order even upon married men, provided they be of more mature age, and also on suitable young men, for whom, however the law of celibacy must remain in force (Lumen Gentium, 29).

As early as 1967 Pope Paul VI began the restoration of the permanent diaconate as suggested by the documents of the Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) and Ad Gentes Divinitus (Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity). However, as clearly stated in Lumen Gentium 29, only those countries who formally applied for the restoration of permanent diaconate in their jurisdictions will be given permission to start the reinstatement of permanent diaconate (US Bishops' Committee on Permanent Diaconate, 1971). The United States was one of those countries who immediately applied for the restoration of the ministry of permanent diaconate.

The question of restoring the ministry of permanent diaconate in the United States was taken up by the bishops of the United States organized as National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop Ernest Unterkoefler of Charleston, S.C. headed the committee. The committee was tasked to study the matter and make sensible recommendations. The United States bishops overwhelmingly voted to ask the Holy See for the permission to restore permanent diaconate both for married and unmarried men on April 23, 1968. The Holy See granted their request on August 26, 1968 (Shaw, 1969).

Ministry of the Diaconate

At present the idea of permanent married diaconate is something new or even unknown to majority of Filipino Catholics because we are only familiar with diaconate as a stage on the way to ordination to the priesthood. In other words, what we know is only about the transitional diaconate. It should be noted that there are actually three kinds of deacons: 1) the transitional deacons – those who serve as deacons for six months or more and eventually get ordained as priests; 2) the permanent celibate deacons – those who are ordained as deacons and have no intention of moving up to the hierarchy of priest but still promise to remain single; and lastly 3) the permanent married deacons – those who are already married prior to their ordination to diaconate. Like the permanent celibate deacons, the married deacons will be deacons in perpetuity (Canon 1035;1037).

The nature of the ministry of the diaconate is distinctly different from the ministry of the priests and bishops. In the early Church, members of the community as well as priests and bishops appreciate the dedication of deacons in their ministry. Basically, the ministry of the diaconate can be summarized into three aspects: works of charity, pastoral duties and liturgical celebrations. One way to know the importance given to the office and ministry of the diaconate historically was to look into how this office was recognized in the Church..

Accordingly, the diaconate flourished in a wonderful way in the Church, and at the same time gave an outstanding witness of love for Christ and the brethren through the performance of works of charity, the celebration of sacred rites, and the fulfillment of pastoral duties (Ad Pascendum, 7).

Although the office and ministry of the diaconate was generally appreciated by the members of the Church, there were recorded instances of abuses on the part of the deacons. Some deacons performed other functions reserved to the office of either priests or bishops. Thus, for the deacons and the rest of the members of the Church to be properly guided on the roles, duties, and functions of deacons, Pope Paul VI outlines specific tasks which the local ordinary can assign to a deacon. They are as follows:

1. Assisting bishops and priests at liturgical services;
2. Administering baptism;
3. Distributing Eucharist to the faithful, to the dying, and giving benediction;
4. Acting as the official witness at weddings;
5. Administering sacramentals and presiding at funeral and burial services
6. Preaching and reading the Scriptures to the faithful;
7. Presiding at services of worship and prayer in the absence of a priest;
8. Conducting services of the Word, in places where priest is not available;
9. Performing charitable and administrative duties in the name of the hierarchy;
10. Leading scattered communities of the faithful “in the name of the parish priest and bishop”;
11. Promoting and encouraging the lay apostolate (Shaw, 1969. p.8).

In a deeper analysis, the specific tasks which a bishop can assign to permanent deacons can be of great help to the local Churches who are in great need of the presence of an ordained minister. Also the presence of permanent married deacons in the Philippines will not only lessen the liturgical/sacramental workload of priests and bishops but at the same time give them more opportunities to do pastoral work.

The Need for Permanent Diaconate in the Philippine Context

Today, many tend to believe that a great number of Filipino Catholics are Christians only during Sundays and may be considered as “nominal Catholics.” Where does the problem lie? Why are we like this? There could be many possible reasons but one thing is clear, the Christian faith that we embrace for almost five hundred years now does not resonate on us at all. We were just sacramentalized as a nation but we were never truly evangelized. Because of this, the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991 called for a renewed integral evangelization of the Filipino people. Unfortunately, sixteen years had passed since then but still we cannot see any significant development on the way Filipinos live out their faith. Our Church’s manpower through the leadership of priests and bishops is not enough to fully focus on this noble endeavor. Hence, it is not surprising that a vast majority of our priests are being forced to concentrate their ministry only on the administration of sacraments to the Filipino faithful. The researchers do not discredit the importance of sacramental celebrations especially that of the Sunday Eucharist because for the majority of the Filipino faithful it is the main occasion when they experience being a Church. In fact, generally, it is the only time in the week when they get spiritual nourishment (PCP II, 179). However, the priests have other functions equally vital to sacramental celebrations. These functions are currently being set aside or at least given minimal attention due to shortage of priests and bishops. An example of these functions is catechetical formation. Today, it is not uncommon that some Catholics receive sacraments without being properly catechized. Yet according to PCP II “no sacraments should be administered without first instructing the participant on the meaning of the sacrament they are to receive” (PCP II, 178).

Given the unbalanced ratio and proportion between the priests and the Filipino faithful, the researchers believe that the presence of permanent married deacons would be of great help to the local Church especially because statistically, the average yearly ordination of Filipino candidates to priesthood is significantly dwindling both among the religious and diocesan seminaries.

Is there a need for the restoration of permanent married diaconate in the Philippines? Honestly, the researchers feel that there is in fact a great need. In the Diocese of Imus for instance, there are several parishes with the parish priest as the only ordained minister. Yet there are so much to be done pastorally. If an ordained minister will be serious in all responsibilities and will do them religiously, chances are, this ordained minister will be disappointed and “burned out”. It will be a great loss to the Church if our promising young priests get burned out just because they were faithful to their duties when there are possible ways to lessen their burden and one of them is through the restoration of the ministry and office of the permanent married diaconate.

However the researchers believe that the growing need for priests should not be the only rationale for the restoration of permanent diaconate in the Philippine Catholic Church. The researchers also do not agree that the restoration of permanent married diaconate is a temporary solution to the problem of shortage of priests in the Philippines. Rather the essential truth about married deacons should be the basis for its restoration. It has to be highlighted that married deacons are actually included in the threefold hierarchy of orders – bishops, priests, deacons (Canon 1009). Hence, it has its own reason to exist independent from the needs of the Church. To clarify this, it is imperative that permanent diaconate be properly understood firstly in terms of who the deacons are and only secondly what service they can do to the Church. A deacon is a person either single or married with special mission that requires special relationship within the community of the faithful. With such understanding, not only the candidates to diaconate themselves but the whole community as well where he is serving will realize that the deacon's roles, duties, functions of service are to be exercised not only as a response to the needs of the Church but must be seen in the light of all those relationships to which his office is connected. With this, the deacons will be recognized in whatever they do as persons who share in a proper and distinct way in the priesthood of Christ, and who are special servants of Christ and his Church. (US Bishops’ Committee on the Permanent Diaconate, 1971).

Thus, the researchers do not agree to the restoration of permanent diaconate in the Philippines only as substitute to the growing needs for priests but rather because indeed, they have been in the order of hierarchy since the Apostolic period.

Nevertheless, we cannot disregard the fact that shortage of priests is the main reason why permanent married diaconate is being restored in many places. In fact, this shortage was one of the major arguments during Second Vatican Council in restoring the ministry of permanent diaconate (Shaw, 1969). Also, at the moment, that would be the easiest argument to the Filipino faithful to comfortably accept the presence of a permanent deacon in the Philippine Church. Soon, the Filipino faithful would slowly realize the essential importance of the ministry of the permanent married deacons to the life of the Church.

Conclusion

Indeed, it is not only possible but rather necessary that the ministry and office of the permanent married diaconate be restored in the Philippine Catholic Church. Yet, everything is in the hands of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. If they will ever will it, it could be very easily done. In fact, the specific directives for implementation are already contained in a motu propio on the permanent diaconate issued by Pope Paul VI on June 28, 1967. The said document clearly defines the step by step procedure on how to request the Holy See to grant permission for the restoration of permanent diaconate (Shaw, 1969).

... First, it is up to the national bishop’s conferences to decide, with papal approval, whether the deaconate is to be restored in the territory over which they have jurisdictions; Second, in seeking approval for the restoration from Rome, the bishop’s conferences must set out their reasons and the details of the plans they propose to follow; Third, once the Holy See has approved the plan of a particular national hierarchy, it is up to individual diocesan bishops to decide whether the deaconate will be restored in their dioceses, to examine candidates for the office and to ordain them (Shaw, 1969 p.7).

There are many dioceses in the United States alone which have the program for permanent diaconate. The Philippine Catholic Church hierarchy can study them and make them its models in creating its own program.

Majority of permanent married deacons in the United States who are still in their 40s and 50s are just part time in their ministry (Saturdays and Sundays). The researchers believe that the same can be done here in our country. I am sure there are many dedicated and capable young men and former seminarians who are willing to undergo the program if they have to do the ministry on a part time basis. Thus, a diocese or parish does not have to worry so much on how to support the financial needs of the family of the permanent married deacons. They can likewise make as a requirement that candidates for permanent married diaconate must have a stable source of income for their family. Also the families of permanent married deacons can be living examples of how family life can be a real domestic Church.

Certainly, it is high time that the CBCP tries to reexamine its stance about permanent married diaconate and perhaps conduct a thorough research about its possibility and acceptability. It is up to the Philippine Catholic Church hierarchy to decide.

Reference
Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Manila: Word and Life Publications.

Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (1992). Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Paul VI (1972). Ad Pascendum (Apostolic Letter Containing Norms for the Order of Diaconate). Vatican City: Vatican Press Office.

U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Permanent Diaconate. (1971). Permanent Deacons in the United States: Guidelines on Their Formation and Ministry. United States Catholic Conference Publications Office. Washington, D.C.

Shaw, Russell (1969). Permanent Deacons: Who, What and Why. United States Catholic Conference Publications Office Washington D.C.

Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church). (1964). Vatican Council II.

Wikipedia. (2007 February) "Deacon" Retrieved May 17, 2007 from World Wide web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacon

The Permanent Diaconate (2007, Jan. 26) London: Archdiocese of Southwark. Retrieved May 18, 2007 from World Wide Web: http://rcsouthwark.co.uk/permdiac.html.

FRAMEWORK FOR THE SECOND NATIONAL RURAL CONGRESS

January 17, 2008

“The over-riding social concern of the Church in the Philippines has been all these years centered on the inequitable distribution of the nation’s wealth and the endemic social injustices that underpin that evil.”In its pastoral statement on “The Dignity of the Rural Poor – A Gospel Concern,” (28 January 2007), the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines summed up our social situation. It then issued a call to hold a second National Rural Congress to commemorate the first one convened forty years ago in 1967. It noted that “the greater number of our poor are in the rural areas” and that urban poverty is a consequence of rural poverty.

The pastoral statement also provides a framework on how the process of the rural congress should be carried out.

1. Social Teaching of the Church

First, it expresses “the hope that we would be able to educate ourselves more intensively in what the social teaching of the Church is all about.” The recently-published Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church enables us to examine more closely the moral principles that should guide us in our quest for a just and prosperous society. In this light, the CBCP statement urges that we “focus our attention on the greatest victim of our unjust economic order, the rural poor, and the diminishment of their dignity as people and as citizens.”

2. Constitutionality

This phrase, “as people and as citizens,” connotes the second guideline in the NRC framework – to review the social justice provisions of the Philippine Constitution. Article XIII, in particular, enunciates the spirit of social legislation that should give “the highest priority” to measures that: protect and enhance the right of all people to human dignity; reduce social, economic, and political inequality; remove cultural inequalities; and diffuse wealth and political power for the common good.

The CBCP pastoral statement notes that “the one big effort of the government at alleviating rural poverty has been its ongoing comprehensive agrarian reform program.” Despite deficiencies in the drafting of the law by a landlord-dominated Congress, government must see to it that social justice programs like CARP should be reviewed and improved through consultations, and properly implemented towards its completion. This is for the common good of small farmers and landless workers.

This review also extends to other social justice measures affecting small fishermen, indigenous people communities, rural women, etc. Environmental issues as consequences of irresponsible mining and logging, as well as of climate change, have also become major concerns today.

3) Non-violent and democratic means

A third guideline for the NRC process mentioned in the CBCP statement is engagement with government and the various sectors of society through non-violent and genuinely democratic means – by first listening to the rural poor themselves; by decrying “the shameful ‘extra-judicial’ killings of unarmed crusaders for justice and equality”; and by calling on government to act. “The responsibility to act,” further notes the CBCP statement, “is just as much ours as those who have the official responsibility.” Demands for good governance, transparency and accountability are thus essential factors in this call for social transformation.

“Today we see only too clearly,” the CBCP statement concludes, “the need for the reform not only of our national institutions but of our very moral fiber as a people.” Thus, through the social teaching of the Church, through the social justice provisions of the Philippine Constitution, and through our active, non-violent engagement with government, we are confident and hopeful that this second National Rural Congress can indeed provide the renewed steps towards the social transformation of Philippine rural society today.

NRC II Central Committee and Secretariats
17 January 2008

Call to Social Transformation

Social transformation is a component and consequence of the work of evangelization. Without it evangelization is incomplete. The necessity of social transformation is not a new demand. It is a demand of Christian discipleship.

1. Evangelization and social transformation must include among their essential elements a proclamation of the church’s social doctrine (cf. CA 5), which have been called the church’s “best kept secrets.” Because they do not land often enough among the teachings explained, developed, discussed and proclaimed in church gatherings and preachings.

If our struggle to build the Kingdom of God , and our striving is to authentically follow the Jesus of the Gospel, then it must be a journey towards social transformation towards truth and justice, love and peace, a journey towards the fullness of life (cf. PCP-II 263). “It is evident that Christian discipleship or a spirituality of social transformation demands a properly formed social conscience, the lack of which in many Filipinos is a major tragedy” (PCP-II 283).

“In the light of our situation we believe that certain truths in the social doctrine of the Church stand out as urgent and necessary. These truths, needing emphasis today for the development of the just life and of the just society which serves that life are: Integral Development based on Human Dignity and Solidarity; Universal Love; Peace and Active Non-violence; Love of Preference for the Poor; the Value of Human Work; the Integrity of Creation; Empowerment of the People” (PCP-II 291), each of which would demand a separate lecture or even a seminar.

2. The way the Church must go is the way of social transformation. There is only one direction that PCP-II says we must take as a Church, and that is to become a BEC- type of Church. “We have envisioned a renewed Church as a community of disciples missioned by the Lord to labor in our particular Filipino situation” (155). Fifteen years after the PCP-II, plus the experience that has gone before in our Philippine situation, BEC as a model of the Church is no longer an abstract vision. BEC as the PCP-II vision of Church is a growing reality in dioceses or parishes that have had the experience of BECs.

When I say that, I do not disregard the fact that particular parishes could still be dominated by the thinking and culture of the Institution. It may be good to evaluate how the BEC ecclesiology is affecting some of our traditional associations in the church, and how the BEC model already influences their internal and external mechanisms as well as their relationships and spirituality.

We know what is implied by being transformed by the BEC model of Church. “In order to be renewed as a Church, we must leave behind many ways of thinking, speaking and acting which no longer effectively serve and perhaps even obstruct our evangelizing mission. This will mean an unsettling pain, a disengagement from what is cherished but is now obsolete or obstructive, a dying to what is sinful, that we may come to newness of life” (PCP-II 143).

3. The object and subject of social transformation is man, every man, in his unique as well as ordinary circumstance, the “concrete” and “historical” man (CA 53). Man is the way the BEC-type of Church must go. “(The human person) is the primary route that the church must travel in fulfilling her mission…the way traced out by Christ himself, the way that leads invariably through the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption” (RH 14; CA 53).

As an instrument of evangelization and social transformation, the social doctrine reveals man to himself and gains credibility from the “witness of actions” in the promotion of justice, most especially when it concerns the powerless, the voiceless, the marginalized and the exploited. Social transformation is person-oriented.

CALL TO INTERPERSONAL LEADERSHIP

If the Philippine Church is to become a community of communities of the disciples of the Lord, an embodiment of solidarity and communities of compassion, it must have interdependence as a moral category, and solidarity as a moral and social virtue (SRS 38-40). Underlying the call to lay evangelization and social transformation is the call to interpersonal leadership.

1. T achieve interpersonal leadership, both individual and group must move out of the paradigm of dependence into the paradigm of independence and into the paradigm of interdependence. The servant of God, John Paul II has made us aware of this in “Solicitudo Rei Socialis” when he pointed out to the global nature of the responsibility for development. “The obligation to commit oneself to the development of peoples is not just an individual duty and still less an individualistic one, as if it were possible to achieve this development through the isolated efforts of each individual…” “Collaboration in the development of the whole person and of every human being is in fact a duty of all towards all and must be shared by all parts of the world, East, West, North and South, or as we say today by different ‘words’. If on the contrary, people try to achieve it in only one world, they do so at the expense of the others, and, precisely because the others are ignored, their own development becomes exaggerated and misdirected” (SRS 32).

Working for social transformation means recognizing the truth that we are created for interdependence, for fellowship, for dialogue, for collaboration, for creative cooperation, for community of families.

2. Interdependence and interpersonal leadership is behind the approach of our Lord in sending the twelve apostles and the seventy-two disciples in teams of two (Mk. 6/7; Lk. 10/1). Marked by a common vision and common mission, they could combine their talents and abilities and create something greater together.

`Interdependence is a methodology: “the team approach to evangelizing.” “Such a team approach demands the emergence of a new type of leadership that will animate, facilitate and coordinate apostolic team efforts, activate charisms and maximize participation” (PCP-II 198). Interpersonal leadership is a partnership which shifts the interaction from vertical to horizontal and being partners in results as well as in operation. Our Lord also made his apostles aware of the shift: “I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is about. Instead, I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from my Father” (Jo 15/15).

Interpersonal leadership will mean one plus one equals three or even more.

3. The communion as leaders of the different communities must reflect that “communion” with which John Paul II describes the Church as a whole, in two of his Encyclicals, one on the Laity (Christifideless Laici) and the other on the Clergy (Pastores Dabo Vobis). Ours is a Church of communion, a Church of participation, patterned after the communion of love that dwells within the Trinity.

The communion of leaders could well be the starting point or the beginning of the ideal “communion of communities.” “The Church in its entirety should become a family of families” (422). PCP-II’s vision of “community of disciples” is the antidote to our “chronic, almost compulsive, dividedness”, group loyalties, obsessions and jealousies, and destructive fragmentedness (PCP-II 665, 668).

Community of Disciples, Communion of Communities: “It is almost an impossible enterprise.” “But we dare it with the certainty of the Man who said: “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God’ (Lk. 18/27). It is with him in him, then that we attempt the impossible. This is how we propose to begin being a community of authentic solidarity” (PCP-II 666).

Through interdependent and interpersonal leadership we will achieve the social transformation that renewed evangelization envisions to achieve, a leadership that in our present critical situation demands transparency, accountability, commitment to truth and justice, the sum total of which is credibility.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

APOY AT ANG TUBIG

Reflection for the 6th Sunday of Easter A - April 27, 2008

Mayroong isang kuwento na minsan daw ay may isang taong nakakita sa isang anghel na may dalang sulo sa isang kamay at isang timbang tubig naman sa isa. Tinanong niya ang anghel kung para saan ito. Ito ang sagot ng anghel: "Sa pamamagitan ng sulo ay susunugin ko ang mga "mansiyon" sa langit at sa pamamagitan naman ng tubig ay bubuhusan at pupuksain ko ang apoy ng impiyerno. At makikita natin kung sino talaga ang taong nagmamahal sa Diyos!" Ito ang mensaheng nais ipahiwatig ng anghel: Marami sa ating mga Kristiyano ang sumusunod lang sa utos ng Diyos sapagkat takot sila sa "apoy" o parusa ng impiyerno o kaya naman ay sapagkat nais nilang manirahan sa "mansiyon ng langit." Kakaunti ang nakapagsasabing "sumusunod ako sa utos dahil mahal ko ang Diyos!" Sa Ebanghelyo ay malinaw ang mga salitang binitiwan ni Hesus: "Kung iniibig ninyo ako, tutuparin ninyo ang aking mga utos!" Mali ang pagsunod ng dahil sa takot at mali rin ang pagsunod dahil may hinihintay na kapalit. Ang tunay na pagsunod sa utos ng Diyos ay sapagkat mahal natin Siya. Walang takot. Walang hinihintay na kapalit. Ibig sabihin, nagsisimba ka hindi sapagkat takot kang magkaroon ng kasalanang mortal. Matulungin ka sa mahihirap hindi sapagkat may hinihintay kang gantimpala sa langit. Umiiwas ka sa masamang gawain hindi sapakat takot kang mapa-impiyerno! Hindi... Nagpapakabuti ka sapagkat MAHAL MO ANG DIYOS! Ang Espiritu Santo, ang Patnubay na ipinangako ni Hesus, ang s'yang tutulong sa atin upang masunod natin ng may pagmamahal ang Kanyang mga utos. Ayaw ng Diyos na katakutan natin Siya... mas nais Niyang Siya'y ating mahalin.

Fr. Duds Hila SDB

Permanent Diaconate

What is a Permanent Deacon?

Origins and History

The Acts of the Apostles describes how, in the first century, the Church was faced with

the challenge of responding to the needs of those who were at risk of being marginalised,

either through culture or through material poverty. Keeping in mind the example of Jesus,

the Apostles selected and ordained a number of men specifically for this service.

For a number of centuries, deacons ministered in close co-operation with the bishops of

the Church, assisting at the Eucharist, preaching the Gospel, and exercising a ministry

of charity.

Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Orders, is probably one of the best known

deacons, though many tend to assume that he was a priest. Gradually, in the Western

Church, the functions of deacons were absorbed into the ministry of the priest, and the

diaconate became a transitional order, for those on the way to priesthood. The diaconate

continued to exist as a permanent ministry in the Eastern Churches, including those in

full communion with Rome.

Renewal:

The Second Vatican Council envisaged a renewal of ministry, both lay and ordained, in

the Church. The Council’s Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, explains that

the lay faithful, by virtue of their Baptism, are commissioned to an active apostolate and

insists that “every opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the

needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church.”

The Second Vatican Council also proposed the restoration of the diaconate as a

“distinct ministry of service” to be exercised “in communion with the bishop and his

group of priests”. Many of the functions which deacons perform can also be carried out

by members of the lay faithful. The restoration of the diaconate is not intended in any

sense to change that situation. The idea is that some of those who already exercise

these functions would be “strengthened with the grace of diaconal ordination” and in

that way would be designated to be a visible public sign of the Christ the Servant in the

community of the Church.

What do Permanent Deacons Do?

The first responsibility of the deacon is to be an effective visible sign of Christ who came

to serve rather than to be served. Although the ministry of the deacon may be exercised

on a part-time basis, he remains at all times a deacon and he is called, in his life-style,

to reflect this.

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The ministry of the deacon is an expression of his being, as the documents say,

an icon of Christ the servant. The areas of ministry which may be entrusted to deacons

fall under three general headings, Altar, Word and Charity. They include:

i. Altar

• Assisting the priest at the celebration of the Eucharist

• Bringing the Eucharist to the sick at home and in hospitals

• The formation of altar servers and of acolytes

• Presiding at Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

• The celebration of Baptism

• Celebrating marriages (with the appropriate delegation)

• Presiding at funerals

ii. Word

• Proclaiming the Gospel at the Liturgy

• Preaching the homily

• Participating in sacramental preparation programmes

• The formation of readers

• Facilitating study of and prayer with the scriptures

iii. Charity

• Facilitating the development of lay ministry

• Visiting the sick

• Visiting prisoners

• Visiting the bereaved

• Youth ministry, and the facilitation of peer-ministry among young people

• Promoting awareness of the social teaching of the Church

• The promotion of justice and human rights

• The administration of Church property

A permanent deacon is not a “lone ranger.” He receives his mission from the Archbishop,

and will be assigned to work as a member of a team, normally under the leadership

of a parish priest. He is called to minister in close co-operation with priests and with

members of the lay faithful who are entrusted with various ministries.

Collaborative ministry is already a reality in very many parishes, especially with the

development of Parish Pastoral Councils, family-mass groups, baptism teams,

bereavement support groups etc. Deacons are not intended to replace lay ministers. On

the contrary, in many places, they play a key role in the development and co-ordination of

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lay ministry. Neither are deacons intended to be “mini-priests,” making up for a shortage

of vocations. The Vatican Council was quite clear that, alongside the diaconate, the role

of the ordained priesthood must continue to be fostered because without the priest there

is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist there is no Church.

Who Is Eligible to Become a Deacon?

It is the bishop who, in the name of the Church, calls a man to ordination as deacon. Any

decision to call a man to the order of deacon must follow from a mature discernment.

In other words, it is a decision rooted in faith. The bishop needs to satisfy himself that a

man, who has already been called by God in the Sacrament of Baptism, is now called by

God to ordained ministry, as a further expression of his baptismal vocation.

Candidates for the permanent diaconate may be married or unmarried. The upper age

limit for ordination is sixty years of age.

Married Candidates:

The Church is concerned that there should be no potential for conflict between the

responsibilities of ordained ministry and the need of a couple in the early years of their

married life to devote their time and energy to maturing in their relationship and to caring

for young children. For that reason, a married man must have reached the age of thirtyfive

before he can be ordained to the permanent diaconate. He must also have the

formal consent of his wife.

Unmarried Candidates:

Unmarried candidates must have reached the age of twenty five before they can be

ordained as permanent deacons. In keeping with the tradition of the Church, those who

are ordained as single men make a solemn promise of celibacy.

What Personal Qualities are Required?

A prospective candidate for the permanent diaconate must:

• have a genuine sense of vocation to this calling.

• be a baptized and confirmed man who is active in the practice of his Catholic faith.

• be actively involved in the parish or charitable work and highly recommended by his

parish priest and parishioners.

• [if married...] have been married at least five years and live in a stable and valid

marriage, enjoying the full support of his wife who will participate actively in the

formation programme, and be willing to remain celibate if his wife precedes him in

death

• [if single...] enjoy a stable, settled life, a history of healthy relationships, and be able

and willing to accept celibacy, understanding the implications of this charism.

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• [if widowed...] have had at least two years to heal from the death of his wife.

• possess the human, spiritual and intellectual capacity to participate fully in the

formation programme.

• possess natural gifts for ministry, demonstrate maturity and balance, enjoy good

physical and mental health with no condition which would impede ministry and have

no history of any significant compulsions or addictions

• be free of all force or pressure in making his application.

• be able to sustain an adequate standard of living for himself and, in so far as it is

applicable, for his family.

• be able to give the time required for study and service without detriment to his

family.

• be willing to be subject to the child protection vetting procedures as required by Our

Children our Church.

• not belong to any organisation or engage in any work or professional activity that is,

according to the norms of the Church and the prudent judgement of the Archbishop,

inconsistent with the diaconal ministry

• be free of all irregularities and impediments to Orders

• be an Irish citizen or, if a citizen of another country, be lawfully resident in Ireland for

a period of not less than two years

How do I know if I am Suited to the Permanent Diaconate?

Before he is formally accepted as a candidate for the permanent diaconate an aspirant

is invited to participate in what is known as the propaedeutic period. During this period,

which lasts approximately one year, he engages in a process of discernment which is

intended to help him to arrive at a better understanding of himself and of ministry in the

Church, so as to be able to make an initial decision which is fully free and unconditioned

by personal interests or external pressures of any sort.

The propaedeutic period incorporates the formal application process and, as such, it

affords the Archbishop the opportunity, together with his advisors, to arrive at some

initial evaluation of the aspirant as a potential candidate for ordained ministry.

The focus of the propaedeutic period will be on the vocation of the candidate and, in

the event that he is married, its implications for his family. Those who are accepted into

the propaedeutic period begin a year-long programme that focuses on spiritual and

human formation, and on what it means to be a deacon. The programme includes five

weekends focused on prayer, instruction and reflection, two days of reflection, and a

retreat. Because this is essentially a time of discernment, the applicant’s wife, if he is

married, will be asked to take part in at least some of these events.

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Weekend One: Focus on the Call to Ministry

This weekend will focus on ministry in the Church, both in general and with specific

reference to the Diaconate.

Weekend Two: Ministry and Marriage.

This weekend will provide an opportunity to look at some of the implications of ministry

as a Permanent Deacon in relation to the candidate’s marriage.

Weekend Three: Prayer and Spiritual Direction.

The focus of this weekend will be on spiritual formation. Applicants will be helped to

explore various approaches to and supports for prayer, as well as spiritual direction.

Weekend Four: Personal Awareness and Development.

The focus of this weekend is to help the participants look at their personal strengths and

limitations as well as areas for continued human formation.

Weekend Five: Interview.

The principal focus of this weekend will be the process of interview.

What Kind of Training is Provided?

Training for ordained ministry is usually referred to as formation, because it is more than

just training for a job; it is about preparing for a way of life. Following the propaedeutic

period, candidates who are accepted into the formation programme will begin a three

year period of preparation for ordained ministry, which includes academic study, spiritual,

human and pastoral formation.

The overall purpose of the formation programme is to help each candidate to reach a

mature understanding of his faith, and to develop the personal and pastoral skills which

will enable him to share this faith with others through the exercise of a ministry of charity

which also has a significant liturgical dimension.

Academic Formation

The academic dimension of the programme will include the study of Scripture, Dogmatic

Theology (the faith of the Church), Moral Theology (the implications of faith for relationship

and for action), Liturgy (how the Church prays as a community), Spirituality , Canon Law,

and Ecclesiastical History, as well as relevant elements of philosophy,. Evaluation of the

candidate from an academic point of view will take into account his performance in the

classroom context, the satisfactory completion of regular assignments and the feedback

from his tutor. The fundamental courses at least will conclude with an examination and

at the end of the three years there will be a comprehensive examination.

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Pastoral Formation

Among the elements included in the pastoral formation programme will be

• The care of the poor and the work of justice (including familiarity with and

involvement in the work of the SVP, Crosscare and other agencies which give

effect to the Church’s social concern)

• The pastoral care of prisoners and their families

• The pastoral care of the sick at home and in hospital

• Participation in the communal prayer and the liturgical life of the community

• Participation in the building up of the community, through effective and appropriate

involvement in small groups, committees, movements and voluntary bodies

• Proclamation of the word of God in various pastoral contexts

• The pastoral care of the bereaved.

While there will be formal workshops, much of the pastoral formation programme will

take place in the parish, under the guidance and direction of a named priest. It will be

tailored to the individual, and will take account of the stage of formation which he has

reached, and the ministries which he has received. Provision will be made for structured

reflection on pastoral action and experience.

Spiritual Formation

The spiritual formation of the future deacon will be integrated with his academic formation.

It will take into account his previous experience of spiritual life, and will seek to affirm

and strengthen it. He will be helped, through prayer, spiritual direction and practical

experience to deepen his relationship with Christ, and to develop a spirituality which

enables him to offer himself, as Christ did, in the service of his brothers and sisters,

especially those who are most vulnerable.

Human Formation

The human formation element of the programme will include some scheduled workshops,

but much of it will take place in the context of working together with other candidates, in

pastoral placement, and in reflecting on these experiences with his formation director.

The aim of this human formation is to help the candidate to develop the personal

skills which will enable him to

• balance the needs of his own family with the requirements of ministry,

• develop and maintain appropriate pastoral relationships,

• communicate and work constructively and effectively with others,

• observe appropriate boundaries, and

• develop the kind of personal discipline which will enable him to establish ministerial

priorities, and to care appropriately for his own well-being in body, mind and spirit.

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The director of diaconal formation has overall responsibility for the formation programme,

and it will be his responsibility in the final analysis, taking account of the evaluation of

pastoral and academic tutors to make a recommendation to the Archbishop regarding

ordination and future ministry. While spiritual direction is an integral element in the

formation process, the relationship of the candidate with his spiritual director is a

privileged one, and its confidentiality is fully respected.

How Would Diaconate Impinge on my Employment?

The diaconate is an active ministry, not an honorary position. Being a deacon involves a

serious level of commitment, both at the stage of preparation and after ordination.

As a general rule, deacons exercise a voluntary, part-time ministry, and amount of time

given to this ministry will depend to some extent on the individual and family circumstances

of the deacon concerned. Some deacons, if they have taken early retirement or reduced

their work commitments, may be able to offer a greater time commitment.

Deacons who exercise a part-time ministry are entitled to work in their chosen career to

support themselves and their families. It is important, however, that their employment is

both practically and morally consistent with the exercise of ordained ministry.

It may occasionally happen that, alongside his voluntary service, the full-time employment

of a deacon is within some agency or service of the Church. Although he is, at all times,

a deacon, a distinction needs to be made between his employment and his voluntary

ministry, not least because he may be answerable to different people in respect of

each.

From the point of view of remuneration, Canon law distinguishes between deacons who

are asked to exercise their ministry full-time, and those who have an income from secular

employment. “Married deacons who dedicate themselves full-time to the ecclesiastical

ministry deserve remuneration sufficient to provide for themselves and their families.

Those, however, who receive a remuneration by reason of a secular profession which

they exercise or have exercised, are to see to their own and to their families’ needs from

that income”

Those who exercise a voluntary part-time ministry would normally receive expenses

related to the exercise of their ministry, according to an agreed system. Once a deacon

has been ordained he will be insured against personal injury sustained in the course of

his ministry, and against claims made by third parties, arising out of advice he has given,

services which he has provided or failed to provide etc.