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Pope Francis Appoints Panel To Study Possibility Of Female Deacons

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Pope Francis has given his blessing to a panel that will begin to consider the idea of women in the clergy.

The Vatican says the pontiff's decision came after intense prayer and mature reflection - to appoint a panel to study the idea of women deacons in the Roman Catholic church, CBS2's Marlie Hall reported.

The commission will be comprised of 12 members — six men and six women — including priests, nuns and laywomen.

Among commission members are Marianne Schlosser, professor of spiritual theology at the University of Vienna, and Phyllis Zagano, a professor of religion at Hofstra University in New York and author of the book "Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future."

Heading the commission is a top official, Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, a Jesuit who is the No. 2 official the Congregation of the Faith, the Vatican office entrusted with ensuring doctrinal orthodoxy. Putting the commission under his watch signals the Vatican is intent that whatever the panel concludes will be scrutinized for conformity to church doctrine.

Zagano is the only American on the commission and says she's been waiting for this moment for years.

"It is certainly an hnor that the holy father has entrusted me and my research to bring to Rome," Zagano told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan. "The church would be making a great statement about the dignity and place of women in the world."

Deacons are ordained ministers who can preach as well as preside over weddings and funerals. But they cannot celebrate mass.

Historians say the idea of women in this role is not new to the Catholic faith.

"There are several popes in middle ages who wrote to bishops, giving them the authority to ordain women as deacons," Zagano said.

Known for his progressive stances, Pope Francis's decision to look into the possibility of women deacons differs from the views of his predecessors. In a possible insight to the pope's thinking, Francis has noted that the deaconesses of the early church weren't ordained as the male deacons of today are.

He first entertained the idea in May, after meeting with a group of  nearly 900 female leaders from various religious orders and congregations.

The church currently allows single and married men over the age of 35 to be deacons.

The Women's Ordination Conference "welcomes and is encouraged by Pope Francis' gender-balanced and lay-inclusive appointments to study women deacons in the early church," a statement said.

The group called the commission "an important step for the Vatican in recognizing its own history of honoring women's leadership." It also expressed hope its conclusions will lead to "a new reality for women in our Church: one that models equality and inclusion."

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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