Pope Francis To Create Commission To Study Possibility Of Having Women Deacons

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A potential historic shift in the Catholic Church Thursday as Pope Francis said he will create a commission to study the possibility of having women serve as deacons.

CBS2's Alice Gainer reported the pope talked about creating this commission during a meeting at the Vatican with nearly 900 heads of female religious orders and congregations.

Currently, deacons are ordained, similar to priests, but they can only conduct certain ministries of the church, like lead prayer services and offer the sacrament of baptism. However, they cannot celebrate the mass.

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

During a question-and-answer session, Francis was asked why the church excludes women from serving as deacons and why not put together a commission to study the question about reinstating female deacons. He was told women had served as deacons in the early church.

The National Catholic Reporter quotes the pope  as responding with, "I accept."

"It would do good for the church to clarify this point. I am in agreement. I will speak to do something like this," Francis said.

The pope reportedly mentioned that years ago he spoke with a professor who told him female deacons had helped the early church, particularly in baptizing women, which at the time called for full immersion naked in water.

Local Catholics backed allowing women to be deacons.

"I don't have a problem with that," Paul Chase of Rockville Centre said. "There are many, many, many spiritual women who would have that calling."

Ryan Dilworth of Rockville Centre said, "I think the church has had its challenges and maybe this is some of the reform it needs."

Renae Walker, a Protestant minister from North Carolina, said Catholics would stand to gain allowing female deacons.

"When you deal with the church, you're dealing with God's children, and so to incorporate and have an open heart and a mind to bring women into more of a leadership role in the church, you're gonna find that people are gonna warm more to the church," Walker said.

According to the Vatican, the pope's comments on female deacons were only part of a nearly 75-minute meeting.

He also answered questions about how to better integrate women into the life of the church and responded that integration of women had been very weak and that "we must go forward."