Vatican City, May 7, 2019 / 13:45 pm
Pope Francis said Tuesday that the Vatican commission exploring the possibility of female deacons continues its study, but does not have any consensus that would lead soon to a plan of action.
"For the female diaconate, there is a way to imagine it with a different view from the male diaconate," Pope Francis said May 7 during an in-flight press conference returning from North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
"Fundamentally, there is no certainty that it was an ordination with the same form, in the same purpose as male ordination. Some say there is doubt, let's go ahead and study," the pope said.
Much of the Pope Francis' May 5-7 visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia was dedicated to ecumenical dialogue with Orthodox Christinity. Among the differences from Catholicism, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has female deaconesses.