Vatican doctrine chief limits expectations for women deacons
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The head of the Vatican's doctrine office is suggesting little new will come from a study commissioned by Pope Francis into the role of women deacons.
Cardinal Gerhard Mueller says the Vatican is putting together a list of experts for the study. But he says the focus will be historic in nature, studying the role of women deacons in the early church, and that regardless a comprehensive study was completed in 2002.
That study found that female deacons of the early church cannot be compared to the ordained male diaconate of today.
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Francis made headlines when he agreed to a request by a nun to set up the commission
Ordained deacons aren't priests but perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, marriages and funerals.