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Article: Belgian bishop asks Vatican to consider female deacons.(World)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- November 28, 2003
- Author:
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A Belgian bishop has asked the Vatican to consider ordaining female deacons as a way of giving women "real responsibility" in the Catholic church.
Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Bruges, currently in Rome for his ad limina visit to Pope John Paul II, made the recommendation based on consultations in his diocese on the issue of women in the church. Since October 2002, the bishop said, he has collected some 500 reactions, with 86 percent of them favorable to women deacons.
In an exclusive Nov. 20 interview, Vangheluwe told NCR that he supports women deacons for two reasons.
First, Vangheluwe said, is the pastoral desire to incorporate women more fully ...