Sunday, May 27, 2012

Married deacons in parishes next month

The first married men who will serve as deacons in Irish parishes baptising children and presiding at weddings will be ordained next month.

The men – who have been in training for the past few years – will assist hard-pressed priests who are struggling to keep up with parishioners’ needs. 

The deacons will also preach at Masses and officiate at funerals.

Married men often served as deacons in the early

Church, however, this practice was later discontinued and the ministry of permanent deacons was only restored in the Catholic Church following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

While married deacons are a familiar sight in the Church in other parts of the world, the Church in Ireland was reluctant to restore the ancient ministry and the Irish bishops only agreed to do so in 2001.

Now, 11 years later eight men will be ordained to the permanent diaconate by Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on Monday, June 4. Dublin will be the country’s first diocese to introduce permanent deacons, who are expected to work in their home parishes.

The Archdiocese of Dublin and the Diocese of Elphin are currently in the process of completing the necessary formation for their candidate permanent deacons. 

The formation involves a so-called propaedeutic or preliminary year followed by three years of formation.

The study covers academic, pastoral, spiritual and human preparation for ordination and is similar to programmes for those being ordained to the priesthood.

Other dioceses which are currently running formation programmes for candidate permanent deacons are: Armagh, Dromore, Kilmore, Kildare and Leighlin, Waterford and Lismore, and Kerry.

In all, 15 Irish dioceses have said they intend to reintroduce the permanent diaconate while the remaining 11 dioceses have not made a commitment to do so.

According to Church law, candidates for the permanent diaconate must be at least 25 years old, if unmarried, and at least 35 years old, if married. 

A married man also needs the consent of his wife before he can be ordained. 

If an unmarried man is ordained to the diaconate, he commits himself to a life of celibacy; married men commit themselves to the same, should their wife die before them.