Dear Friends,

In a recent article in America magazine,  Bishop Emil Wcela urged "public consideration" of women deacons on the part of bishops, bishop conferences, theologians, historians and all concerned Catholics.

Cardinal George promised to raise the issue of women deacons in Rome after a Chicago parish asked him to support the candidacy of a woman leader to the permanent diaconate. At this writing, we know groups have met or are meeting with bishops in three other U.S. dioceses.

FutureChurch has developed a brand new resource: Women Deacons: Why Not Now? to help Catholics learn the rich history of female deacons, discover why the Church should restore the female diaconate, and implement a discernment process to surface women candidates to present to the bishop of their diocese.  

 Will you help us make this a public issue?   

In the past year, FutureChurch's Save Our Parish Communityproject  catalyzed a landmark change in Vatican policy. We discovered it IS possible to influence Rome once a critical mass decides to do something.

Please help us create a new critical mass on behalf of women, especially women preachers,  in our church.  The packet contains everything you need to educate and advocate for women deacons in the Catholic Church.

We hope to create local networks of people willing to work on this issue. Email us if you are interested in becoming a local educator and/or activist in your diocese

Thanks so much.

Liz England             Chris Schenk

PS  Petitioning for the permanent diaconate for women does not mean  FutureChurch has stopped requesting continued discussion and prayer about church teaching on women's ordination. Our  A Million Voices initiative contains resources for continuing this important conversation in your faith community. Available for instant download ($3.00) here