On this Canadian Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for the life of Bishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Quebec, Canada. Bishop Durocher is one of the prelates attending the second Synod on the Family in Rome that began on Sunday, October fourth and continues until October twenty-fifth.  Bishop Durocher, I hope, is one of the surprises of this Synod.  As part of the Synod process, Bishop Durocher chose to speak three minutes on the theme of Women in the Church.  He posed this question:  “Shouldn’t we be opening up new venues of ministry for women in the Church?”

His recommendation for ways to fully include women was to appoint women to various leadership positions.  For instance, women might well be “heading” curial offices.  This idea confronts Pope Francis’s notion, that placing women in such positions is purely functional.  I have to wonder what Pope Francis was thinking when Bishop Durocher presented his ideas.

More interesting, was Bishop Durocher’s point that the Church ought to consider ordaining women to the deaconate, as this was traditionally, an ordination to ministry and not to the priesthood for women.  Some might say, yes, always the blushing bridesmaid, but, never the bride, however, this ordination would provide women with the opportunity to do the all too important work of preaching the Word.

I hope Bishop Durocher provided a Divine Spark that will create a Divine Fire.  No matter, what the result, his words were indeed salty!  It’s a saltiness the Church desperately needs!

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