Bishop O'Donoghue on the Permanent Diaconate

In the light of my recent post with regard to the permanent diaconate , I was very interested to come across Bishop O'Donoghue's policy statement on the subject. This was issued in November 2007 and, though it does not appear to be directly part of the "Fit for mission?" review process in the Diocese, it clearly has a relation to that process. The statement can be downloaded from the Lancaster Diocese website: www.lancasterrcdiocese.org.uk, hover your mouse over the "About the Diocese", and click on the "Bishop's messages" link that appears.

Bishop O'Donoghue starts his statement:

We need a new vision of the identity and role of the Permanent Diaconate, one that widens the focus of the deacon from the service of the sanctuary, and sacraments, to embrace the service of suffering humanity, in all its variety. Too often, due to an over emphasis on liturgical and sacramental functions, deacons are seen as ‘mini-priests’ or merely ‘father’s helper’. Obviously, such a misunderstanding about the identity of the deacon is a sign that further development of this ministry is necessary.

Therefore, my main objective for the review is to re-vision the practice of the Permanent Diaconate in our diocese, which I see as an important element of our ‘Fit for Mission’ review.

I would perhaps add an observation about the Permanent Diaconate being seen as a kind of "retirement ministry", something that is taken up at the end of a working life. This lends itself to the misunderstanding of the identity of the Permanent Deacon that Bishop O'Donoghue identifies.

Bishop O'Donoghue includes a hard-hitting summary analysis of the pastoral/spiritual needs of people in his diocese, and presents the Permanent Diaconate as a ministry responding to these needs, the Deacon being a "specialist in Christian care":

However, the deacon is called to a unique role in the Church, because through the sacrament of Holy Orders he is an official representative of the Church. Through his integral, threefold ministry of Altar, Word, and Charity, the deacon is called to makes caritas [love] ‘visible’ as an essential expression of the Church’s nature.

Therefore, as specialists in Christian care, I see deacons having a vital role to play in organizing and extending our Church’s practise of love.

Whilst in many ways the tasks undertaken by a Permanent Deacon could also be undertaken by a lay person, Bishop O'Donoghue identifies the nature of the Deacon as an "official representative" through Ordination of the Church in these fields as distinguishing his identity from that of the lay person. My own thinking has tended to be around the role of the Permanent Deacon as an ordinary minister of the Eucharist, so he can be a presence of the Eucharist in the caring situation in a way that a lay person cannot.

Bishop O'Donoghue has convened a review group to look at the development of the Permanent Diaconate in his diocese. He has set clear terms of reference for the review, from which I extract the following:

Selection of candidates: Men should be chosen who have a clear understanding of the deacon’s unique role in the Church of enabling her practical self-offering in service to humanity.

They should also be equipped through experience, career, personality, or charism to serve as specialists in Christian care. For example, men already working or aspiring to work in social care, counselling, youth work, high school chaplaincy, healthcare, pastoral care, marriage counselling, catechesis. An alternative source of candidates would also be those men with proven ‘experience’ and skills as pastoral leaders, mentors, ‘listeners’, ‘befrienders’, spiritual directors.

Training of candidates: The formation programme should give equal attention to the three diaconal ministries of Altar, Word, and Charity, so as to equip the deacon as a specialist in Christian care. Therefore, the focus of training would shift from competence in liturgy, which will always be important, to embrace pastoral theology and practice....

Employment of deacons: As specialists in Christian care, deacons would have responsibility for leading and facilitating a range of chaplaincies, such as industry, hospitals, schools and colleges, and prisons. They would also develop chaplaincies specializing in the service of specific human need, such as chaplaincy to single-parents, migrants, the bereaved, addicts.