Overview
- A Vatican synthesis ordered for publication by Pope León XIV says current research excludes admitting women to the diaconate as a degree of holy orders at this time.
- The commission chaired by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi reports two irreconcilable theological schools on the issue, which led to a cautious, provisional conclusion.
- The document stops short of a definitive judgment, encourages deeper research, and proposes developing specific lay ministries for women outside sacramental orders.
- Unusually detailed disclosures include a 5–5 split on a thesis about masculinity and sacramental identity and note that only 22 submissions were received worldwide during the synodal process.
- Proponents such as scholar Phyllis Zagano criticized the synthesis for offering little theological argumentation, even as the Vatican framed the publication as a transparency measure.