With dwindling vocations to the priesthood, especially in the West, the cry for women deacons is getting stronger, even while some fear a mixed-gender diaconate might serve to reinforce clericalism in the church.

Pope Francis is not altogether opposed to the idea. He has stated that he cannot ordain women as deacons without a theological and historical foundation.

The pontiff created a Vatican commission in 2016 to study the tradition of women deacons in the Catholic Church upon the request of the International Union of Superiors General. However, the Commission could not arrive at a consensus and have been told to continue their studies individually.

Theological experts from India are not optimistic about the outcome.

Feminist theologian Kochurani Abraham of Kerala said in a telephone interview that the Scriptures point to theological and biblical references to women deacons, particularly chapter 16 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, which mentions Phoebe, a woman who served as a deacon. Virginia Saldanha of Mumbai, a leader of the Indian Christian Women’s Movement, questioned why women aren’t already ordained as deacons.

“Why not have women deacons when most of the churches in the West are functioning because of women who are doing the work of deacons?” she said in a telephone interview. She cited the example of Ludwien Mortier, a pastoral assistant who has been running the Holy Family Parish in Lier, Belgium, for the past two decades.