Phyllis Zagano, a prominent proponent of the ordination of women to the
diaconate, said during a lecture in New Zealand that staff of the
Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith who oppose
her position have fallen into heresy.
“The idea of some kind of a fourth order non-ordained has been floated,
and I think that will be disastrous because the argument that I was
given twice in person by staff in the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith is that women cannot image Christ,” she said.
“Can you spell heresy? I mean that’s ridiculous. That’s really what is
called naïve physicalism,” she continued. “The mistake is between the
human male Jesus and the Risen Lord. The Risen Lord is in you and in me.
If I can’t see Jesus in males and females, I don’t see Jesus at all.”
In 2016, Pope Francis named Zagano
to a commission to study the issue; the commission’s results were
inconclusive.
Earlier this year, Zagano argued for her position in the Vatican newspaper.