Pope Francis has made it very clear that he opposes the ordination of women as deacons. Although I disagree with him, I accept that we will not see female deacons during his pontificate.

However, if Francis or anyone else opposes the ordination of women as deacons, there is a simple solution: stop ordaining anyone as deacons and let both women and men perform many of the same roles as catechists.

The issue of female deacons has been the subject of much controversy recently. Francis raised hopes that women could be ordained as deacons in 2016 when he created a commission to study the history of female deacons. This was in response to a request from the International Union of Superiors General, which represents some 600,000 women religious around the world. A second commission to study the possibility of female deacons was established in 2020.

Unfortunately, the reports of these commissions were never published.

At last year’s Synod, the issue of female deacons was again discussed and received strong support from many delegates, especially women. This year, however, the Pope disappointed many by removing the issue from the Synod’s agenda and appointing another commission to study the issue, which is due to present a report in 2025.

When the pope was asked about the ordination of women in his May interview with CBS News, he answered with a resounding “no” to female deacons. He seemed to believe that women who served as deacons in the early church were not ordained, despite extensive historical research by Religion News Service columnist Phyllis Zagano and others showing that they were, in fact, ordained.

Deacons may not celebrate Mass, hear confessions, or anoint the sick, but they may baptize, preach at Mass, and preside at weddings and funerals. As ordained ministers, they are members of the clergy, not laypeople. Permanent deacons remain deacons for life, while transitional deacons are eventually ordained as priests.

The permanent diaconate was revived in the Catholic Church in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council, with the Council Fathers believing that it could be helpful in mission areas.

But the hope that permanent deacons would spread the word in Africa, South Asia and other places traditionally considered mission lands never materialized. Today, the United States is home to nearly 20,000 of the 50,150 Catholic deacons worldwide, or about 40 percent, according to the Vatican’s Statistical Yearbook. The United States and Europe together have more than two-thirds of the world’s deacons.

There are only about 500 deacons in all of Africa, fewer than in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where there are over 850.

Instead, Africa’s Catholic bishops prefer catechists, who can be men or women. There are more than 450,000 catechists in Africa who teach the faith, hold Bible studies, lead small Christian communities, prepare people to receive the sacraments, and conduct communion services when priests are not available. African bishops put many resources into training catechists.

Those who advocate for women deacons point out that only ordained deacons or priests can preach at Mass or perform marriage ceremonies. Catechists are not allowed to do either, and expanding their role would neither give women a greater role in the Church nor increase the number of people who can serve the faithful.

But as for preaching homilies, this is simply canon law and can be changed, and lay people can be entrusted with presiding over a marriage ceremony in many cases. The ministers of the sacrament of marriage are the couple, not the priest or deacon, who only witness the marriage for the Church.

Likewise, lay people can preside over funerals without a Mass. And any lay person, even a non-Catholic, can baptize.

In truth, there is nothing a deacon can do that a lay person cannot do.

I am not saying that many male deacons do not do wonderful work for the Church. I am just saying that they could do the same work without ordination.

The diaconate has disadvantages that catechists do not have. As clerics, the diocese is financially responsible for them under canon law. If a deacon’s wife dies, he cannot remarry unless he receives a dispensation, which is not always granted. If a deacon gets into trouble, the Church must follow the same complicated canonical procedure that applies to laicizing priests.

The restriction of the diaconate and priesthood to men is painful for many women in the Church, but if we cannot ordain women as deacons, there is no reason why we must ordain men. If the purpose of ordination is simply to give the deacon more status, this is another form of clericalism.

There are not enough priests, which means that people have to go without the Eucharist, confession and the anointing of the sick. Too many Catholics die without the sacraments because there is no priest available.

If deacons were allowed to administer the last two sacraments in emergencies, they would have an important task that a lay person cannot perform. But since they cannot do this, we can do without them. The Church has existed for centuries without the permanent diaconate.

If the Church does not need female deacons, it does not need male deacons either. The U.S. Church would do well to follow the example of the African Church, forget about deacons, and develop a catechetical ministry instead.

(The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect the views of Religion News Service.)