National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent ...

4 PrefaceA national catechesis7. The committee approved and authorized the publication of aseries of monographs as part of a structured national catechesis onthe diaconate. In collaboration with the committee, the Bishops’Committee on the Liturgy issued the document The Deacon:Minister of Word and Sacrament, Study Text VI (1979), which wasdevoted to the liturgical ministries of the deacon. 27 A second monographaddressed The Service Ministry of the Deacon (1988), 28 and athird monograph, Foundations for the Renewal of the Diaconate(1993), offered an international and historical perspective on thetheology of the diaconate. 29 In 1998, the committee sponsored theproduction of a videotape, Deacons: Ministers of Justice and Charity,that highlighted some of the diverse service ministries of deacons inthe United States. 30III. Recent Developments8. The documents of the Second Vatican Council convey “agreat deal about bishops and laity and very little about priests anddeacons.” 31 In 1990, Pope John Paul II convened an ExtraordinarySynod of Bishops to consider the life and ministry of priests withinthe Church in order “to close this gap on behalf of priests with thecompletion of some important initiatives . . . for example . . . thepublication of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores DaboVobis 32 and, as an implementation of this document, the Directory onthe Ministry and Life of Priests. 33 ” 34VaticanCongregations’plenary assembly9. Seeking further to promote “a certain unity of direction andclarification of concepts, as well as . . . practical encouragement andmore clearly defined pastoral objectives,” 35 the Congregation for theClergy and the Congregation for Catholic Education organized aplenary assembly to study the diaconate. This gathering respondedto concerns that had surfaced through the ad limina visits andreports of the bishops since the restoration of the diaconate wasbegun. 36 The members of the congregations and their consultantsconvened in November 1995. Pope John Paul II met with the participantsand focused his comments on the identity, mission, andministry of the deacon in the Church. 37