The national directory addresses the dimensions and perspectives in the formation of deacons and the model standards for the formation, ministry, and life of deacons in the United States. It is intended as a guideline for formation, ministry, and life of permanent deacons and a directive to be utilized when preparing or updating a diaconate program in formulating policies for the ministry and life of deacons. This volume also includes Basic Standards for Readiness for the formation of permanent deacons in the United States, from the bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, and the committee document Visit of Consultation Teams to Diocesan Permanent Diaconate Formation Programs.

While their husbands progressed through their own formation program, these women helped one another accept and live their newly acquired role in the Church as deacons' wives.

From the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy.

Forming Deacons: Ministers of Soul and Leaven consists of essays by recognized leaders in diaconate formation, many of whom contributed to the preparation of the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2004. While not a commentary on it, these essays take the National Directory as their reference point and foundation. Written from the multifaceted perspectives of pastors, deacons, academics, and church officials--all of whom are directly involved in the formation of deacons--Forming Deacons offers valuable insights on the process of implementing in practical terms the theories presented in the National Directory. This book will be a valuable resource for bishops, their staffs, all those involved in the formation of deacons, and diaconate aspirants and candidates. +

Through the three areas of calling, formation and ordination, and ministry, The Heart of the Diaconate outlines what those who are considering the diaconate must possess if it is truly going to be an effective and vibrant ministry within the church. With a focus on availability to both prayer and ministry, the future of the diaconate must be mystical, youthful, and possessing one evangelical question, "Where has the gospel yet to reach, and how may I announce it in those places?" +

In 1964 a small group of African American men in Jonesboro, Louisiana, defied the nonviolence policy of the mainstream civil rights movement and formed an armed self-defense organization--the Deacons for Defense and Justice--to protect movement workers fr

Three related essays by experts on the diaconate that examine the concept of women deacons in the Catholic Church from Thistorical, contemporary, and future perspectives.