There has been an alarming lack of transparency around the work of the synod’s ‘Study Group 5,’ tasked with examining, among other things, the subject of women deacons.

A lot of people have sacrificed much to participate in the synod meetings. Who wants to come away with little to show from it?

Perhaps it seems foolish to put so much stock in one mother’s cry for help. But then again, the cries of our forefathers and foremothers have been central to our faith for centuries.

“We know that the Holy Father has expressed that at this time the issue of the female diaconate is not mature and has asked that we not entertain this possibility for now,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández told the synod Oct. 21.

Even if some members of the Synod of Bishops end up feeling disappointed by the results of the synod, “God’s providence is at work in this assembly,” Cardinal-designate Timothy Radcliffe said.

Around 100 synod delegates filed into the Vatican’s old synod hall yesterday afternoon seeking answers about the secretive Vatican-instituted study group that had, among other issues, been tasked with looking into the possibility of ordaining women deacons.