text: No one can deny that possibility, but it is not necessarily true. Both Orthodoxy and Catholicism hold that there is one sacrament of Holy Orders shared by bishops, priests, and deacons, and that IMHO is the reason the female diaconate is resisted so violently by those opposed to women priests. Phylis Zagano also argues that since deacons are clerics, there are many administrative positions in the Vatican and Chancellories that canon law reserves for clerics that women deacons could occupy. The acceptance factor of having women vested on the altar at Sunday liturgies and preaching regularly will be powerful. There is a risk, but my drachmas are on the table in favour of this as a wise strategic step. If the female diaconate was being offered by those who oppose women priests, then there would be reason for concern, but that isn't the case.