If the deacon we have in our parish is representative of deacons as a group, I’d say the Church was extremely wise to have restored the diaconate. Our deacon is energetic in youth ministry (he has two teenagers of his own,) and does a much better job in pastoral counseling, especially with marital issues, than our parish priest could ever hope to approximate, simply because he has direct experience in being a married man, as well as clinical training as a licensed social worker. His seminary formation took those personal gifts he has and built on them, and produced a very fine individual who serves his parish for the greater glory of God, and our attendance figures since he was added to the parish half a dozen years ago show it, as do the numbers of programs we have for adult catechesis and formation. Last summer, prior to the implementation of the Roman Missal changes, he put together a spectacular Mass run-through commentary that was extremely useful in catechizing us pew-sitters. In October, he delivered an excellent, well-researched, insightful, and non-hysterical teaching homily as to precisely what is wrong with artificial birth control, as well as the collateral damage from its use to the Church and the community at large. You couldn’t help but walk away from that homily without having learned something, even if you had a private pro-ABC bent: I overheard one woman as I was leaving comment, “I didn’t know that all those hormones end up in the water supply!”
Other than the specifics of our own permanent deacon’s pre-diaconate training and experience, I’ve heard similar rave reviews from parishioners of nearby parishes. I’m just a plain Jane cradle Catholic married middle aged laywoman, but this is my two cents’ worth opinion.
Great idea to resuscitate the permanent diaconate, Magisterium! Bravissimo!
