All about Permanent Deacons, part 3

Catholic Deacons  

• 8. Lay ministries are not needed in parishes with a deacon.
  FALSE and FALSE. One false for the Deacon who thinks this (although we suspect that number to be very small) and the other for the lay person who feels “put out” because there is now a new deacon in there parish taking away from their role.
  Lectors, lay Eucharistic ministers, acolytes, and other lay persons need not feel threatened by the presence of a deacon. The deacon is not a lay person, he is a member of the clergy. His primary focus is to highlight needs that are not being met within the life of the community.
  
  9. Deacons do not have the same formation as priests.
  TRUE. The formation programs for priests and deacons are separate. Deacons undergo a formation that takes approximately three - five years. Whole it is moving in this direction, there is not quite a standard formation for deacons. Some dioceses require that a deacon attain the equivalent of a Masters Degree in Theology. Others do not. If you are interested in seeing the many and varied formation programs for Permanent Deacons, just go to your favorite internet search engine and enter “Catholic Deacon Formation.” The last time I did this there were about 1.2 million results!
  
  Formation for a priest is generally a year or two longer than that of permanent deacon. Those for some religious orders such as the Society of Jesus or the Legionnaires of Christ can be up to 15 years. Priestly formation requirements vary greatly depending on where in the world the formation occurs.
  
  In the United States, priests must have a four-year university degree in Catholic philosophy plus an additional four to five years of graduate-level seminary formation in theology with a focus on Biblical research. A Master of Divinity is the most common degree.
  
  In Scotland, there is a mandatory year of preparation before entering seminary for a year dedicated to spiritual formation, followed by several years of study.
  
  In Europe, Australia, Asia and Canada seminarians usually graduate with a Master of Divinity or a Master of Theology degree, which is a four-year professional degree At least four years are to be in theological studies at the major seminary.
  
  In Germany and Austria, priest candidates graduate with an academic degree (Magister theologiae, Diplom-Theologe, Master of Arts in Theology). The degree takes five years' and is preceded by a year of spiritual formation (plus learning of the ancient languages) and followed by two years of pastoral practice (during which the candidate is ordained to the diaconate). Usually, priests spend all of that time in a seminary except one "free year".
  
  In Africa, Asia and South America, programs are more flexible, being developed according to the age and academic abilities of those preparing for ordination.
  
  Deacons and priests learn many of the same things, such as the study of the bible, homiletics, church history, interpersonal dynamics, liturgics, and theology. However, deacons and priests are preparing for distinctly different forms of service.
  
  10. There are more deacons in the United States than in all other countries combined.
  
  TRUE. There are over 11,000 deacons in the United States, and about 20,000 deacons world-wide. When the permanent diaconate was restored, it was expected to grow fastest in third world countries. However, the most notable growth has been in the United States and Germany.