“Spiritually motivated, well-trained deacons, employed in meaningful tasks, are a necessity for the Church today. They are neither substitutes for a parish priest nor social workers. They represent the deacon Jesus Christ in a sacramental manner, bringing into our world the love of God, which the Holy Spirit has poured out into our hearts (Rom 5:5).
They are pioneers of a new “civilisation of love.” They are a blessing for the Church and for the people entrusted to us. This is why we must press on with renewal of diakonia and of the diaconate, translating ever more fully into the reality of ecclesial life the impetus given by the Holy Spirit through Vatican II”.
Cardinal Kasper