The National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and the Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States (Ascension)

X NDPD 159

Dimensions in the Formation of Deacons

conscious of the potential for misunderstanding and alienation that can occur when cultural, ethnic, or racial diversity becomes an occasion of dis crimination rather than of social harmony. 65 Social Justice 157 The ministry of charity is “most characteristic of the deacon.” 66 “In fact, with sacred ordination, [the deacon] is constituted a living icon of Christ the servant within the Church.” 67 From its beginnings, the ministry of the deacon encompassed stewardship of the Church’s mate rial goods, making evident the claim of the poor on the resources of the community. Deacons have long helped to ensure that the allocation of those resources made provision for meaningful assistance to those who suffered from poverty, hunger, homelessness, and disease. Today, the restored diaconate maintains this traditional stewardship through its commitment to the poor. 158 Diaconal formation should equip deacons for working on behalf of the poor and indeed for working to put into effect the full range of the social teaching of the Church. Formation programs should help the partici pant to grow in an understanding of the Church’s teaching and tradition of social justice. Deacons should become familiar with the social encyc licals of the popes and the relevant documents issued by the USCCB on matters such as the integrity of human life from conception to death, the economy, racism, immigration, and peace. Formation programs should impart the skills needed to promote Catholic social teaching in the mar ketplace, parish, and diocese. A Spirit of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue 159 The Second Vatican Council taught that the restoration of full visible com munion among all Christians is the will of Christ and is essential to the 65 Bishops’ Committee on Migration, NCCB, One Family Under God , rev. ed. (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1998), 20. 66 BNFPD, no. 9. 67 BNFPD, no. 11.

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