By Father Frank Ruff

Forty-five priests heard Father Philbin, executive secretary of the Bishops' Committee on the Permanent Diaconate, describe the possibilities for the permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

He outlined the work of the deacon on three areas of: 1) the Liturgy, 2) teaching and preaching, and 3) the works of charity and community leadership, such as visiting the sick, visiting prisons and hospitals, and working with civic and community organizations.

However, the greatest distinction between this layman and the deacon, Father Philbin said, was not in the work that the deacon does, but that he does it in the name of the Catholic Church. The deacon shares in the ministry of the bishop and is authorized to work in the name of the Church.

"In most ways," Father Philbin explained, "the deacon will look like a layman." The typical deacon will be married, working in a full-time secular job, be in his early forties and work in a team ministry with other deacons, priests, and religious. Ninety percent of the 430 candidates who are studying in the United States are married.

Programs for training deacons have been set up in 13 different cities. At the present time, there are only six permanent deacons in the United States, but this summer 40 more will be ordained.

At the noon luncheon at the Cathedral Center, Carl Middleton, a candidate preparing to be ordained a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, addressed the priest on the possibilities that he saw for the deacon.

He described some of the work he has been doing as assistant chaplain at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Mich. He conducts interdenominational worship services for the Protestant nurses and staff at the hospital, counsels patients and their families who have alcoholic or marriage problems, and teaches the nursing staff how to work with dying patients.

Mr. Middleton stated that neither he nor the other deacon candidates in his program have had any difficulty being accepted by parishes once the priests and people understood who a deacon is.

Father Philbin reported in the afternoon that a recent study showed that, of all the changes recently introduced in the Church, the permanent deaconate received the highest rating. Eighty percent of the American bishops and 86 percent of the American priests favor the permanent diaconate.

In the evening, Father Philbin met with a group of laymen from the archdiocese who showed intense interest in becoming deacons.

As the priests had done in the afternoon, the laymen listed areas where they saw need for deacons in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The areas most frequently mentioned were: visiting of Catholics in their homes, visiting in prisons, visiting convalescent homes, participation in civic and political activities, and acting as leaders of the Catholic community in the small towns throughout Georgia.