Deacon Philip Pond of Southwark is conducting some research into the permanent diaconate for his MA in Pastoral Theology. If you are able to help, please download the questionnaire from the bottom of this page. The text of the accompanying letter follows.

The Pastoral Leadership Role of the Permanent Deacon in Southwark Diocese

Please forgive the impersonal nature of this letter which is going to all permanent deacons in Southwark. I am writing to ask for your help in research I am carrying out as part of my MA in Pastoral Theology at St Mary’s University College, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. Let me point out that this academic exercise is not being carried out on behalf of Southwark diocese.

My topic is to compare the vision of the Fathers at Vatican Council II in restoring the diaconate as a permanent ministry in its own right with the reality of the role of the permanent deacon in the 21^st century. My overall aim, using Southwark as a microcosm of the Church in England and Wales, is to establish whether the permanent diaconate is fulfilling its pastoral leadership role in the Church as envisaged by the Council.

I have chosen Southwark as my focus partly because it is where I was ordained as a permanent deacon eight years ago and have exercised my ministry ever since; partly because it has the second highest number of deacons of any of the 22 dioceses in England and Wales; partly because it has a much higher ratio of deacons to priests/parishes/Mass attenders than most other dioceses.

I have chosen this topic (in the light of Archbishop Kevin’s ‘Vision’ initiative) because it is directly relevant to the diocese of Southwark and will  become increasingly so given the reduced number of priestly vocations and rising number of permanent deacons. It therefore provides an opportunity to reflect on current experiences and uncertainties which may be felt at this time.

Please be assured that individual feedback, including any direct quotations from the questionnaire, will of course remain anonymous. Aggregated results and analysis will be used within the dissertation.

Your completed questionnaire can be returned by post to my home address or sent as an email attachment to philippond@blueyonder.co.uk. If you would like clarification of any aspect of this project please do not hesitate to contact me. I should be most grateful if you would let me have your responses by June 30, 2010 please.

I hope in due course to publish a synopsis of my findings on the Southwark diocesan website so that you can acquaint yourself with the results of this survey.

Thank you in advance for helping me with my research: your assistance is much appreciated.

Yours in the Lord

Deacon Philip Pond

You can download the questionnaire here.