In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Vatican experts Joshua McElwee and Christopher White interview one of the 13 members of the committee expected to draft the hotly anticipated final document from Pope Francis' ongoing summit on the future of the Catholic Church. Australian Bishop Shane Mackinlay, elected by his peers to be part of the Synod of Bishops' Commission for the Synthesis Report, expresses openness to ordaining women as Catholic deacons. "I'm glad it's going to be discussed," said the bishop. "And if it were to be that the outcome was for ordination to the diaconate to be open to women, I'd certainly welcome that."  Please support this podcast by joining NCR Forward, National Catholic Reporter's membership program.  Relevant links: Christopher White's coverage of the synod's debates on gay Catholics: LGBTQ Catholics subject of emotional debate at synod, participants say Joshua McElwee and Christopher White's coverage of Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich's call for the synod to embrace tension: Synod's second week starts with call to steer into tensions, news of four COVID infections Catholic News Service coverage of the Australian plenary council's final document on the status of women in the Catholic Church: Australia council concludes with agreement on equal dignity of men, women Joshua McElwee's coverage of the beginning of Australia's fifth plenary council: Cardinal Pell's release stokes concerns about Australia's plenary council Joshua McElwee and Christopher White's coverage of Pope Francis' letter suggesting the Catholic Church can study women's ordination: Pope signals openness to blessings for gay couples, study of women's ordination Joshua McElwee and Christopher White's coverage of Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe's retreat reflections for the October 2023 synod: 'Orthodoxy is spacious': At retreat, synod members hear about women's hopes, LGBTQ issues