Requirements for Deacon

Document Title: "Requirements for Deacon
Question from on 04-08-2007:
During the recent history of the church I have noticed that the requirement for entering the permanent diaconate seem to be a lot more strict than for the requirements of entering the priesthood. In many diocese a man has to be at least 31 years old and be married 5 years. While you do not have to be any certain age to enter the priesthood. Has this always been this way or is it recent? Seems to me that the requirements for a priest should be much more strict than one who is applying for the diaconate.

Thank you
Answer by Matthew Bunson on 04-21-2007:
I would have to disagree courteously with the argument that it is easier to enter the priesthood than the diaconate. Those called to the priesthood are required to fulfill very rigorous demands, all the more so with the recent reforms of the admissions process. For example, the typical candidate must have an undergraduate degree (or equivalent), at least 18 to 33 hours in philosophy, undertake a pre-theology program, survive a battery of intense psychological tests and background checks, succeed in at least three years of academic study (usually for an M.Div. or S.T.B. degree), and demonstrate a constant ability to grow in spiri"