Fact check: Did Pope Leo XIII address the issue of female deacons in any official documents?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, none of the sources mention Pope Leo XIII addressing the issue of female deacons in any official documents ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}. Instead, the sources consistently focus on Pope Leo XIV and his potential stance on women deacons.

The analyses reveal that then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, stated that the question of women deacons is "under study" and that "two commissions on women deacons indicate there is certainly openness to giving that question consideration" ^[2]. Multiple sources discuss the current movement towards opening the diaconate to women and Pope Leo XIV's approach to women's roles in the church ^{[3] [4] [5]}.

One source mentions Pope Leo XIII only in passing, noting him as the pope who was advocated to for workers' rights by 19th-century Americanist bishops, but this reference does not address female deacons ^[9].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question appears to contain a significant factual error - it asks about Pope Leo XIII when the current discussion and papal attention on female deacons centers around Pope Leo XIV. The analyses reveal that there is an active contemporary debate about women deacons in the Catholic Church, with sources discussing the historical precedent of women deacons and the current ecclesiastical consideration of the issue ^{[7] [8]}.

The missing context includes:

• The historical existence of women deacons in the early Catholic Church ^{[7] [8]}
• The current papal commissions studying the question of women deacons ^[2]
• Pope Leo XIV's continuity approach regarding women's roles in the church ^[4]
• The optimism among those who have worked with Pope Leo XIV regarding elevating women's roles, albeit with limits ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement contains a fundamental factual error by referencing Pope Leo XIII instead of Pope Leo XIV. This could represent:

• Confusion between papal names - mixing up Leo XIII (a historical pope) with Leo XIV (the current pope being discussed in contemporary sources)
• Outdated information - the question may be based on historical research that doesn't account for current papal leadership
• Intentional misdirection - though less likely, this could be an attempt to conflate historical and contemporary papal positions

The error is particularly significant because it shifts the inquiry from a contemporary, actively debated issue under Pope Leo XIV to a historical question about Pope Leo XIII, for which no evidence exists in the provided analyses. This misattribution could mislead readers about which pope is actually engaged with the question of female deacons in the modern Catholic Church.