Papabile notes an article about a judge in NY who’s also a permanent deacon:

Westchester County Judge Charles Devlin is taking a leave of absence as deacon of a Roman Catholic church in Chappaqua to comply with Cardinal Edward Egan’s ban on deacons holding public office.

Devlin, 57, has been a permanent deacon at the Church of St. John and St. Mary since 2000. Gov. George Pataki appointed him to the county judgeship in the spring and he is now running for a 10-year term.

Devlin had been on the bench for a few weeks in June when Egan became the first bishop in the United States to apply to deacons the prohibition against Roman Catholic priests holding public office. The move was an attempt to keep deacons, who are ordained clergy members, from having to take public positions that are contrary to church teachings.

The ban applies in the Archdiocese of New York. Spokesman Joseph Zwilling could not be reached yesterday but said earlier in the summer that Egan would consider exemptions on a case-by-case basis. One exemption was granted at the outset to Clarkstown Councilman John Maloney, a deacon at St. Anthony’s Church in Nanuet, who is running this year for a ninth term on the Town Board. Philip Marino is seeking an exemption as he runs for supervisor in Stony Point.

Devlin said he and others who were already running for office this year were caught in a difficult position by the timing of the new ruling.

I agree with Papabile that the solution is problematic, implying that the diaconate ordination is somehow a job or something, and not Holy Orders. The exception would not extend to priests, I assume, who’d want to assume public office..