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Both before and after the Second Vatican Council, Karl Rahner promoted the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent order in the Catholic church. His theology of the diaconate has eluded sustained attention. After providing the historical context for his contribution, this reappraisal, in a close reading of Rahner, elaborates on three essential ecclesiological themes: the church's exercise of its divine right to establish a discrete diaconate by dividing office, the graced nature of diaconal office, and the specialized function of deacons in the formation of ecclesial community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]