Pope Francis
Pope Francis In Biden, the media finally has a religious president to celebrate the Pope marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with a warning against extremism Pope will miss three events due to sciatica MORE this weekend he appointed two women to positions that were previously held only by men.
Reuters reports that the pope appointed Nathalie Becquart, 52, as co-undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops on Saturday. Becquart, a French member of the Missionary Sisters of Xaviere, will now be part of the department that handles major meetings between bishops around the world that take place every few years.
Becquart’s new position will give her the power to vote at all-male assemblies, notes Reuters. Although women have observed and consulted at previous synods, only male representatives were allowed to vote on documents sent to the pope.
“A door has been opened. We will see that other measures can be taken in the future, ”Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, told the Vatican’s official news website.
Pope Francis also appointed Catia Summaria, an Italian magistrate, to be the first woman to bring justice to the Vatican Court of Appeals on Friday, Reuters added.
As the news service notes, the pope has already appointed women to several other important positions. Last year, he appointed six women to senior positions in overseeing the Vatican’s finances and appointed women as deputy foreign ministers, director of the Vatican Museums and deputy head of the Vatican Press Office.
Francis defended the Church’s position on banning female priests, notes Reuters, although he established commissions to examine the history of deacons in the early history of the Catholic Church.