By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has appointed two women to positions in the Vatican previously held only by men, in consecutive moves that give women more autonomy in the male-dominated Holy See.
He appointed Nathalie Becquart, a French member of the Missionary Sisters of Xaviere, on Saturday as co-undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, a department that prepares large meetings of world bishops held every few years on a different topic.
The day before, Francis appointed Italian magistrate Catia Summaria as the first female Prosecutor at the Vatican Court of Appeals.
Becquart’s position, effectively a joint number two seat, will give him the right to vote in men’s assemblies, something that many women and some bishops have asked for. She is 52 years old, relatively young by Vatican standards.
Women participated as observers and consultants at previous synods, but only “synod fathers”, including specially appointed or elected bishops and male representatives, could vote on the final documents sent to the pope.
During a synod in 2018, more than 10,000 people signed a petition demanding that women vote.
“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 News official website.
While defending the Church tradition that prohibits women priests, Francis created commissions to study the history of deacon women in the early centuries of the Catholic Church, responding to women’s calls for them to take on the role today.
Last year, at one time, Francis appointed six women to senior positions on the council that oversees the Vatican’s finances.
He also appointed women to the posts of vice chancellor, director of the Vatican Museums and deputy head of the Vatican Press Office.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Frances Kerry)