ROME (AP) – A French nun who became the first woman to hold a voting position at the Vatican said Wednesday that her appointment is evidence that “the patriarchal mindset is changing” as more and more women take on responsibilities high-level decision-making in the Catholic hierarchy.
Sister Nathalie Becquart said during a news conference that her appointment as undersecretary at the Vatican Synod of Bishops office was a “courageous sign and prophetic decision” by Pope Francis, who repeatedly emphasized the need for women to have a greater voice in the governance of Church .
Women have long complained of second-class status in the Catholic Church, where the Vatican’s priesthood and most important offices, including the papacy itself, are reserved for men.
Francisco appointed Becquart and a Spanish theologian, Rev. Luis Marín de San Martín, over the weekend as undersecretaries in the office that organizes thematic meetings of bishops in the Vatican.
The meetings, which are known as synods and generally take place every two or three years, have taken on increasing importance under the government of Francis, due to its call for more decentralized and collegiate leadership, with a focus on local bishops rather than Santa See.
Francis appointed about half a dozen women to undersecretary positions in various Vatican congregations, but Becquart’s appointment brought with it a particular and, in a way, historical novelty: she will most likely have the right to vote at the next synod of bishops, expected for 2022, given its professional classification.
“A door has been opened,” Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, head of the Synod of Bishops office, told Vatican internal media. “We will see then that other measures can be taken in the future.”
It was a reference to the calls to allow religious superiors, who also participate in episcopal synods, to have the right to vote on proposals of pressing interest to the life of the Church. Women religious can speak and participate in the bishops’ debate, but they cannot vote.
Their calls took public form during a synod of bishops on youth in 2018, with prominent nuns calling for the vote and a popular movement promoted by progressive female groups #VotesForCatholicWomen.
As a result, Becquart’s nomination was met with praise, but also with some bitterness, that in 2021 it is really interesting that a woman alone can vote alongside hundreds of male bishops on the future life of the Catholic Church.