Pope Francis changed the law of the Catholic Church so that women could share and read the gospel

Vatican City – Pope Francis he changed the law of the Catholic Church to explicitly allow women to do more work during the Mass, although he reiterated that they cannot be priests.

Francis amended the law to formalize what is a common practice in many parts of the world: that women can read the gospel and help at the altar during the Eucharist. Although previously these tasks were officially reserved for men, exceptions were made.

Francis said he was making the change to increase the recognition of the “precious contribution” of women in the Church and insisted that all baptized Catholics play a role in the Church’s mission.

However, he noted that this marked a distinction between “order” ministries, such as the priesthood, and ministries open to qualified lay people. The Vatican reserves the priesthood for the people.

Francis was pressured to allow more women to become deacons – ordained ministers who perform many of the same tasks as priests, such as officiating at weddings, baptisms, and funerals. At this time, that ministry is reserved for the people.

Francis created a second commission of experts to study whether women could be deacons, after the first failed to reach consensus.

Proponents of expanding that activity to include women say this would give women greater influence in pastoral work and church governance, as well as help combat the shortage of priests in some parts of the world.

Opponents say it would pave the way for women to be ordained priests.