Pope Francis
Pope Francis In Biden, the media finally has a religious president to celebrate the Pope, marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with warning against extremism Pope will miss three upcoming events due to sciatica leg pain MORE this weekend he appointed two women to positions previously held only by men.
Reuters reports that the pope appointed 52-year-old Nathalie Becquart as undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops on Saturday. Becquart, a French member of the Xaviere missionary sisters, will now be part of the department that handles major meetings between world bishops that take place every few years.
Becquart’s new position will give him the power to vote in men’s rallies, Reuters notes. Although women observed and consulted in past synods, only male representatives were allowed to vote on documents sent to the pope.
“A door has been opened. We will see what other measures could be taken in the future, “the synod’s secretary general, Cardinal Mario Grech, told the Vatican’s official news website.
Pope Francis also named Catia Summaria, an Italian magistrate, as the first woman to promote justice in the Vatican’s court of appeal on Friday, Reuters added.
As the news service notes, the pope has previously appointed women to several other high-ranking positions. Last year, he allegedly appointed six women to leadership positions in overseeing the Vatican’s finances and appointed women as deputy foreign minister, director of the Vatican Museums and deputy head of the Vatican’s press office.
Francis supported the church’s position on banning priests, Reuters notes, although he set up commissions to look into the history of female deacons in the early history of the Catholic Church.