Pope Francis Takes Historic Step with Women Voting Rights in Vatican
Pope Francis has made a historic shift in the upcoming Vatican Bishops meeting, with the church leader giving women the right to vote in the meeting.
Associated Press News reported that the pope approved the changes to the Vatican body after years of demands by women to have the right to vote. The change was applied to the Synod of Bishops, which is a Vatican body that gathers the world's bishops for periodic meetings.
The Vatican published the changes Pope Francis approved on Wednesday. It included his vision for the faithful common people to be active on participating in church affairs, which have been usually left to clerics, bishops, and cardinals.
Activists and advocates of women's rights lauded the new change implemented, with Catholic women's groups long criticizing the Vatican for "treating women as second-class citizens."
Kate McElwee of the Women's Ordination Conference, a group advocating for women priests, noted that the newly imposed reform is a "significant crack in the stained glass ceiling."
McElwee noted that it was the result of sustained advocacy and activism.
Vatican Bishops Meeting Changes
The Vatican bishops meeting is set to begin next October, which will focus on better reaching the faithful as the church moves forward. The meeting is also expected to take on major issues including the role of women in the church and LGBTQ relationships.
The New York Times noted that the meeting will now include an additional 70 non-bishop voting members. The pope wanted to have half of the non-bishop voting members be women.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a top organizer of the synod, noted that it was an "important change," but noted that it is "not a revolution."
Conservatives argue that opening the church would weaken its traditions while exposing it to "secular ideology."
It was not the first time that Pope Francis imposed a change. The pope changed church laws in 2021, allowing women to read the Bible at the Mass, including being servers at the altar.
Included in the change was that women can also distribute communion.
The voting body's members have been a main reason for conflict for years.
Pope Francis told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview last month that all those who participate in the synod will vote, "whether male or female."
The rules noted that the pope can also add other participants.
Pope Francis Allowing Women to Vote in The Church
Cardinal Mario Grech noted that some of the 21 representatives at the October meeting will be non-bishops. Grech is in charge of the voting body.
Grech went on to say that the synod itself would continue to have a majority of bishops to make decisions, as reported by ABC News Go.
Meanwhile, Hollerich declined to detail how the female members of the meeting would be addressed. The members of the synod have long been called as "synodal fathers."
Hollerich was asked if the women participating in the Vatican body would be called "synodal mothers." He responded that it would be up to the women members to decide.
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Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops - from KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source