The appointment of the three women – nuns Raffaella Petrini and Yvonne Reungoat and laywoman Maria Lia Zervino (an unordained female member of a Church) – is a historic first and comes as Pope Francis seeks to introduce more gender equality in the Church. . However, despite the move, women still face serious challenges entering the Catholic Church and cannot be ordained or become bishops, priests or deacons. The latest decision was welcomed by more liberal members of the Catholic Church, including the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), which supports the ordination of women as deacons, priests and bishops. Pope Francis appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, Sister Yvonne Reungoat and laywoman Maria Lia Zervino to serve as members of the Vatican office that reviews nominations for bishops (photo: Pope Francis poses with nuns in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican) Italian nun Raffaella Petrini, who was the first woman appointed as the number two governor of Vatican City, is greeted by Pope Francis Pope Francis shakes hands with Sister Raffaella Petrini, general secretary of the Vatican governor in 2021 – she is one of three women appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops This dates back to the belief of members of the Catholic Church that because Jesus chose only men as his apostles, only they can lead the Church today. In a statement, the WOC said it welcomed Francis’ move, while warning that appointing more women to Vatican posts “cannot alone address the injustices faced by women in the church”, citing “a culture of clericalism and sexism ». We also add: “We also note the profound irony that women can now help choose bishops, a role they themselves are barred from because of their gender.” The 85-year-old pope has repeatedly said women should play greater roles in the Vatican hierarchy and has broken with centuries of precedent to place women in some key positions previously held by men. But others have condemned the move as a turn towards apprehension – with particularly divided reactions on social media. One Twitter user wrote: “Pope Francis appoints three women to the Vatican body that oversees the selection of the world’s bishops. This pope must resign.’ A second simply wrote: “The reawakened Pope strikes again!!” But others welcomed the step forward for women’s rights in the Catholic Church. One social media user said the Pope’s decision was “a big boost for the women of our world”. Another added: “This is the kind of religious news I can get behind.” Last year, he issued a decree to allow women to serve as readers at services, priests and communion distributors – but stopped short of saying the change could one day open the door to female priests. The new constitution of the Roman Curia that came into effect last month – Francis’s years-long effort to restructure the Vatican’s powerful governing body – allows Catholic women to lead parts of the Vatican. Petrini, a Franciscan nun from Italy, has served since November as general secretary to the Vatican governor, the first woman ever to hold that position. Reungoat, who is French, is the Emeritus Mother General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a missionary church. In another first, in 2019 Francis appointed Reungoat and six other women to the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, which is responsible for religious orders and congregations of both sexes. Membership had previously included only men – cardinals, bishops and priests. Lay Zervino from Argentina is the president of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations. Members of the Court of Bishops weigh potential candidates for bishops and provide recommendations to the pope. Pope Francis appears to be trying to offer women more opportunities in the Church ahead of a possible retirement due to ill health. He announced yesterday (July 12) that “the door is open” to retirement “if the time is right” and “if I survive”. He has previously had to cancel several visits, including to Lebanon in May, and was photographed in a wheelchair for the first time earlier this year. Speaking to Mexican-American television station TelevisaUnivision in his Spanish, Francis said: “The first experience went quite well because [Benedict] a holy and discreet man, and handled it well. “But in the future, things will have to be more delineated or things will have to be made clearer.” The Pope added: “I think that after taking the first step after so many centuries, he gets 10 points. It’s a Miracle “. He reportedly planned to retire in 2013 before the conclave that resulted in him becoming Pope. Some cardinals and legal lawyers have long questioned Benedict’s decisions in retirement, including continuing to wear the white cassock of the papacy and retaining his papal name instead of reverting to Josef Ratzinger. They say those choices and Benedict’s continued presence in the Vatican have created confusion among the faithful and allowed traditional critics of Francis to use Benedict as a rallying point, threatening the unity of the Catholic Church. Asked if he would continue to live in the Vatican after his retirement, Francis replied “definitely not”.
