Pope Francis Has Made It So That Women Can Vote At A Major Meeting Of The Bishops For The First Time
Until now, women could only attend as observers.
Pope Francis has changed the Catholic Church’s rules so that women can vote at a major meeting of the bishops.
Until now, only men could vote at the meeting of Bishops, called a synod, while women could only attend as observers.
The synod in October will focus on the future of the church, including women’s and LGBTQ rights and how it can be more inclusive.
Under the new changes, five religious sisters will become voting representatives alongside five priests at the meeting in October.
The pope has also decided to appoint an additional 70 non-bishop members to join the meeting and vote.
He has asked that half of them are women and young people are included.
This will bring the proportion of total women voters to just over 10 percent, according to the New York Times.
In a first in February 2021, Francis appointed a woman to be an undersecretary in the Synod of Bishops, a body of bishops that advises him.
In being appointed to the role, Sister Nathalie Becquart from France became the first woman to have voting rights in the synod, which will allow her to help make key decisions in the Catholic Church, CNN reported.
