PARIS: In an unprecedented move, Pope Francis has allowed women the right to vote at a forthcoming meeting of bishops, giving females greater responsibilities in decision-making.
Francis approved to alter the rules governing the Synod of Bishops — a Vatican body that gathers bishops from around the world for periodic meetings —, according to The Guardian.
For decades, women members of Vatican had been demanding the right to vote. The meeting of world’s bishops is going to be held in October.
The new rules will give five religious sisters voting rights at the synod. Previously, women were allowed to attend the gathering as observers. Men will still cast a mass of votes at the influential gathering.
Nevertheless, the reforms are seen as a significant shift for the Roman Catholic Church, which has been male-dominated for centuries. The United States-based Women’s Ordination Conference, which advocates for women priests, has called the reform “an important crack in the stained-glass ceiling”.
“Vatican representatives and bishops resisted, moving a goalpost with every synod as to why women weren’t allowed to vote,” the group wrote on Twitter. “The unspoken reason was always sexism.”
“Shortly, we hope the synod continues to develop into a fully representative body of the people of God.”
In a further break with tradition, Pope announced that voting rights would be extended to 70 hand-picked non-clerical members of the religious community, moving the synod away from being the meeting solely of the Church hierarchy.
Francis Pope Champions reforms
The Francis Pope, who has championed reforms, has said he hopes half of these will be women, and there has also been an emphasis on including young citizens. “It’s a significant change; it’s not a revolution,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a top organiser of the synod.
Christopher Lamb, the Vatican correspondent for the Catholic news publication The Tablet, told BBC World Service’s Newshour programme that the changes were “significant” and an attempt by Francis Pope to make decisions about the Church’s future more inclusive.
He said that the reforms concerning women reflected an “unprecedented” dialogue over the problem of female representation that had been happening for some time. But Lamb predicted the Pope would face “important resistance” from some parts of the Church over this latest decision.
