At a forthcoming meeting of bishops, Pope Francis will grant women the right to vote, a historic reform which demonstrates his desire to give women greater role in decision-making as well as laypeople a larger voice in the Catholic Church.
After years of petitioning, Francis finally gave women the ability to vote in the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that periodically convenes bishops from around the world.
The Vatican announced the changes he approved on Wednesday; they highlight his desire for lay believers to play a larger part in church affairs, which have traditionally been the purview of clerics, bishops, and cardinals.
Groups of Catholic women who have complained for years that the Vatican treats them unfairly hailed the decision as a watershed moment in the church's 2,000-year history.
“This is a significant crack in the stained glass ceiling, and the result of sustained advocacy, activism and the witness” of a campaign of Catholic women’s groups demanding the right to vote, said Kate McElwee of the Women’s Ordination Conference, which advocates for women priests.
Since the 1960s' Second Vatican Council, which modernised the church, popes have invited bishops from throughout the world to Rome for a few weeks at a time to discuss various issues. The meetings conclude with a vote on particular ideas from the bishops, who then present them to the pope, who compiles a document reflecting their input.
Up to this point, voting rights had only been extended to men. Under the new rules, however, religious orders will have ten voting representatives instead of five. Francis has also decided to appoint 70 members of the synod who are not bishops, and he has requested that half of them be women. Everyone gets a say in the matter.
The 70 non-bishop members will be suggested by regional blocs, with Francis making the ultimate decision. Young people will also be encouraged to apply.
Francis has long advocated for a process called "synodality" that seeks to make the church more reflective of, and responsive to, the laity; the next gathering, set for Oct. 4-29, will focus on this same theme.
Prior to the October conference, an unusual two-year survey of lay Catholic faithful was conducted to learn about their hopes for the church and how it may better serve its members in the present day.
It has only been revealed that Sister Nathalie Becquart, a French nun who serves as undersecretary in the Vatican's Synod of Bishops office, will be one of the few women to cast a vote at the upcoming gathering in October. She praised Francis, who had broken barriers for women in politics, as "brave" when she was named to the office in 2021.
Francis will choose 10 names from each of the seven regional blocs, bringing the total number of non-bishop members to 70 by the end of the following month.
Cardinal Mario Grech, the synod's leader, emphasised that, thanks to the alterations, non-bishops will make up 21% of the assembled representatives at the gathering in October, with 50% of that group being women.
