WOC welcomes appointment of women to the Dicastery for Bishops

For Immediate Release: July 13, 2022

The Women’s Ordination Conference welcomes Pope Francis’ July 13, 2022 appointment of three women, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., Sr. Yvonne Reungoat, F.M.A., and Dr. Maria Lia Zervino, to the Dicastery for Bishops as an important step in removing all barriers to women’s full participation in the life of the church.

These appointments follow Pope Francis’ recently announced reforms of the Vatican bureaucracy, which emphasize “canonical mission” or baptism as the criteria for leadership in the Vatican. This encouraging shift creates greater opportunities for co-responsibility and collaboration between men and women.

However, the appointment of women to Vatican positions cannot alone address the injustices women face in the church. Without gender parity within the Vatican’s dicasteries, women will undoubtedly confront a culture of clericalism and sexism that has long thrived within those walls.

We also note the deep irony that women may now aid in selecting bishops, a role they themselves are prohibited from holding on account of their gender. The exclusion of women from ordained ministries continues to deprive the church of women’s sacramental leadership and reinforce cultural inequalities in the Vatican and around the world.

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, on July 22 we urge Pope Francis to listen to the calls of women who have heard the Good News of equality and long for equal recognition of their ministries.

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Contact: Kate McElwee, Executive Director: kmcelwee@womensordination.org