In the News

Pope Francis has approved changes that will allow women to vote at a global meeting of bishops for the first time. Women’s groups in the Catholic church – who have for years been demanding the right to vote at the high-profile synods – praised the move as historic, for an institution that has been male-dominated…
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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, an historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church. Francis approved changes to the norms governing the Synod of…
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Pope Francis ordered unprecedented changes Wednesday for the Vatican’s upcoming bishops conference, for the first time providing women the right to vote and expanding access to the faithful who are not clergy. Changes include allowing participation of 70 non-bishop members at the Synod of Bishops set for Oct. 10 from each of the seven regional conferences around…
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The Pope will for the first time allow women to vote at an influential global meeting of bishops in October – a move that has been welcomed as a historic first. … …The US-based Women’s Ordination Conference, which advocates for women priests, has called the reform “a significant crack in the stained glass ceiling”. “For…
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NEW YORK – Pope Francis is making an historic move to allow women to give their input in an upcoming meeting of bishops at the Vatican. … …”We know that it’s an incremental step and that we are not at the final destination of women’s full equality in the church, but this is a huge crack in the…
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ROME — When Francis became pope a decade ago, his inclusive tone and openness to change fueled expectations among many Catholic women about a greater role for them in the Roman Catholic Church. The contribution of women should not be limited “to altar girls or the president of a charity,” he said in a 2013…
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ROME – For the first time, lay people, including women, will serve as full members of the Synod of Bishops with voting rights, the Vatican announced Wednesday, as part of a broader series of changes to the rules governing participation in these papally convened summits. … …In 2018, the Women’s Ordination Conference organized a rally…
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Countless pieces of analysis have used the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis to argue that he is a breath of fresh air as he urges the church to consider difficult topics, most notably through the ongoing synodal process.   And while that’s true, the spirit of synodality can also trace its…
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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Hours after the death Saturday of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis praised his “noble” predecessor and expressed gratitude for his life of faith and prayers, especially those offered in the nearly 10 years since the shy churchman dramatically became the first pontiff in centuries to retire from the papacy…. …While…
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NEW YORK (AP) — In the United States, admirers of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remembered him warmly for his theological prowess and devotion to traditional doctrine. However, some U.S. Catholics, on learning of his death Saturday, recalled him as an obstacle to progress in combating clergy sex abuse and expanding the role of women in…
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