Women in the Catholic Church … which path will the new Pope go? | culture

Rome, Italy – When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, he faced loud calls to expand the role of women within the Roman Catholic Church.

At that time, the previous Pope responded somewhat. Francis opened major meetings for women, and allowed them to take up high roles within the strong central bureaucracy of the church, and appointed the first “head of the Vatican government”. For some, these were the tremendous steps of the Bashida Governorate Foundation. But for many others, Francis’s steps did not rise to what was required to make the church really “comprehensive and varied”.

Now, while the Cardinals were holding daily meetings before the start of the voting process after the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the role of women in the church remains a controversial issue. When the Cardinals finally come out of the retreat of “Congolese” (the Cardinate meeting to elect the Pope) in the Vatican, will they have chosen a door to complete the approach of Francis and acknowledge his changes or a person who might retract it?

“Women do not like their breath,” said Kate McLevy, Executive Director of the Women’s Ourdination Conference, a non -profit organization that focuses on women’s rights within church institutions. “There is some concern about whether the next papacy will witness some retreat from the progress made, because there is a real desire to continue the project of integrating (women),” she added.

The incomplete project

Francis’s legacy is still a discussion when it comes to women in the church.

Women have granted the right to vote on the issues related to the church in the “Senod Bishop” (Association for the Bishops of the Catholic Church). He also appointed dozens of women in high -level positions, including Barbara Gata, a director of the Vatican museums, the sister Rafaella Petrini, the head of the Vatican State, and Sister Simona Brambilla as the first woman to serve as a head of the Vatican office to supervise the monasticism for both men and women. In general, throughout the papacy of Pope Francis, the presence of women in the workforce in the church increased from about 19 % to 23.4 %, according to the Vatican figures.

But for some, these were just formal changes. The Pope did not make a progress in the controversial issue related to the painting of women, especially as a deacons – ecclesiastical rank or priests (Priests – a higher ecclesiastical rank).

In the Catholic Church, the role of deacon includes some religious functions, such as help during the mass and performing baptism, but it does not allow most of the “sacred secrets”.

Pope Francis formed two committees – the first in 2016 and the second in 2020 – to consider whether women can work as a cash by studying whether this is the case in the first centuries of the Church. The report prepared by the first group of the public was never published because the committee was unable to agree on the case, according to Francis, while the second committee never ended its work. In 2024, during an interview with the American CBS network, Pope Francis categorically rejected the painting of women. But a few months later, he signed the final document of Senoods, saying that the issue should remain a “open” issue.

“It seems to have opened the door, but he did not open it completely,” said McLeoy.

As for the women’s process as priests, Pope John Paul II has released a ban that has been confirmed again and again since then.

“Closed Men Club”

This missing representation is clearly evident these days, as members of a fully composed of men discuss the fate of the church. In pre -electoral complex meetings in Rome, Cardinals discuss what they believe are the basic issues and priorities that the future Pope should be able to address; One of the sexual and financial scandals of the church and the global faith crisis to relations with China and the importance of ecclesiastical law.

Most of the Cardinals who voted for the new greatest ink inside the Sistine Church in the Vatican this week, have been appointed by Pope Francis and are in line with many of his ideas and the issues of his agenda, such as social justice, immigration and climate change. However, observers say they did not clear their positions on women in the church clearly.

“It is important to see that there are other ways for women to serve the church” other than the priestly service. ” In a speech in the pre -electoral meeting this week, Benjamin Stella, an Italian Cardinal, who is seen as close to the late Pope, surprised his colleagues from the clergy of accusing Francis of creating “chaos” in the church by opening the management of the Vatican offices to men and women who are not part of the clergy.

Sister Mary, a nun, arrived at the Vatican from Marseille, France, during the election of the new Pope, agreed to the offering.

“Everyone has his role and we are happy to stay in our place, which is not within the hierarchy of the church,” she said, asking not to be disclosed. She added: “The appointment of women deacons or priests) would change the nature of the church institution and the process of transferring faith.”

There is also the conservative guards whose anger sparked Francis’s decision to appoint non -clerical people to high positions. In an interview with the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” last week, German Cardinal, Gerhard Ludwig Muller, a prominent governor, pointed out how the Roman Korea (the administrative apparatus of the Roman Catholic Church) is a church body that should not be managed by secularists, and it is likely to criticize the appointment of sister Brambilla last year.

Really existing reality

However, the Church cannot ignore the issue of women and her role anymore, as Sabina Pavoni, professor of Christianity History at the Eastern Napoli University and member of the Italian Association of Historians.

“There is awareness of the necessity of dealing with this topic because it is still considered hot topics, but how to address it is not yet clear,” said Pavonie.

She pointed out that the issue of women’s integration into the church is also an increasingly important and central issue for the work of the Catholic institutions themselves.

Women already manage the affairs of many areas in many parts of the world, from the administration of nationals (church administrative units), support for local health care systems, and education, while the number of men who enter the priesthood wire decreases in most places.

“The church has already changed,” said Pavonie. “The church must keep pace with this reality.”