Pope Francis gives women historic right to vote at meeting

The Pope has announced that, for the first time, women will be given voting rights at a major global meeting of bishops called the synod, which is an advisory body to the Pope. Previously, women were only permitted to attend as observers. The new rules will allow five religious sisters to vote, while men will still cast the majority of the votes.

The change is being viewed as a significant move towards gender equality within the male-dominated Roman Catholic Church. The Women’s Ordination Conference, which advocates for women priests, has hailed the reform as “a significant crack in the stained glass ceiling”.

The Pope also announced that 70 non-clerical members of the religious community will be given voting rights, further breaking from tradition.

The Pope has expressed his desire for half of the non-clerical members with voting rights at the synod to be women and to include more young people. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, an organizer of the synod, described the changes as important but not revolutionary.

Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb stated that the reforms were highly significant and reflected the Pope’s efforts to make the Church more inclusive in decision-making. However, Lamb also predicted that the Pope would face resistance from some members of the Church over the decision to allow women to vote. The changes were the result of unprecedented dialogue on the issue of female representation within the Church.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright