ALBAWABA - Pope Francis has made history after allowing women to vote at the synod's influential global Vatican meeting of bishops expected next October.
Upon the new order by the pope, the new rules will give five religious sisters voting rights at the synod, which is a papal advisory body.
Breaking News: Pope Francis will allow women to vote for the first time at a Vatican meeting of bishops, an important step toward giving them more say in church affairs. https://t.co/rTYY9aqRVD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 26, 2023
Nevertheless, the pope called to appoint 70 non-bishop members of the synod and asked that half of them be women. They too will have a vote.
Earlier, women were only attending the meeting to observe it and they weren't allowed to vote. However, this historic rule will change the Catholic Church, which used to be dominated by males.
American-based Women's Ordination Conference, which calls for women priests' rights, hailed the new reform and described it as "a significant crack in the stained glass ceiling".
It maintained: "For years Vatican representatives and bishops resisted, moving the goalpost with every synod as to why women were not allowed to vote."
Pope Francis gives women historic right to vote at meeting https://t.co/A7Dud5oaaV
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 27, 2023
Moreover, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a top organizer of the synod, said: "It’s an important change, it’s not a revolution."
About the synod of bishops
The Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church is an advisory body for the pope and it is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office.
