Synod of Bishops was opened at the Vatican City with a Holy Mass ,presided by the Pope at St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis became the pope over a decade ago. His talks about inclusivity and openness had given women the hope of a better role for them in the Roman Catholic Church.
Standing of Women In the Roman Catholic Church
Women had been an important part of the functioning of the church. They have taught in Catholic School, worked for Catholic Hospitals ,in spite of the church restricting and barring them from high ranking positions.
However in April 2023 , Pope Francis made a historic move of allowing Five religious sisters to vote for the first time.
This voting was to be done in a Synod to be held in October 2023.
What is a Synod?
It is an influential global meeting of Bishops from all over the world. It is an important meeting as it decides the due course the church should be taking.It is attended mostly by influential people.
The Church institution has been male dominated for centuries.And this change has made a precedent for other new changes.
It is believed that this move, signals an openness to shift from the model of an organisational hierarchy to a collaborative and productive one.
It has paved the way for women to hold 54 of the 365 votes,while a path is charted out by the church.
This Synod is three weeks long . It will be witness to hundreds of delegates from all around the world . The Vatican City seeks to discuss the pressing issues to the Church.
Matters of discussion
They would engage in the critical issues for the church like role of women to Priestly Celibacy ,blessing of gay couples and promoting more inclusivity.
Every proposal would be put to vote and presented before the Pope for consideration in the coming years.
According to Marìa Lìa Zorvino ,the director of the World Women’s Observatory,this is an extraordinary step forward.All this is because the Church has found a way of being inclusive.
There is a concrete agenda for the synod to promote women to decision making roles. In the past women were allowed to attend the Synod as auditors ,but voting wasn’t allowed.
This synod has been in preparation for two years during which Catholics were asked to suggest changes they want to seek .And the vision they see for the future of the church.
According to Cardinal Jean- Claude a top organiser of the Synod ,it is an important change ,it is not a revolution.
The contribution of women should not be limited to altar girls or president of charities, said Pope Francis in 2013. There should be more.
The synod would also be discussing ways to bless same-sex marriages.
Previous developments
They allowed any baptised Catholic lay person or women,to be able to head most Vatican departments under a new constitution.
And allowing women to cast votes.
70 non-bishop members ,those that represent various groupings, people of God and faithful to be included, according to Pope Francis. All the 70 would be chosen by the Pope from a list of 140 recommended by the National Bishop Conference.
Pope Francis had also taken steps to address the imbalance in appointment of several women to high-ranking positions by promoting several of them.
Views of Some Conservatives
The decision to grant more authority to women has been questioned by various Conservative Catholic Groups around the world. Five conservative Cardinals had also written to the Pope regarding this. They believe it would erode the doctrine of the Church.
Women wish to be represented only by their Bishop, said the Restore Tradition Catholic Conservative Women Group.
The change therefore is not sudden,it is going to be incremental but not overnight.
However this will definitely set a positive precedent for the future.
