Pope Francis To Appoint Women in Formerly All-Male Committee To Select Bishops

Pope Francis with Sister Raffaella Petrini

(Photo: Twitter/@VaticanNews)

Pope Francis said in an interview with Reuters on 2 July that he will be appointing women in the previously all-male committee that helps him select the world’s bishops.

The committee is currently composed of cardinals, bishops, and priests, who usually meet twice a month in Rome.

"Two women will be appointed for the first time in the committee to elect bishops in the Congregation for Bishops," he said in the interview at his residence in the Vatican, adding that he is “open to giving (women) an opportunity.”

No women have been named and the Pope did not mention when their addition to the committee would be officially announced. However, recently, Francis has named several women, both nuns and lay Catholics, to leadership positions in Vatican departments.

Last year, he gave Sister Raffaella Petrini the number two position in the governorship of Vatican City, making her the highest ranking woman in the country.

He named Sister Alessandra Smerilli, an Italian nun, to the number two position in the development office of the Vatican, and Nathalie Becquart, a French member of the Xaviere Missionary Sisters, is co-undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops.

Additionally, Francis has appointed several lay Catholic women to top jobs at the Vatican, such as Barbara Jatta, the first female director of the Vatican Museums, and Cristiane Murray, the deputy director of the Vatican Press Office.

(With inputs from Reuters.)