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VATICAN CITY – Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided implicit 1 of the astir revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate by having women service connected the Vatican committee that vets nominations for bishops.
But helium besides has said decisively that women cannot beryllium ordained arsenic priests, and contempt having worked for years successful Peru wherever women often pb religion communities, seems noncommittal connected whether women could ever service successful immoderate ministerial capacity.
Nevertheless, the women who person worked intimately with Prevost successful caller years person praised his enactment style, quality to perceive and respect for their opinions. In interviews with The Associated Press, they accidental they expect that arsenic pope, Leo volition proceed to beforehand women successful religion governance positions, albeit with limits.
Maria Lia Zervino was among the three women Francis appointe d to the Dicastery for Bishops successful 2022 to reappraisal imaginable appointments. It was a occupation antecedently held by cardinals and bishops, an aged boy’s nine that has jealously guarded the concealed process down the assignment of bishops.
Zervino rejoiced erstwhile Prevost was elected pope, saying the respect helium showed for her and different women connected the committee and their opinions gave them religion successful him arsenic a leader.
“I’m convinced that helium doesn’t request to larn however to enactment (with women), however to fto them speak, to perceive to them, to person them enactment successful decisions, due to the fact that that’s what helium does anyway,” said Zervino, the Argentine erstwhile caput of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations.
Zervino said she expected Leo would proceed Francis' betterment processes, albeit successful his ain style.
“He’s a elemental man, serene, ever with that grin that we saw that seems to travel from an interior peace,” she said successful an interview. “So erstwhile you spot idiosyncratic who is balanced, peaceful and respectful and who welcomes what you accidental and is ever acceptable to perceive the other, you person religion successful him.”
A 2023 remark connected women arsenic priests
At a 2023 gathering of bishops connected the aboriginal of the Catholic Church, Prevost was asked astatine a quality league astir women successful religion enactment positions. He said it was “a enactment successful progress” and that determination would beryllium a “continuing designation of the information that women tin adhd a large woody to the beingness of the religion connected galore antithetic levels.”
But helium drew immoderate precise wide lines.
“I deliberation we’re each acquainted with the precise important and agelong contented of the church, and that the apostolic contented is thing that has been spelled retired precise clearly, particularly if you privation to speech astir the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood,” helium said successful the Oct. 25, 2023, briefing.
Catholic women bash overmuch of the church’s enactment successful schools and hospitals and are usually liable for passing the religion to the adjacent generation. But they person agelong complained of second-class status successful an instauration that reserves the priesthood for men.
Prevost acknowledged Francis had created two commissions to survey whether women could beryllium made deacons, who execute galore of the aforesaid functions arsenic priests. While helium said the contented was inactive open, helium warned that turning women into clerics “doesn’t needfully lick a problem, it mightiness marque a caller problem.”
Just due to the fact that a pistillate successful nine tin beryllium president doesn't mean there's an “immediate parallel” successful the church, helium argued.
“It isn’t arsenic elemental arsenic saying that astatine this signifier we’re going to change, if you will, the contented of the religion aft 2,000 years connected immoderate 1 of those points,” helium said.
Deacons are ordained ministers who preside astatine weddings, baptisms and funerals. They tin preach but cannot observe Mass. Married men tin beryllium ordained arsenic deacons portion women cannot, though historians accidental women served arsenic deacons successful the aboriginal Christian church.
A prudent and backstage listener
Karlijn Demasure, emeritus prof of applicable theology astatine St. Paul University successful Ottawa, served connected a Vatican committee with Prevost proposing reforms to the authorization of bishops and however they are selected. She said Prevost was perfectly convinced of the request to impact laic radical and nuns successful the enactment of bishops, astatine slightest astatine an archetypal level.
“He listens well,” Demasure said. “He hears what has been said, and if helium doesn’t agree, helium says it but successful a bully way: ‘I wouldn’t accidental it similar this, oregon I wouldn’t bash it similar that.’”
She said Prevost was quiet, “prudent and private.” She wonders, though, what volition hap with the enactment of the commission, 1 of 10 groups that are studying peculiarly thorny questions, specified arsenic the relation of women, and were owed to study backmost to the pope by July.
Sister Nathalie Becquart, 1 of the highest-ranking women astatine the Vatican, worked with Prevost during Francis’ meeting, known arsenic a synod, connected the aboriginal of the church. She besides happens to beryllium his neighbor, surviving successful the aforesaid Palazzo Sant’Uffizio wrong the Vatican gates, and was among the well-wishers who greeted Leo erstwhile helium came location the nighttime of his May 8 election.
Becquart posted a joyous selfie with the pope successful the courtyard successful 1 of the archetypal backstage moments aft his election. “I had clip to greet him, not conscionable arsenic a neighbor," she said.
The women's diaconate
Becquart recalled that she had been astatine a league of the 900 nuns who tally the world's pistillate spiritual orders erstwhile the achromatic fume came retired of the Sistine Chapel chimney. It didn't fuss her that the nuns had nary ballot successful the conclave, since the cardinals “could spot that the religion is the radical of God.”
"Synodality is astir feeling we are from the aforesaid body, we are interdependent, we person a heavy interior connection, and for maine that was a heavy spiritual acquisition I could ne'er ideate before,” she said.
Also during the conclave, advocates for women’s ordination acceptable disconnected pinkish fume flares implicit the Vatican to protestation their exclusion from the priesthood and the predetermination process.
“The favoritism and exclusion of women is simply a sin, and we’re present to accidental the adjacent pope volition inherit this question and needs to enactment rapidly to close it,” said Kate McElwee, enforcement manager of the Women’s Ordination Conference.
Hofstra University researcher Phyllis Zagano, who was connected Francis’ archetypal Vatican committee connected women deacons, remains optimistic. She pointed to Prevost’s acknowledgement that the deacon contented was inactive unfastened and that helium ministered successful Peru, a portion that has pushed for years for the religion to admit women arsenic ministerial deacons to assistance offset the clergyman shortage.
In a file for Religion News Service, Zagano noted that a caller connection for a caller Amazonian liturgical rite, published past period by the Amazonian bishops conference, contained explicit recommendations for women to beryllium ordained arsenic deacons. When Francis successful 2020 considered authoritative requests from Amazonian bishops for pistillate deacons, helium dodged the issue.
“Women merit the ordained diaconal ministry of women,” she said successful an interview.
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