The co-ordinator of the commission of cardinals that will advise Pope Francis on governing the Church has spoken in favour of having women in top Vatican jobs.
“This wish is eagerly shared by [all] the continents,” Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras said in an interview with The Sunday Times, London.
Another London newspaper, The Telegraph, said the cardinal’s comments were backed by Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. “It is a natural step — there is a move towards putting more women in key roles where they are qualified,” he said.
The Sunday Times quoted a Vatican prelate as saying: “Francis’s predecessor [Benedict XVI] started to promote women by appointing them to be the secretaries of some departments. But if there are cases where a woman can do a better job than a man as the head of a department, then why not?”
In his general audience on April 3, the Pope noted how women were the first witnesses of the Resurrection, adding that, “The apostles and disciples find it harder to believe in the risen Christ, not the women however!”
“This was a message about the importance of the role of women in the Church,” said Carlo Marroni, a Vatican expert at the Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore. “That said, the question still gets handled cautiously as it touches on the issue of ordination for women.”
Women have taken on a number of key roles at the Vatican, including Sister Nicla Spezzati, the undersecretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Flaminia Giovanelli, the undersecretary at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
St Peter’s Basilica is run by a woman, Maria Cristina Carlo-Stella, who is the head of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vatican office in charge of the church.
“But that is still very few,” said Marco Politi, a Vatican watcher at the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano. “Look at Germany and the US, where women have many key positions in the dioceses.”
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Image: Rome Reports