Pope Francis has said he is not considering appointing women to leadership positions in the Vatican bureaucracy just for the sake of it.
During a visit to Turin, the Pope said in a speech he didn’t want to promote a “functionalism” of women’s roles in the Church.
“The woman in the Church has the same work . . . that the Madonna had with the Apostles on the morning of Pentecost,” he said.
“The apostles without Mary wouldn’t work. Jesus wanted it this way.”
There is currently only one woman serving at leadership level among the various church offices at the Vatican.
During his visit, the Pope prayed before the Shroud of Turin.