The Holy See Press Office on July 13 announced that Pope Francis has appointed three women to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops.
The role of the dicastery is to help the pope in the appointment of Catholic bishops for Latin-rite dioceses outside what the Vatican considers the mission territories, for example, Australia.
Bishop appointments to mission territories such as New Zealand and Oceania are handled by the Dicastery for Evangelisation.
The three women, the first ever to be appointed to the dicastery, are:
- Sr Raffaella Petrini FSE, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State (Left
- Sr Yvonne Reungoat FMA, former Superior General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Centre)
- Dr Maria Lia Zervino, President of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (Right).
The appointments come after Pope Francis told the Reuters news agency in a recent interview that he plans to make women members of the Vatican office. Continue reading