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Pope Francis recently announced that he would remove the phrase “lay men” from Canon 230 and replace it with “lay persons”. This change to the church’s legal code means that women can now be permanently installed as lectors or acolytes – essentially, readers, distributors of Communion and assistants at Mass and the sacraments. Although not Read more
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Pope Francis recently decreed the women can be formally instituted as lectors (readers) and acolytes (altar servers) with an apostolic letter, issued “motu proprio” (by his own initiative) called Spiritus Domini. Guillaume Goubert, editor-in-chief of La Croix made this significant point in reference to the new legislation: Although he does not suggest it, Francis does Read more
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The good news: Pope Francis named Xaverian Sr. Nathalie Becquart as undersecretary to the Vatican’s office of the Synod of Bishops, possibly with voting rights. The other news: the second undersecretary named, Augustinian Fr. Luis Marín de San Martín, will become a bishop. The more things change. … Still, it is important to have a Read more
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In what’s being hailed as a demonstration that Pope Francis is in earnest about empowering women within ecclesiastical structures, on Feb. 5, for the first time ever, the pontiff named a woman as the Promoter of Justice for the Appeals Court of the Vatican City State. In effect, the Promoter of Justice functions like a Read more
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The economic downturn caused by Covid-19 has had an uneven impact, in part reflecting the unprecedented nature of the crisis. The housing market and many domestic-orientated industries are doing well. And for many households and businesses, the economic downturn has so far had little impact on job security, incomes, or spending. For some, the increased Read more
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It’s not what they say; it’s the way that they say it. Documents and Scripture translations annoyingly border on gaslighting women. Not the big-league, drive-her-crazy gaslighting, just the subtle cognitive dissonance that slips into relationships large and small. You know, “He loves me, he loves me not …” Cognitive dissonance includes saying one thing and Read more
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Monika Schmelter is one of the women who crisscrosses the country to press for equal rights in the Catholic Church. The reason, she points out is that people are leaving the church in droves — including her own children. Many women share her experience of seeing their children turn their backs on the church. In Read more
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Pope Francis used his post-Angelus remarks to call for more female leadership in the church. He would like women to “participate more in areas of responsibility in the church.” “Today there is a need to broaden the spaces for a more incisive female presence in the church,” he said on October 11, “because in general Read more
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Her white clergy robes flowing behind her, Sandra Signarsdotter walks down the aisle of Stockholm’s Gustaf Vasa church greeting parishioners, a ritual of hers and a familiar sight in Sweden, where women now outnumber men as priests. In the Scandinavian country, often hailed as a champion of gender equality, the statistics are clear. As of Read more
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University of Chicago Divinity School student Rebecca MacMaster entered seminary out of a desire to make the Catholic Church “the best it can be” and to answer a calling to teach and work in college or parish ministry. “My Catholic identity is so important to me, and it informs so much of how I interact Read more
Mr Alex McNaughten