Vatican City, 06 July, 2022 / 8:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis has said he would announce the appointment of two women to the Vatican committee that elects bishops.
In comments to Reuters published Wednesday, the pope said “two women will be appointed for the first time in the committee to elect bishops in the Congregation for Bishops."
In the July 2 interview in the Vatican, Francis did not identify the women or say when their appointment would be announced officially, instead saying he was “open to giving [women] an opportunity" and wanted to open things “up a bit.”
The Congregation of Bishops, a department of the Roman Curia, recently changed its name to the Dicastery for Bishops, in line with the new constitution that underpins the reform of the Vatican by Pope Francis.
The new constitution, titled Praedicate evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), provides that any member of the faithful can also lead a Vatican dicastery or other bodies, “given their particular competence, power of governance and function.”