‘Cabrini,’ Though Imperfectly, Tells a Proud Part of Catholic History
COMMENTARY: The saint carries on a tradition of powerful women religious that stretches back centuries.
COMMENTARY: The saint carries on a tradition of powerful women religious that stretches back centuries.
CNA Deutsch editor-in-chief AC Wimmer reports on the Vatican’s intervention in the German bishops’ controversial vote on the Synodal Way. And Solène Tadié, Europe correspondent for the National Catholic Register, looks at the influential role of women in the Catholic Church.
There is a lot of talk about avoiding the media’s agenda for the Synod, and it is a legitimate concern... but is there a theological agenda on the Synod?
Described as ‘profound and real,’ the speech characterized calls for women’s ordination as a form of clericalism and as a distraction from what Catholic women want and need.
Chief spokesman Paolo Ruffini told reporters last week that the drafters are assisted by collaborators called ‘sherpas’ and added that ‘it makes no sense to give their names.’
NEWS ANALYSIS: While there was worldwide agreement on the need for a greater role for women in Church decision-making, calls for the ordination of female deacons and priests generated less consensus.
Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, said the non-bishop participants — among them priests, religious, deacons, and laypeople — ‘are witnesses of the memory of the process, of the itinerary, of the discernment that began two years ago.’
A Vatican source told CNA that the two women most likely appointed to the department of bishops are Sister Nicoletta Vittoria Spezzati and Sister Mary Melone.
Pope Francis’ cardinal advisers heard a testimony from a Franciscan sister from the Brazilian Amazon this week as the council continues to discuss the role of women in the Church.
U.S. Cardinal Sean O’Malley was among the group that took part in the Feb. 21-23 meeting, which also included discusson of synodality.
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