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In The News |
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Pope Francis said Thursday that he would set up a commission to study whether women could serve as deacons in the Roman Catholic Church, a move hailed by women who have campaigned for years for a more prominent role in the church. His remarks reveal an openness to re-examining the church’s long-held insistence on an all-male clergy. Yet the idea will face stiff resistance from those who believe that it is the first step toward ordaining female priests, something that recent popes have ruled out, citing church doctrine.
The pope’s comments were made during an assembly of leaders of women’s religious orders and were consistent with his style: a seemingly off-the-cuff remark that opened a broad horizon of possibilities. It came during a question-and-answer session in which he assured the nearly 900 sisters in the room that he wanted to “increase the number of women in decision-making positions in the church.” One woman asked about the possibility of an official commission to study the issue. His response was, in essence, “Why not?”
The comments may prove to be more of a change in tone than a change in church practice, similar to his remark “Who am I to judge?” made in response to a question about gays during a midflight news conference in 2013. Still, news of Francis’ remark delivered a jolt of excitement to Catholics who have questioned church doctrine that women cannot be ordained because the disciples of Jesus were all male. At the session with the female superiors general on Thursday, Francis admitted that the integration of women into the life of the church had been “very weak” and said, “We must go forward.” Read Full Article .... |