Right to vote women decided to give Pope Francis at the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, in October, in the world’s first and unprecedented change reflecting his desire to empower women with greater decision-making responsibility.

The new rules, announced on Wednesday, give five nuns have the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops who acts as advisor to the respective pope.

In the past, women were only allowed to attend meetings to do their jobs.

The men will still have the majority of votes in this important meeting. However, the reform marks a sea change for the Roman Catholic Church, which has been dominated by men for centuries.

The US-based Women’s Ordination Conference, which promotes the Women Priests initiative, called the reform “a major crack in the glass ceiling.”

“For years the representatives and bishops of the Vatican have resisted by putting a stop at every session why women were not allowed to vote. The unspoken reason has always been sexism,” the group notes on Twitter.

We hope that in the near future the synod will continue to develop into a fully representative body of the people of God. This is an important step towards gender equality, and we will continue our persistent efforts towards sustainable structural change in the church.

— #OrdainWomen find us on IG @womensdication (@OrdainWomen) April 26, 2023

“We hope that in the near future the synod will continue to develop into a fully representative body of the people of God,” they added in a statement.

Further break with traditionPope Francis announced that voting rights would be given to 70 elected non-church members of the religious community, making the synod a gathering of more than just the church hierarchy.

Source: BBC