Pope Francis on Sunday assigned the lay ministries of the Catholic Church of Lector and Catechism to women for the first time. The positions had already been female on other occasions, but without formal institutional recognition.
Francis conferred the ministries at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. In apparent reference to the resistance that many conservatives express against changes in the Church, he criticized those who need strict regulations and “more rules” to find God.
Last year, the pope changed rules for the Lectorate and Acolyte ministries, which were usually reserved for seminarians preparing for the priesthood. At the time, Francis said he wanted to bring stability and public recognition to women who were already performing these roles.
Readers read the scriptures, acolytes serve at Mass, and catechists teach the tenets and tenets of the religion to converted children and adults.
The ministries of Lectorate and Acolyte already existed, but were officially reserved for men. The Catechism was instituted by Francis last year.
At Sunday’s Mass, the pope delegated to six women and two men the role of readers and to three women and five men the role of catechists. Francis gave a Bible to each reader and a crucifix to each catechist.
The formalization will make it more difficult, for example, for conservative bishops to prevent women from taking up these positions in their dioceses.
The change is seen as especially important for women in places like the Amazon, where many are religious leaders in remote communities that suffer from a shortage of priests. The current pontiff has been making a series of nods to women: he nominated a nun to a synod of bishops for the first time, and at Christmas he preached against domestic violence.
Although female protagonism is growing in an unprecedented way, the servile structure has remained intact.
The Vatican stressed that Sunday’s news is not a sign that women will one day be able to become priestesses. The Catholic Church holds that only men can be priests because Jesus chose only men as his apostles.
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