Vatican won’t say if women can vote in 2023 church meeting

By NICOLE WINFIELD
September 7, 2021

ROME (AP) — Vatican officials declined on Tuesday to say if women would be able to vote on concrete proposals about the future of the Catholic Church at the end of a two-year process of consultation of ordinary faithful that Pope Francis kicks off next month.

For years, women activists and even nuns have pressed to be able to vote at Synod of Bishops meetings, which bring together the Catholic hierarchy to Rome to discuss pressing issues facing the 1.3-billion strong church.

Francis has sought to make them more inclusive, participatory and reflect on the real-world issues facing ordinary Catholics. But to date women haven’t been able to vote - not even the religious superiors who participate as representatives of the world’s 641,000 nuns.

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The appointment earlier this year of Sister Natalie Becquart as an undersecretary in the Vatican’s synod office had signaled that she at least would probably be able to cast a vote, since her male predecessors had that right by nature of their office.

But asked Tuesday whether other women invited to the final meeting in October 2023 would be able to cast a ballot, her boss, Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, refused to say.

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