Lay men and women can now vote in the Synod of Bishops, the Synod’s office announced at the end of April. This is a historic milestone that culminates Pope Francis’ reform of the process and structure of the Synod.
For the first time, nuns can intervene and, with the right of vote, determine the results of the discussions. Their vote will count as much as that of men. The first step in this progress came with the appointment of Sr. Nathalie Becquart in 2021 as one of the two new undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops with the right to vote.
The new norm allows for the participation in the synodal assemblies of non-bishops, that is, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and lay men and women with voting rights. For the next Synod devoted to “Synodality” in 2024, 70 of the total participants will be non-bishops (priests, deacons, religious men and women, and lay women and men), of which half should be women.
In this Synod, everyone will have the right to vote on the concluding document which will then be sent to Pope Francis who will consider the Synod’s proposals before issuing his own apostolic exhortation.
In previous Synods, non-bishops and non-ordained participants could take part but not vote. That is, they did not have the right to decide at the moment of drafting the final document of the Synod to be submitted to the Pontific.
Though women constitute the majority of the membership of the Church and play an active role, they have been excluded from the decision-making process. This has been entrusted to clerics and lay men who were assigned positions of leadership. Why in the Philippines, for instance, are women barred from distributing communion at mass?
Pope Francis’ move will compel dioceses and parishes to widen the participation of lay people, particularly women. The universal church, as well as local churches, must welcome the active participation of women in making crucial decisions. If they can vote in the Synod of Bishops, they should be given positions in commissions, conferences, dioceses, and parishes.
In this sense, Pope Francis has been leading the way. Since his election, he has been advocating the role and character of women in the Church and society. He has taken steps toward greater equality of women in the Catholic Church, appointing women to senior positions in the Vatican.
This is a positive step in the empowerment of lay people and religious women in the leadership and mission of the Church.
