Synodal Church

A nun with the right to vote in the assembly of prelates: this is the new turning point that Pope Francis is giving to increase the roles of women in the Church. The Pontiff appoints Fr Luis Marín de San Martín, currently assistant general of the Order of Saint Augustine, undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops, and Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Xavière, former director of the national service for the evangelization of young people and for vocations of the Conference of the bishops of France. With her "a door has been opened", comments Cardinal Secretary General Grech.

A step of great importance to strengthen the general secretariat of the Synod and to give a renewed impetus to the commitment to a synodal and missionary Church: this is how Mario Grech comments on the Vatican media. The Maltese cardinal dwells in particular on the choice of Sister Nathalie, the first woman to receive this office, and on the prospects that this designation opens for the female role in the life of the Church, including the right to vote in synodal assemblies: for the first time in fact a woman will participate in the Synod of Bishops not only with consultative functions but also with the right to vote. The mandate "of Sr. Nathalie Becquart as under-secretary helps us to remember in a concrete way that in the synodal journeys the voice of the People of God has a specific place and that it is fundamental to find ways to encourage effective participation in them of all the baptized" .

This perspective “has characterized the way in which Pope Francis has interpreted the Synod throughout his pontificate. We saw it in the Synod on young people and then in the Synod on the Amazon: listening to and participating in young people and indigenous peoples had a crucial impact in their preparation and development ". Regarding the fact that as undersecretary Sister Nathalie will have the right to vote at the next assembly centered on the synodal Church, Grech recalls that “in the last Synods, numerous Synod Fathers have stressed the need for the entire Church to reflect on the place and roles of women within it. Pope Francis too has repeatedly stressed the importance of women being more involved in the processes of ecclesial discernment and decision; and already in the last Synods the number of women participating as experts or auditors has increased ». With the appointment of Sister Nathalie "and her possibility to participate with the right to vote, a door has been opened, we will then see what other steps can be taken in the future".

Domenico Agasso
NP April 2021