Vatican appoints 3 women to vet bishop candidates

Pope Francis on Wednesday announced the new three-woman council, which adds more voices and another step to the Roman Catholic Church’s selection process for bishops. The Dicastery for Bishops currently selects and oversees the church’s 5,000-plus bishops. It usually narrows the possibilities for each new opening down to three candidates after consulting with local churches. The pope will retain the final say on bishop appointments.

Who are these women? Sister Raffaella Petrini is the secretary-general of the Vatican City State. Sister Yvonne Reungoat is the former superior-general of the Daughters of Mary the Helper. Laywoman Maria Lia Zervino is the president of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations. Although nuns take monastic orders and women work in many churches and church-run schools, Catholic doctrine reserves the priesthood for men. Many Catholics have long petitioned for women to play a bigger role in church governance.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Emily Belz’s report in WORLD Magazine about two European filmmakers, raised Roman Catholic, who are taking on Biblical themes in their work.