At Vatican Synod, Womens Issues Are Relegated to a Side Group

When Pope Francis decided last year to allow women to vote for the first time at the next global meeting of bishops, many believed it was a step toward greater equity in the Roman Catholic Church.Yet, even before the meeting, known as a synod, began this month, the Vatican punted.It announced that contentious issues like the ordination of women were off the table.The disappointment hit Catholics who had seen the gathering as a motor of potential change with a familiar thud.“There’s enough misogyny in the world without the Catholic Church leading the way, when it should actually be standing up for a minority,” said Pat Brown, a member of the national committee of Catholic Women’s Ordination, a group based in Britain.“Wait,” she added, “we’re not a minority; we’re more than half the church, and it’s appalling that instead of standing up for the oppressed, the church is the oppressor.”The Vatican meeting, four years in the making, was hailed as a major event, comparable to a mini-version of the Second Vatican Council that modernized the church in the 1960s.

Catholics around the globe had been canvassed for opinions, and the promotion of women in the church had emerged as a priority.In an institution where women play an outsize role in its daily workings and outnumber Catholic men toiling in hospitals and schools worldwide, they have very little say where it counts, critics say.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....