Pope Francis, also’first’ record… Canon law amendment for female members

The first pope to wash the feet of women and Muslims and embrace sexual minorities. The first saint to live in a guesthouse with other priests instead of a luxury residence and choose a compact car rather than a luxury limousine. This is the story of Pope Francis (85). In addition, the modifier’first’ attached to him varies from’from South America’ to’from the Jesuits’. And on the 11th (local time), I added one more. At Mass, the canonical law was revised so that women could also play a formal role.

This made Pope Francis the first pope to recognize the role of women in Mass. Foreign media such as the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 11th that Pope Francis’s amendment to the canon law allows women to read the Bible and distribute the sacrament meeting. Until now, this is a role that only male believers could perform.

In many countries, women have already participated in the Mass service. However, the Catholic Church retained the’Canon Law Article 230, Paragraph 1′, which stipulates that only’a qualified male layman’ can act as a reader (a person in charge of reading the Bible). It was Pope Francis who first corrected this provision, which may constitute sexism. The Pope said in the publication document that “I want to recognize the valuable contributions women have made to the Church.”

However, the Holy See emphasized, “It does not mean that women can be priests or deacons.” It is not to celebrate Mass, preach, or sacrament of baptism. In 2016, a committee to examine whether to allow’female subtitles’ was created and discussions over’female priests’ have been discussed, but it is a message that it is too early to expand interpretation.

Nevertheless, after 2013, when Pope Francis was crowned, the status of women in the Catholic Church has been higher than ever. Last year, Francesca di Giovanni (67), a woman from Italy, was appointed as the second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State Council, considered the heart of the papal bureaucracy. The State Council is composed of three ministries: the State Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Personnel, and is an organization that assists the Pope in his aide. It was the first time in history that a woman has been appointed to a high level above the vice minister of the State Council.

During the 2019 global sexual violence accusation movement’#MeToo’, Pope Francis was the first to publicly admit that Catholic priests had sexually assaulted the nuns. It also revealed that when Benedict was 16 years old, his predecessor, he had disbanded a female congregation due to sexual violence. He pointed out that “the abuse of women is a serious problem.”

Pope Francis has spoken strongly on sensitive matters. Another topic he threw into the world is the issue of sexual minorities. Immediately after his throne in 2013, he said, “If a homosexual man finds God with good will, can he really judge him?” In Catholicism, homosexuality was defined as a’sin’, but he said, “They are also children of God in the end.” In the documentary “Francis”, released in October last year, “homosexuals also have the right to form a family.”

Born in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as one of five children from a family of railroad workers from Italy. At the age of 22, he entered the Jesuits and began his career as a monk, and was elected Pope after five conclave votes in 2013 (election meeting of the Cardinals to elect the Pope). In 2014, it was selected as the world’s most influential leader by Fortune magazine.

Reporter Kim Sun-mi [email protected]