Pope Francis will give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, the Vatican said Wednesday. The move is purportedly part of reforms to give women more say in the Catholic Church, along with laypeople. As part of the approved changes, the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October, will see five nuns join five priests as voting representatives for their respective religious orders. In addition, an extra 70 “non-bishop members” will participate in the synod, with the pontiff asking that 50 percent of them be women and “that the presence of young people also be emphasized.” Catholic women’s groups have praised the changes as a step in the right direction. “It’s an important change, it’s not a revolution,” Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, an organizer of the synod, told the Associated Press.
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