Another woman is taking on a top management job within the Vatican: Sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian nun, was named Saturday as president of the Vatican City State, making her essentially the governor of the 44-hectare (108-acre) territory in Rome that’s home to the Catholic Church.
Petrini had previously been the secretary general of the Vatican administration, which amongst other things is chargeable for the functioning of the Vatican Museums, a serious income for the Holy See. She moves into the highest job on March 1 following the retirement of Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, who turns 75 that day.
Pope Francis had previously announced Petrini’s promotion, a part of his effort to position women in decision-making roles within the Vatican to function models for the remaining of the church. The Vatican announced Francis’ appointment Saturday while the pope was hospitalized with a respiratory tract infection.
Last month, Francis named the primary woman to go a serious Holy See office, appointing one other Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to grow to be prefect of the department chargeable for all of the Catholic Church’s religious orders.
While women have been named to No. 2 spots in some Vatican offices, never before have women been named to the highest jobs of the Holy See Curia or Vatican City State administration.
Catholic women have long complained of second-class status in an establishment that reserves the priesthood for men. Francis has upheld the ban on female priests and tamped down hopes that ladies may very well be ordained as deacons.
But there was a marked increase in the share of ladies working within the Vatican during his papacy, including in leadership positions, from 19.3% in 2013 to 23.4% today, in line with statistics reported by Vatican News. In the Curia alone, the share of ladies is 26%.
Critics complain that making women managers of the church doesn’t compensate for the continued ban on ordaining them as ministers.
In addition to her job running the Vatican City State administration, Petrini also serves as one in every of three women who’re members of the Vatican office that vets bishop nominations. When they were named in 2022 it marked the primary time women had had a proper role within the Vatican strategy of choosing bishops.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely chargeable for this content.
