Pope Francis to appoint women to Vatican hierarchy

Pope Francis plans to appoint two women to the Vatican committee that helps him select bishops, which is currently all male, according to a recent interview.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church said he wants to expand the number of women in top-level positions in the Holy See following a reform last month that allows any baptized Catholic, including lay men and women, to head most Vatican departments.

"I am open to giving (women) an opportunity," Francis told Reuters in a July 2 interview about the new constitution for the central administration, called the Curia.

He mentioned that last year, she appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini to the number two position in the governorship of Vatican City – the first time a woman has held that position.

"Two women will be appointed for the first time in the committee to elect bishops in the Congregation for Bishops," he added.

"This way, things are opening up a bit.”

The move has not yet been officially announced but would be a landmark shift for traditionally all-male council, which meets twice a month in Rome.

The new 54-page constitution, called Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), states in its preamble that the "pope, bishops and other ordained ministers are not the only evangelisers in the Church” before adding that lay men and women should also have roles of government and responsibility in the Curia. The reform was in released in March after a reported nine years of work and went into effect June 5.

In the same interview, the pope rejected reports he planned to resign.

When asked which other Vatican departments could be led by a layperson, Francis suggested the department of Catholic Education and Culture and the Apostolic Library, which are currently headed by male clerics.

Last month, Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, joked that the new Curia’s enactment may mean he is the last cleric to head the lay-oriented department.