Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer on Epiphany, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Vatican. [Reuters]Pope Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, on Monday changed its law to formally codify their roles as altar servers, distributors of communion and readers at liturgies. But the change in the Code of Canon Law means conservative bishops will not be able to block women in their dioceses from taking those roles. In an accompanying letter, he said he wanted to bring "stability, public recognition" to women already serving in the roles. Last August, the pope appointed six women to senior roles in the council that oversees Vatican finances.

Source: Standard Digital June 01, 2021 14:15 UTC