VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal
By DEBORAH BALL
March 5, 2014
ROME—The Vatican could soon make significant changes to the role of women in the church and to the Catholic church’s approach to divorcées, said Pope Francis in a sweeping interview with Italian and Argentinean newspapers. He also suggested the church could consider a shift in its approach to contraception, although he ruled out a wholesale change in doctrine.
As the anniversary of his election approaches, the Argentinean-born pontiff also sought to rebuff criticisms that he has done too little to respond to the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church, while he also renewed his criticisms of globalization. At the same time, Pope Francis sought to play down the huge popularity that his papacy has generated, saying that he is “not some sort of superman.”
In an extensive interview granted to Italian daily Corriere della Sera and Argentinean newspaper La Nacion, the pope said that women could have greater decision-making power in the church’s hierarchy. Some Vatican experts have raised the possibility of the pope’s appointing women to senior positions within the Vatican’s bureaucracy, perhaps as the head of one of its powerful departments.
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