Synod: Bishops hear the voices of women
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
Given the all-male nature of the Catholic priesthood, a Synod of Bishops is, inevitably, something of a gentleman?s club. Nevertheless, because the business of a synod is, at least in part, to take stock of what?s happening in the church around the world, each synod also makes efforts to hear the voices of women.
Yesterday morning, eleven women taking part in the Oct. 5-26 Synod of Bishops, dedicated to ?The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church,? gave speeches from the floor. In their own ways, each offered a perspective that might not otherwise have been part of the mix.