Pope Francis Appoints First Woman Under-Secretary In Synod Of Bishops

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Pope Francis Appoints First Woman Under-Secretary In Synod Of Bishops

French Sister Nathalie Becquart will now be able to make key decisions in the Catholic Church,

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For the first time in history, Pope Francis appointed a female Under-Secretary with a right to vote in Synod of Bishops. French Sister Nathalie Becquart will now be able to make important decisions in the Catholic Church.

As per a CNN report, Becquart will be the first woman to be appointed to the position and will have voting rights in the Synod.

She will now be able to make key decisions in the Catholic Church, an official statement on the Vatican News website read.

Cardinal Mario Grech, who heads the Synod, said that a "door had been opened" for the possibility of more women being able to vote. He further said, "During the last Synods, numerous synodal fathers emphasised the need that the entire Church reflects on the place and role of women within the Church."

Grech mentioned that Pope Francis has several times highlighted the importance of women to be more involved in the processes of discernment and decision making in the Church. Also, he said that in the last synods, the number of women participating as experts or auditors has increased, reported Hindustan Times.

"With the appointment of Sr. Nathalie Becquart and the possibility that she will participate with the right to vote, a door has been open. We will then see what other steps could be taken in the future," he added.

Who Is Sister Nathalie Becquart?

Nathalie Becquart was born in 1969 in Fontainebleau, France.

She graduated from the HEC School of Management with a Masters degree in Management with a specialisation in Entrepreneurship in Jouy-en-Josas in 1992 and went on to study philosophy at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

After completing her studies, she spent her volunteer year in Beirut, Lebanon, working as a Professor of Mathematics and French in a Catholic High School and taking philosophy and theology courses at the ISSR-St Joseph Jesuit University of Beirut.

Post her tenure as a professor, she worked as a consultant in a marketing and advertising agency for NGOs and Christian organisations (EJC consulting) in Paris for two years

Nathalie joined the Xaviere sisters, missionaries of Christ-Jesus (Apostolic Congregation of Ignatian Spirituality) in August 1995 and took her final vows in September 2005.

Since then, she has worked in various roles such as serving as Spiritual Director for the Ignatian Youth Network in France National Coordinator of the scouting program for youth in poor urban multicultural areas.

Between 2016-2018 she was part of the preparatory team for the Synod on youth in the Vatican. In October 2018, she joined as the Auditor at the Synod of Bishops on "Youth, faith and vocational discernment".

Since then to date, Sr Nathalie has been following Vatican sabbatical programs at CTU (Catholic Theological Union), in Chicago, USA.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu: Online Gambling To Cost Two Years Imprisonment, Fine Up To Rs 10,000

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