Pope lets women head Vatican offices

WOMEN can head departments in the Vatican for the first time, after Pope Francis yesterday introduced a constitution that has been in the works for nearly a decade.

For centuries, Vatican departments have been headed by male clerics, usually cardinals or bishops, but the new reforms mean any baptised lay Catholic can now be appointed.

The new 54-page constitution, called Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), took more than nine years to complete. It was released on the ninth anniversary of Francis’s installation as Pope in 2013 and will take effect on June 5, replacing one issued in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

Its preamble states: “The Pope, bishops and other ordained ministers are not the only evangelisers in the Church,” adding that lay men and women “should have roles of government and responsibility” in the Curia.

The principles section of the constitution says “any member of the faithful can head a dicastery (Curia department) or organism” if the Pope decides they are qualified and appoints them.

At least two departments will continue to be headed by men because only men can be priests in the Catholic Church, experts said.