Pope Francis has made history by appointing six women to leadership positions in the Vatican.
In a progressive step for the Catholic Church, they have been appointed into the most senior roles ever given to women. They will assume roles in the Council for the Economy, a previously all-male department. Francis is fulfilling his promise of placing women in top positions.
“That six are women is a pretty big quota,” said Joshua McElwee, the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. “But the important thing here is that these six women are part of a group that essentially oversees all of the financial activities of the Vatican, so obviously that’s a pretty top-level group.”
The Council previously had 15 members consisting of eight bishops and seven laypersons. The new appointees are all Europeans and come from impressive financial backgrounds.
They include the former treasurer to Prince Charles, a high-profile financial correspondent and British government minister, and others that have held senior-level positions in global accounting and finance companies.
