Continuing with determination to open up new positions of responsibility for women in the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has appointed three women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops.

Francine Pirola, co-director of the Sydney-based Marriage Resource Center, said the council had produced a “vastly improved” revision of the section of the document on women, which had been the focus of a major disruption July 6.

The agenda for the Second Assembly of Australia’s Plenary Council was disrupted July 6 after more than 60 of the 277 members staged a protest over issues regarding women in the church.

Pope Francis said he plans to name two women to the committee that helps him choose bishops for the world’s Latin-rite dioceses.

Many people who oppose the idea of women as deacons fear that the potential candidates aren’t faithful Catholics. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Rosemary Radford Ruether, who died on May 21, deliberately lived both within the Catholic tradition and on its margins.