Some dicasteries once led by cardinals are now led by bishops and priests and, thus, pave the way for more participation by laypeople, especially women, in church decisions, said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa.

“Behind all this is the unfortunate idea...that priests are everything in the church while sisters are nothing.”

Mary McAleese, who has a gay son and has criticized the church’s position on L.G.B.T. issues, was invited to participate in a panel discussion on women in church governance.

The only answers that mattered, some argued, were the ones offered by people who attended Mass weekly or more.

Las mujeres católicas podrían ser parte de una ola de votación por el Partido Demócrata en 2018. Están listas para recibir diaconisas.

You have heard it said, “Who run the world? Girls” (Bey 4:12). But we ask: Who runs the church?