New Vatican Under-Secretaries: A Bishop and a Sister on Equal Standing
Francis has named two under-secretaries for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops: Spanish Augustinian Father Luis Martin, and French Sister Nathalie Becquart.
Martin was named a bishop. The Secretariat is headed by Cardinal Mario Grech. Becquart was in 2019 among the first women consulters appointed to the Synod office.
Grech told VaticanNews.va that with the appointment of Becquart "and the possibility that she will participate with the right to vote" in future bishops' synods "a door has been open".
#newsZcwzigshqk
Sister Natalie Becquart doesn't wear a habit because she belongs to the "Congregation of Xavières" a Jesuit-inspired institute of religious sisters recognized by the Catholic Church on February 4, 1963, during the Second Vatican Council. There are 100 Sisters in her Institute.