One of the six members of Pope Francis’ advisory Council of Cardinals has acknowledged a bias among the members of the Catholic Church’s all-male hierarchy against giving women more leadership roles, saying he and his peers must “shed this prejudice.”

In an NCR interview, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias called himself a “convert” to the cause of women seeking more opportunities for responsibility in the global institution.

Mentioning women through-out the world “who are doing so much” for the church, the cardinal said women “want an apostolate, want to work for evangelization, want to give leadership in the church parish community.”

“We have not applied our mind to it,” said Gracias, adding: “I admit there’s been a prejudice against giving them greater responsibility, and we must shed this prejudice.”

“I hope we are able to examine carefully, discuss carefully how they can have greater responsibility,” the cardinal continued, before quickly correcting his choice of words.