Most Catholics, who grew up seeing women at the altar reading from the Bible and serving at Mass, wondered what was improved when Pope Francis changed canon law this month, purportedly to allow women to participate in such services.
Although women have been taking care of these ministries at local bishops’ discretion, they were barred from being instituted as lectors or acolytes because church law did not allow it. These minor orders were reserved only for men until now, touted as preparation for priestly ordina-tion.
On Jan. 11, The Pope chang-ed one word in Canon 230. The law originally said: “Laymen who have the age and skills, determined by decree by the Episcopal Conference, can be permanently employed, through the established liturgical rite, for the ministries of readers and acolytes; however, this confer-ment does not give them the right to sustenance or remuneration by the Church.” Pope Francis changed the opening word, making it “laypeople” to include women.  Pope Francis is pushing the Church to be more open to women, but slowly and carefully. These orders had been part of the all-male priesthood in the Catholic Church since the Coun-cil of Trent in the 16th century.