Angelus News | July 29, 2022 | Vol. 7 No. 15

me, and said, ‘Do not forget about the poor.’ Those words
were carved on my mind.”
Thus, the Francis papacy was born.
It’s ironic that Cardinal Hummes, who did so much to
inspire the vision of this papacy, including its particular concern
for the Amazon region, died July 4 at the age of 87, just
as the latest steps in Pope Francis’ ongoing reform campaign
were being revealed.
On July 13, Pope Francis named three women to the
Vatican’s über-powerful Dicastery for Bishops, formerly the
Congregation for Bishops, which is responsible for recommending
new bishops to the pope around the world.
A good argument can be made that nothing any pope ever
does is more important in terms of shaping the culture of
the Catholic Church than the appointment of bishops, so by
choosing who’ll recommend those names, a pope in effect is
choosing whose instincts and preferences he trusts to set the
tone for the Church for the next generation.
The women named to the Dicastery are Sister Raffaella
Petrini, FSE, secretary general of the Governorate of the
Vatican City State; Sister Yvonne Reungoat, FMA, former
superior general of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians;
and Maria Lia Zervino, Ph.D., president of the World
Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations.
“I am open to giving (women) a chance,” Pope Francis said
in an interview with Reuters days before the nominations, after
being asked by the news agency about his plans to further
promote the role of women at the Vatican.
“This way, things are opening up a bit,” the pope added.
At the time, Pope Francis didn’t specify which women he
intended to appoint to the bishops’ panel. Still, for traditionalists
who believe that such matters should pertain exclusively
to clergy, it was the latest papal pronouncement destined
to engender heartburn.
To be clear, not everyone is ready to hail Pope Francis as
the “Great Reformer,” in the phrase of his leading English-language
biographer Austen Ivereigh.
Some Catholic feminists find Pope Francis’ steps so far
toward empowering women — naming a woman, for example,
as the No. 2 official in the Vatican City State, another
as an official of the Synod for Bishops, and so on — to be
half-measures, and remain frustrated that he hasn’t moved to
ordain women as deacons, a measure recommended by the
very Synod of Bishops for the Amazon Region that his good
friend Cardinal Hummes did so much to encourage.
“How much longer should Catholic women be expected
to be grateful at being offered crumbs from the table?” asked
Kathleen Cummings, professor of American Studies at the
University of Notre Dame,
Maria Lia Zervino, an Argentinian who is
president of the World Union of Catholic
Women’s Organizations, shows Pope
Francis a document on June 11, during a
meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace
at the Vatican. The Vatican announced
on July 13 that the pope had named
Zervino to be a member of the Dicastery
for Bishops. | CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
in a July 6 statement.
In other areas, too, some
object that Pope Francis’
reforms fall short of real
change. From the left,
one hears such objections
about his openness on
LGBTQ issues, which
falls short of endorsing
gay marriage; from the
right, some grouse that the
pope’s advocacy for the
unborn doesn’t include
Communion bans for pro-choice Catholic politicians.
Such complaints are baked into the cake for anyone in a
position of leadership. One person’s “reform,” inevitably, is
another’s failure or disappointment.
What no one can reasonably doubt, however, is that Pope
Francis has remained true to the charge given by his friend
Cardinal Hummes, not to forget the poor.
We got another reminder this week, when the Vatican confirmed
that Pope Francis will travel to Assisi, his namesake’s
home, for the sixth time on Sept. 24. The occasion will be
the first in-person gathering of a new movement he helped
launch called the “Economy of Francis,” which brings
together young economists, businesspeople, academics,
and other change agents desiring to build a new economy
inspired by the vision of St. Francis of Assisi.
One prays that Cardinal Hummes, whatever his own
private catalog of frustrations and disappointments over the
last nine years, nevertheless may rest in peace, knowing his
legacy lives on in the papacy he helped name.
John L. Allen Jr. is the editor of Crux.
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