MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Some 400 Catholic leaders from around the world are gathering at the Vatican this month for a summit on church policy. Pope Francis says he wants to create a more inclusive church, and many women and LGBTQ Catholics are pushing church leaders to give them a bigger role. Well, Claire Giangrave is the Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service. We have reached her in Rome. Hi, Claire.
CLAIRE GIANGRAVE: Hello.
KELLY: Hey. So the pope started this big church meeting on Tuesday. It was with a mass at St. Peter's Basilica, in which, I gather, he asked for forgiveness for the church. And I want to start there. Why forgiveness? Why did the pope start this meeting with an apology?
GIANGRAVE: Well, the sexual abuse scandals and financial scandals have really tarnished the church's reputation, and Pope Francis really felt like it was time to start with a clean slate. He asked, how can we be credible in our mission if we don't acknowledge our mistakes and we don't vow to heal the wounds that we have caused with our sins?
Pope Francis himself wrote a series of apologies that were read by the most powerful and prominent cardinals and prelates at the Vatican. They were apologizing for failing to combat climate change, but also not taking care of migrants and the poor. The doctrine czar at the Vatican, for example, ask forgiveness for every time Catholic doctrine was used as a pile of dead stones to be thrown at others.
KELLY: OK, so starting with a clean slate and going where? What is the agenda?
GIANGRAVE: Well, when Pope Francis was just an archbishop in Argentina, he would often come to the Vatican for these kinds of summits, and the decisions were often predetermined, and he himself felt that his voice wasn't heard. So when he became pope, he set out to change that, and he convened all Catholics, from all walks of life, to come together and talk about their hopes and expectations. Synod organizers will call this a new way of being church, which is focusing on welcoming and dialogue. This means how do you choose bishops, but also, how should prelates work with regular Catholics to make important decisions?
Of course, as these conversations were taking place, some hot-button issues also emerged, like the need to include marginalized groups, especially women and LGBTQ faithful, within the church. But these are issues removed from the agenda by Pope Francis.
KELLY: These issues, like including women, were removed from the agenda? Why?
GIANGRAVE: Well, Pope Francis did create 10 study groups with experts and theologians and canon lawyers, and they were tasked with addressing these controversial issues, but their findings won't be reported until 2025. This was a great disappointment for advocates for greater reform and change in the institution.
For example, I spoke to Kate McElwee. She leads a group of women who are advocating for the ordination of women in the church, and she said that one of the main themes of the synod is participation. So she argued, how can you have a conversation at the Vatican about that theme that does not mention the role of women in the Catholic church?
KELLY: Claire, step back, big picture. This is a summit on policy. Do you practically expect much to come out of it, any actual change?
GIANGRAVE: Well, it's unclear whether we will see real policy change, but in the past, there have been some small movements that have caused a stir in the church. But what this summit has done is that it's involved all Catholics, whether they are at your local parish or at assemblies at the continental levels with bishops and prelates, to have a say in the church. And the question is that they might have gotten used to it, and maybe that door will be really difficult to close again.
KELLY: That is Claire Giangrave, Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service. We caught her in Rome. Thank you, Claire.
GIANGRAVE: Thank you.
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