Participants pray in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall at the beginning of a working session of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 10, 2023. The Vatican published the final report of the synod study group examining women's participation in the Church March 10, 2026, and it calls for expanded roles for women in Church governance and leadership in roles not including ordained ministry. Photo: CNS photo/Lola Gomez. The General Secretariat of the Synod has published the Final Report of Study Group No. 5, examining women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Church. “When speaking about the role of women in the life of the Church, we must be aware that it is first and foremost a matter of cultural order,”…
