From NCR:
A leading religious sister in the Amazon region believes Pope Francis’ recent interview that seemed to close the door to women deacons isn’t the final word on the much-discussed topic that has repeatedly been raised during the ongoing synodal process.
“Francis’ speech caused some perplexity, but an interview is not the magisterium of the church,” Franciscan Catechist Sr. Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso told NCR via email. Her remarks come just weeks after an interview with CBS News where Francis said he was opposed to women deacons, if it’s connected to the sacrament of holy orders.
“We’re living through the second stage of a synod on synodality, and I know that it won’t resolve all the necessary issues of change in the church,” Pereira Manso added. “But it will open up ways for us to continue the conversation and for all of us.”
Pereira Manso serves as vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (or CEAMA as it is known), which was created in 2020 following the 2019 Synod of Bishops for the Amazon. Earlier this month, she traveled to Rome for several events to mark the five-year anniversary of the Amazon synod, including a meeting with the pope.
“We have important changes underway in the church,” said Pereira Manso afterward. “I always say that ‘Grandpa Francis’ has brought a springtime air to the church.”
Before many of the specific doctrinal questions can be considered, she said, it requires a “conversion” of the church’s way of being. This includes the pope, the laity and everyone in between.
Change, she noted, bothers many people “who want to continue in their privileges and don’t want to be a church that is the people of God and a sign of the kingdom.”
