Vatican

Pope Francis has significantly increased the Vatican's female workforce, including in high-ranking positions, but women face continued resistance from the all-male Catholic hierarchy to access leadership positions in the church, according to Vatican statistics and independent surveys released March 8.

Young people must be "missionaries of human dignity" to fight human trafficking and all forms of exploitation, Pope Francis said.

An ancient Japanese art form repairs broken vessels with gold, not hiding the damage. The tradition illustrates Pope Francis' call to "to go to the margins" because they are also places of possibility.

Pope Francis told leaders of women religious congregations that synodality is a way to affirm the original intentions of the founders of religious congregations while meeting the needs of a rapidly changing world.

With a wave of new appointments of religious sisters inside the Vatican, Pope Francis is making room for more women religious to have a permanent seat at the table. Sisters spoke about the importance of these changes.

The Catholic Church needs women, especially women saints, who have shown throughout history an unwavering dedication to God and to caring for their brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.

The Life - Sister panelists reflect on the gifts that women religious can bring to the synod on synodality and its journey to become a community that reaches beyond itself to those whose voices have not been heard.

With the listening stage of the synod on synodality underway, the two-hour conversation on Dec. 16 aimed to amplify the voices of Catholic women from across the globe, with panelists from Africa, Australia and Europe.