How did an accidental email seized what some call the legacy of Pope Francis for women

While the Catholic Church is sad about the death of Pope Francis and the College of Cardinals in all males preparing to elect it behind, some say that a cross email sent last month acquired contradictions in the heart of Francis’s legacy on women.

In January, Francis appointed him the highest date for women, as Simona Brambilla’s sister of the Vatican Dexier of Religion, who oversees nuns, monks and religious orders. The role has always gone to Cardinal, so Brambilla was invited by mistake to pre-transition meetings-exclusively to the Paradise, by definition, men.

Bureaucratic slippage, I reported the Catholic news website onlineWhat some people see as a central contradiction to the Papalism of Francis: While it opened some new doors for women, he left the most important things firmly closed.

Catholic observers, activists and women say that they were hoping to see women like Brambilla listed in pre -forces.

“They could have easily called to the highest nuns to the Cardinal gatherings before being being,” said Lusita Scarvavi, an Italian author of several books on women and the Vatican.

“The nuns are more than half of the religious people in the world. Their work literally retains the church. Cardinals could have listened to what they said about the future of the Church. The fact that they did not prove that Francis did not change anything.”

Symbolic changes

Scaraffia, from her point of view, cite only two positive changes. Pope Francis with women: Mary Majdlin’s strengthening to the Messenger and the abolition of the rule that considers abortion a “preserved sin” cannot be forgiven by bishops or the appointment of bishops, not the parish priest.

She said: “A woman entered the church and wanted to admit an abortion that could not be, while the killer can.”

Even the employment of Francis for women in the Vatican leadership roles, she says, was mostly symbolic.

Along with Brambilla, the ink also appointed the sister of Rafaella Petrini as head of the Vatican State Governorate, which oversees the daily operations of the Vatican, and the economic brother Alessandra Smirrly as the Dexterex Minister to promote integrated human development, responsible for issues, immigration and environmental care.

She said: “The few women who got high roles did not have any force-who were surrounded by male priests who refused to identify their authority, and their positions were fragile.”

Even when Brambilla was appointed as Dicastery head of the religious, a new “pro-preventive” role was created alongside her salary and was granted to Cardinal, because the Canon-law that Francis has not changed-requires the signing of some documents by Cardinal. Observers say it effectively proves the shadow leader to maintain the status quo.

“It was clear that she had to postpone him,” Skavia said.

Francis “a gift” wrapped in a promise that has not been fulfilled

Kate McClewe, Executive Director of the Women Coordination Conference, a group founded in 1975 calling for the coordination of women as deacons, priests, bishops and Pope within the Roman Catholic Church, described Francis as a “gift”, although one wrapped with many promises.

“He has made important cracks in the glass ceiling,” McKelwe said, citing the female Vatican dates, in addition to granting the rights of women voting in the international church gatherings known as the Synod, a step it says helped change culture within the Vatican.

Through his Senodali project – a global consultation of the parish sons, followed by two groups of Vatican in 2023 and 2024 – Francis encouraged an open discussion about the role of women in the church, despite what you call his reservations.

From every continent, Catholics called for a greater participation of females in the church, as some described it as a “duty” to correct their exclusion, says mcellee. In October 2024, when the Vatican Ministry tried to close the conversation, women put in the room – they used to the standards of higher equality – back and kept the problem on the table.

However, the resistance of female participation is still deeply inherent in the male hierarchy.

She said: “Some priests and bishops were already complaining about the Synod that they had to wait for their role – because women were talking first.”

While Francis talked about a good game about studying the possibility of females – which can preach, baptism and confrontation at weddings and funerals – observers say it was mostly a way to kick the box on the road.

Men behind closed doors

Ghary says that she will monitor the next Pope to see if he dares to challenge the resistance base and pressure to include females, especially in deacon and female priests.

“As described by Francis, the subversive Pope, his interesting attention has always been unity, and not the creation of sections that can tear the church.”

It says that the entire female participation, in 2025, is still an issue related to many clerics in the Catholic Church.

Speech-Culture that raises men known as spiritually superior and cannot be prejudiced-often go side by side High number One of the gay men close to the priesthood.

“A clerical culture is related to a culture that deny different things (including) homosexuality,” said Austin Evereg, a prominent British Catholic writer.

IVEREIight notes that Francis was an open critic of the verbal book. He says that the late Pope started changing the sea in the Vatican with regard to women – while inserting it in female theologians and opening discussions about the role that women play in the ministry, especially during the Vatican Conference on the Amazon, as well as the Synod.

“You might say that it does not add much, but it seems to me that things are completely different from Francis,” he said.

Nevertheless, MCELIEE says, progress was slow. However, it carries the hope that the next Pope will be a person who participated in the Senodes Francis – where secular women had a seat on the table – they saw it as a sign of openness to the treatment of women equally.

However, their exclusion is waving on the horizon, as the church is now preparing for the next level, a huge decision that men are still fully taken, in complete secrecy.

“It is a scandal and a sin that women are not part of the flavor,” she said.

“Men gather behind closed doors to make dependency decisions about the future of the church, and this is something we cannot ignore.”