French Nun Hopes to Bring Change to Catholic Church

Nathalie Becquart is a 54-year-old nun¹ from France. She is also an experienced sailor who has led young people to spiritual gatherings² at sea.

In 2021, Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, named her as the first female undersecretary in the Vatican's Synod of Bishops³ office.

A synod is a meeting of bishops, who make up the Church's leadership around the world. In the synod, the bishops look at information and advise the Pope on important issues. The bishops, like all clergy⁴ in the Catholic Church, are men.

Since 2021, Becquart has traveled around the world to learn more about what people in the church want and need. This week, the church published a working document with some of the issues the synod will discuss when it meets in October.

Becquart says that everywhere she went, there were calls for change. This includes calls for women to have some decision-making power in the synod. She told The Associated Press, "It's about how could we be men and women together in this society, in this church..."

For 2,000 years, the Catholic Church's teachings have barred women from becoming priests or church leaders. Some women now feel more hopeful under Pope Francis and possible changes from the synod. However, conservatives in the church worry it could weaken the tradition of male leadership.

Both Becquart and Francis see the criticism as a good thing. They think it shows the church is working on big and important issues.

The 86-year-old Francis has already done more than any modern pope to support women in the church. He has permitted women to take part in some religious services usually performed by men. He has changed the Vatican's founding constitution to let women lead church offices. And Becquart is one of several women who serve in leadership positions.

Under church rules, the undersecretary can vote in the synod. That means Becquart will be the first woman to do so. And in April, the Vatican announced that 70 non-bishops would also be voting. Half of them were expected to be women.

While that is less than 25 percent of the bishops' votes, it shows the Pope's belief that church leadership can include people who are not priests.

Becquart joined her community of nuns⁵, the Xaviere Sisters, when she was 26. She held several leadership positions with the French church including its programs for young people.

Becquart said women who came before her in the Vatican and in her religious community help her to feel strong. She also talked about the example of her grandmother, whose husband died when she was pregnant with her fourth child. She said she learned that women "carry on this message that life is stronger than death."

She uses this lesson when sailing at sea. "There will be good weather and bad weather, quiet seas and then big waves," she said. But the storm will end.

"That's our life and that's the life of the church," she added.

Jean-Marie Guénois has known Becquart for years. He writes about religion for the French newspaper Le Figaro. Guénois said it would be a huge change if her work at the synod brings equal power for women in the church's leadership.

However, he said, "It takes more than 20 months to change the habits of 20 centuries."

Words in This Story

nun -n. a female member of a religious order, especially ones who promise to obey special rules of poverty or chastity

priest -n. a member of the Christian⁶ clergy who leads religious services

habit -n. a routine behavior

1 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

4 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

5 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。