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Pope Leo XIV has fixed a technical glitch in Vatican law, an issue that arose after Pope Francis named the first woman to lead the Vatican City State administration.
The 2023 law was amended to remove a reference that the head of the Vatican City State administration must be a cardinal. The change comes after Pope Francis in February appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, a 56-year-old Italian nun, as president of the city state.
Her appointment marked the first time that a woman had ruled the 44-hectare territory in the center of Rome, aligning with Francis’s 12-year papacy to elevate women to the Vatican’s top decision-making roles.
But the appointment immediately created technical and legal problems that did not exist before because all of Petrini’s predecessors had been priest cardinals.
For example, Petrini was not invited to deliver a report on the economic situation of the Vatican City state at closed meetings of cardinals in the spring before the May conclave at which Leo was elected.
Normally, the Cardinal-President of Vatican City State would have given the briefing. But those pre-conclave meetings, known as general congregations, are for cardinals only.
While changing the law on Friday to allow a non-cardinal to become head of the Vatican administration, Leo suggested that Petrini’s appointment was not a one-off. He wrote that governance of the territory was a form of service and responsibility that should characterize communion within the church hierarchy.
Leo wrote, “This form of shared responsibility makes it appropriate to consolidate some of the solutions developed so far in response to governance needs that are proving increasingly complex and pressing.”
Petrini’s office is responsible for the main revenue sources, including the financing of the Holy See treasury. Vatican MuseumBut the city also handles infrastructure, telecommunications and healthcare for the state. The Vatican City State Commission she heads is responsible for approving laws governing the territory and approving the annual budget and accounts.
Catholic Church Reserves the priesthood for men. While women made progress in reaching top management jobs at the Vatican during Francis’ papal tenure, there was no movement or indication that the all-male hierarchy would change rules barring women from ministerial ordination.