Scaled-down papacy with women given greater influence in Catholic Church's future

Pope Francis’s work on synodality could pave the way for a very different style of Church, with self-governing regional branches and the ability to make local changes over time, writes TP O’Mahony

Clergy attend the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Picture: Markus Schreiber/AP

The CNN reporter could hardly contain his excitement: “The Catholic Church has just elected its first female Pope! All conclaves make history, but this 2053 conclave opens an entirely new chapter in the history of the Church. Cardinal Constanza Zonda went into the Sistine Chapel as Archbishop of Bratislava, but has just emerged as Pope Agatha. She was just one of three female cardinals ...”

Fanciful? Fantasy? Perhaps, but we mustn’t forget the old saying that the Church is always in need of reform  and — 30 years from now — the presence of women as priests, bishops, and cardinals could well be commonplace.