Pope bolsters women at Vatican but resistance remains

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has significantly increased the Vatican’s female workforce in his 10 years as pope. That’s according to Vatican statistics released to mark International Women’s Day. But independent surveys also released Wednesday showed Catholic women globally face continued resistance from the all-male Catholic hierarchy to access leadership positions in the church. Women do the lion’s share of the church’s work in schools, hospitals and passing down the faith to future generations. But they have long complained of a second-class status in an institution that reserves the priesthood for men.