Barred from priesthood, some Catholic women find other roles

By CLAIRE GIANGRAVÈ of Religion News Service and DAVID CRARY of The Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Women aspiring to leadership in the Catholic church have long come to terms with the glass ceiling that exists in the male-dominated institution. They cannot be priests, bishops or popes. Yet Pope Francis has recently appointed several women to high-level jobs at the Vatican — indicating that change, however modest, is underway. Also striking are the diverse roles that women now occupy at the grassroots level — in parishes, dioceses and universities. Nuns in the United States have been among those setting the pace. Several have played prominent roles in social justice activism; another heads the Catholic church’s vast network of hospitals and health centers.