4/4/2013 Nuns attend the inauguration Mass of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square Pope Francis on Wednesday said women play a “fundamental role” in the Catholic Church as those who are mostly responsible for passing on the faith from one generation to the next. While the new pope stopped far short of calling for women’s ordination or giving women more decision-making power in the church, his remarks nonetheless signaled an openness to women that’s not often seen in the church hierarchy. “In the church and in the journey of faith, women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord,” the Argentine pontiff said during his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square. On Thursday , March 28, Francis surprised Catholics—and drew the ire of traditionalists —when he included two women in a foot-washing ceremony at a youth prison in Rome. Critics say the rite is a re-enactment of Jesus’ washing the feet of the 12 male apostles, and the inclusion of women m
