Pope says he's willing to study women deacons, in major step

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis said Thursday he is willing to create a commission to study whether women can be deacons in the Catholic Church, signaling an openness to letting women serve in ordained ministry currently reserved to men.

[...] asked during a question and answer session if he would be willing to create a commission to study whether women could serve as deacons, Francis said he was open to the idea, according to the National Catholic Reporter and Catholic News Service, which were in the audience hall.

Women preaching during Mass would mean that Catholics would finally be able to hear reflections on Scripture from women speaking from the pulpit, and thus the Church would be immeasurably enriched.