Small victories as women challenge Vatican patriarchy

France24 – AFP, 7 March 2023 

The pontiff's push for reform has seen more women given roles in administrating the
Vatican -- though they are mainly behind the scenes. © Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

Vatican City (AFP) – Once a rare sight in the Vatican's halls of power, women are increasingly being seen in senior posts under Pope Francis, but the gender battle is far from won. 

The centuries-old institution has an inherently patriarchal image, from the Swiss Guards at the gates to the cardinals seated in St Peter's Square. 

It reflects the wider Roman Catholic Church, which outlaws divorce, abortion and the ordination of women. 

Yet the pontiff's push for reform has seen more women given roles in administrating the Vatican -- even if they are mainly behind the scenes. 

From economists to secretaries, historians and archivists, 649 women worked in 2019 for the Roman Curia -- 24 percent of employees -- compared to 385 in 2010, according to the latest available figures. 

While the shift within the world's smallest state is hailed in public, around 10 women interviewed on condition of anonymity described to AFP the resistance they meet and condescension they face, especially among clerics. 

One denounced "a glass ceiling and a generally paternalistic attitude in the corridors", with a backward-looking vision of "the sensitive, gentle woman, which we find in the pope's speeches". 

"We sometimes feel they consider us as interns. There are little gestures, a hand on the shoulder, a lack of consideration, almost daily remarks about appearance and dress," she added. 

Some described feeling subject to an implicit order for female employees to be silent and docile. Others expressed frustration at being relegated to lesser roles. 

"There is still a long way to go," one woman said. 

'Macho mentality'

In 2016, the "Women in the Vatican" association was created, a network of one hundred or so members that meet every month "to enhance the role of women", its president Margherita Romanelli told AFP. 

It followed the creation just four years earlier of a monthly women's supplement by L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official newspaper. The surprise initiative was lauded by many, but quickly ran into trouble. 

Its founder, Lucetta Scaraffia, a journalist and historian, resigned in 2019, denouncing a "climate of mistrust". 

Francis' reforms were essentially "cosmetic" and actually concealed a "macho mentality" which implied that "women must serve without asking anything in return", she told AFP. 

Scaraffia pointed to the "modern slavery" of nuns employed in the Vatican and elsewhere as "servants" in the homes of priests, bishops or cardinals, who do the "cooking, cleaning, clothes washing" and who are "underpaid". 

Critics warn of nuns employed in the Vatican and elsewhere as underpaid "servants" in the homes of priests, bishops or cardinals.

And she slammed the sexual abuse of nuns in Rome and elsewhere in the world. 

A voice

Despite these criticisms, many welcome the acceleration of a process quietly begun some twenty years ago. 

The number of women in positions of responsibility at the Vatican -- which applies strict gender wage parity -- has tripled since the election of Francis 10 years ago, from Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta to Alessandra Smerilli, the first woman to be appointed the equivalent of a deputy minister. 

"The Vatican is late, but women have a voice today, they don't let themselves be pushed around anymore," said one official in her forties. 

The head of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics has allowed women greater involvement in masses, from being readers and altar servers to taking part in the Holy Thursday foot washing ritual. 

And Francis continues to take small steps forward, including changing the rules to allow women to play a role in the appointment of bishops. 

"Ten years ago, it would not have been possible to imagine such a development," said Gudrun Sailer, an Austrian journalist with Vatican News and author of the book "Women in the Vatican". 

'A long process'

Faced with the discrepancy between these changes and the misogyny experienced in the Vatican workplace, some women wonder what strategy to adopt. 

Some female employees described feeling subjected to an implicit order for them to be silent and docile.

Some female employees described feeling subjected to an implicit order for them
to be silent and docile. © Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

"Some feel that the truth should be told and bad behaviour should be denounced, while others think that this is counterproductive and that we should be satisfied with small steps forward," one told AFP. 

Romilda Ferrauto, a "Women in the Vatican" member, said changing mentalities was "a long process". 

"Francis' method is to make gestures and wait for them to move the lines," she said. 

The changes within the Vatican come as the global Church engages in a vast, months-long debate over its future. 

Long before the #MeToo movement, protestant churches took the lead in propelling women to the top and some theologians, such as Anne-Marie Pelletier of France, say the pope must now grasp the opportunity to move faster and more decisively. 

The ordination of women as deacons or even cardinals "would be a strong symbolic gesture to erase these stereotypes", she said.

Representatives of the Amazon rainforest's ethnic groups attended the synod 

with Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

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Pope Francis visits John Paul II's shrine

Church of England creates second female bishop

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Jubilation as Church of England's synod votes to allow female bishops

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after the vote to allow female bishops. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

UN rights council orders probe of Iran crackdown on protests

Yahoo – AFP, Nina LARSON,, November 24, 2022 

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday condemned Iran's repression of peaceful demonstrators following the death of Mahsa Amini, and voted to create a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown. 

Despite heavy lobbying by Tehran and a last-minute effort by China to undercut the resolution, a broader-than-expected majority of the 47-member council backed launching a probe of Iran's response to the ongoing protests. 

Thunderous applause erupted when the resolution passed with 25 votes in favour, 16 abstaining and only six countries -- Armenia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Pakistan and Venezuela -- opposed. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the vote, saying it showed the top UN rights body "recognises the gravity of the situation in Iran." 

"The fact-finding mission established today will help ensure that those engaged in the ongoing violent suppression of Iranian people are identified and their actions documented," he said in a statement. 

The vote came at the end of an urgent session requested by Germany and Iceland with the backing of 50 countries to discuss the situation in Iran, rocked by two months of protests. 

Those demonstrations were sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Amini, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress rules for women based on Islamic sharia law. 

Footballer arrested

Iranian authorities have grown increasingly heavy-handed in their response to the demonstrations as they have spread across the country and swelled into a broad movement against the theocracy that has ruled Iran since 1979. 

During Thursday's session, UN rights chief Volker Turk insisted that "the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must come to an end." 

Turk, who told reporters he had offered to visit Iran but had received no response from Tehran, said more than 300 people had been killed since Amini's death. 

Norway-based group Iran Human Rights has put the toll above 400, including more than 50 children. 

Around 14,000 people, including children, had been arrested over the protests, he said, describing this as "a staggering number", and decried the fact that at least six death sentences had been handed down to demonstrators. 

Among those arrested have been a number of celebrities who have expressed support for the protesters, including Iranian national team footballer Voria Ghafouri, arrested on Thursday for "anti-state propaganda". 

'Impunity prevents justice'

A long line of Western diplomats took the floor in Geneva on Thursday to denounce the crackdown in Iran. 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on all countries to back the independent international fact-finding mission to probe all abuses connected with the ongoing protests, to ensure "those responsible can be held to account". 

"Impunity prevents justice. Justice for sisters, sons, mothers. They have names. Jina, Abolfazl, Minoo," she said, listing some of the many killed. 

She told reporters that the investigation would collect evidence towards holding perpetrators to account -- although it remains unclear under which jurisdiction they would be tried. 

"If we don't collect the evidence today... justice will never come to the victims," Baerbock said. 

Icelandic Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir agreed, telling reporters that the council vote was "about respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights and fundamental freedoms." 

Dozens of people protested outside the UN in Geneva, waving the flags used in Iran prior to the 1979 revolution, amid pictures of alleged victims of the Iranian regime. 

The organisers of that demonstration, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, hailed the Thursday's vote as "a positive and important step," insisting the "culture of impunity must end". 

'Historic'

Rights groups also celebrated the vote, with Amnesty International describing it as "historic", while Human Rights Watch said it was "a welcome step towards accountability." 

Iran however denounced the Western countries behind Thursday's meeting. 

Europe and the United States "lack the moral credibility to preach... on human rights", said Khadijeh Karimi, Iran's deputy of the vice president for women and family affairs. 

"Reducing the common cause of human rights to a tool for political purposes of specific groups of Western countries is appalling and disgraceful," she added. 

Iran received backing from some countries, with Pakistan, Venezuela and others decrying growing politicisation in the council, and China's ambassador Chen Xu warning against "turning human rights into a tool to intervene into other countries' internal affairs". 

China also put in a last-minute bid to change the text of Thursday's resolution, asking that the request to establish an investigation be removed. Only six countries supported that effort.

Amanpour says Iran president interview scrapped over headscarf demand

Yahoo – AFP, Ebrahim Raisi, September 22, 2022 

Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour said Thursday that an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was scrapped after he insisted she wear a headscarf, the focus of major protests in the cleric-run state. 

Amanpour, the chief international anchor of CNN who also has a show on US public broadcaster PBS, said she was ready for the interview Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly when an aide insisted she cover her hair. 

"I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves," Amanpour, who was born in Britain to an Iranian father, wrote on Twitter. 

"I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," she said. 

"I said that I couldn't agree to this unprecedented and unexpected condition." 

She posted a picture of herself -- without a headscarf -- sitting in front of an empty chair where Raisi would have been. 

An aide to Raisi, a hardline cleric, told Amanpour that he was insisting on a headscarf because of "the situation in Iran," she said. 

Iran has been swept by nearly a week of protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by morality police that enforce the clerics' rules on how women dress. 

A non-governmental group said that at least 31 Iranian civilians have been killed in the crackdown on the protests, in which women have been seen burning headscarves.

Karine Jean-Pierre named as first Black W.House press secretary

Yahoo – AFP, May 5, 2022 

Karine Jean-Pierre speaks at a briefing in the White House in November
2021 (AFP/MANDEL NGAN) (MANDEL NGAN)

US President Joe Biden on Thursday named Karine Jean-Pierre as the next White House press secretary, the first Black person to hold the high-profile post. 

Jean-Pierre, who will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ person in the role, will replace Jen Psaki, under whom she served as deputy, from May 13. 

Biden in a statement praised Jean-Pierre's "experience, talent and integrity," saying he was "proud" to announce her appointment. 

"She will be the first black woman and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as the White House Press Secretary," Psaki tweeted after the announcement. 

"Representation matters and she will give a voice to many, but also make many dream big about what is truly possible." 

The outgoing press secretary, who said from the outset that she would step down during Biden's term, is due to join MSNBC, according to US media reports. 

Jean-Pierre, 44, worked on both of former president Barack Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012 and then on Biden's campaign in 2020 before joining Biden's team at the White House. 

She also served under Biden during his tenure as Obama's vice president. 

Haitian parents 

Jean-Pierre was previously Chief Public Affairs Officer for liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org and worked as a political analyst with NBC and MSNBC, the White House statement said. 

Raised in New York, French-speaking Jean-Pierre was born in Martinique to Haitian parents who emigrated to the United States, where her father drove a taxi and her mother worked as a cleaner. 

It was in New York that she took her first steps into politics before also becoming a leading figure in the non-profit sphere, having graduated from the prestigious Columbia University. 

Jean-Pierre has often said her family's background, emblematic of the "American dream," was a determining factor in her career. 

An advocate for combatting mental health stigma, the new White House spokeswoman has also shared her own stories of being sexually abused as a child and suffering from depression. 

In a book published in 2019, she wrote of "the pressure of growing up in an immigrant household to succeed." 

"That pressure grew so big, and my sense of failure so strong, that I felt like my family would be better off without me. At one point, I attempted suicide," she said in a post published on the MSNBC website. 

"I am everything that Donald Trump hates," said Jean-Pierre, who has a daughter with her partner, a journalist with CNN, in reference to Biden's predecessor in a 2018 video for MoveOn.org. 

"I am a Black woman. I am gay. I am a mom." 

In a Twitter post marking LGBTQ Pride month in June 2021, she said her "journey towards feeling accepted by myself and loved ones wasn't an easy one, but it was worthwhile." 

"No matter where you are in your journey, I see you, we see you and we celebrate you."

Pope in 'tectonic' shake-up of Vatican bureaucracy

 Yahoo – AFP, Ella IDE, March 19, 2022 

Francis, 85, put together a group of cardinals to advise
him on how to enact reforms (AFP/Tiziana FABI) (Tiziana FABI)

Pope Francis on Saturday followed through on a promise made ahead of his 2013 election and published a much-anticipated shake-up of the Vatican's powerful governing body. 

The new constitution, which comes into effect on June 5, restructures parts of the unruly Roman Curia, and makes increasing the world's 1.2 billion Catholics the church's number one priority. 

Among the most significant changes are the possibility for lay and female Catholics to head up Vatican departments, and the incorporation of the pope's sex abuse advisory commission into the Curia. 

"Pope Francis has been working on a new organizational structure for the Vatican for nine years. It's a major aspect of his legacy," Joshua McElwee from the National Catholic Reporter said on Twitter. 

'Tectonic shift' 

Cardinals gathered for the conclave to elect a new pope in 2013 were divided between those who believed there were deep-rooted problems in the Curia and those who wanted to preserve the status quo. 

Ex-pope Benedict XVI, who had just resigned, was reported to have tried and failed to clean up a body some even blamed for preventing the church from properly tackling the child sex abuse scandal. 

Francis, 85, put together a group of cardinals to advise him over the years on how to reform the Curia, and has already enacted many changes as he moves to modernise the centuries-old institution. 

The 54-page text entitled "Proclaiming the Gospel", which replaces a constitution drawn up by pope John Paul II in 1988, creates a new department for evangelisation, to be headed up by Francis himself. 

Making himself "Chief Evangelizer" encapsulates a "tectonic shift to a more pastoral, missionary church," David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, said on Twitter. 

In that vein, Francis says every baptised Christian is a missionary. 

"One cannot fail to take this into account in the updating of the Curia, whose reform must provide for involvement of laymen and women, even in roles of government and responsibility," he said. 

'Significant' 

The constitution, released on the ninth anniversary of the inauguration of Francis' papacy, makes the pope's charity czar, currently Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, head of a department in its own right. 

It also brings the Vatican's Commission for the Protection of Minors -- a papal advisory body -- into the office which oversees the canonical investigations of clerical sex abuse cases. 

In doing so, the pope is "effectively establishing the Vatican's first safeguarding office", the Tablet's journalist Christopher Lamb said. 

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the Commission, said it was a "significant move forward", which would give institutional weight to the fight against a scourge which has plagued the church globally. 

But Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of clerical abuse who served on the commission before resigning in outrage in 2017 over the church's handling of the crisis, slammed it instead as a clear step back. 

"The Commission has now officially lost even a semblance of independence," she said on Twitter.

Representatives of the Amazon rainforest's ethnic groups attended the synod 

with Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

Related Articles:

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Pope blames Amazon fires on destructive 'interests'

Pope 'opens door' to female deacons with new panel
Pope Francis' No. 2: Clerical celibacy is open to discussion

Pope Francis visits John Paul II's shrine

Church of England creates second female bishop

Church of England’s first female bishop named as Libby Lane

Church of England General Synod approves female bishops

Jubilation as Church of England's synod votes to allow female bishops

Clerics at the Church of England synod in York take a 'selfie' as they celebrate

after the vote to allow female bishops. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Biden order makes sexual harassment in US military a crime

Yahoo – AFP, January 27, 2022 

An executive order signed by US President Joe Biden that makes sexual
harassment a crime in the military includes provisions on domestic violence
and the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images
(AFP/Nicholas Kamm) (Nicholas Kamm)

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday making sexual harassment a crime under the military justice code, in an attempt to relieve a long-term issue with which the Pentagon has struggled. 

The move, called for in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon's annual budget package, pays homage to Vanessa Guillen. 

The 20-year-old army soldier was murdered by a fellow soldier in 2020 after being sexually harassed and telling her family she did not trust the military command to follow up on her complaint. 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the order "honors the memory of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen," whose death is "catalyzing national attention to the scourge of sexual violence in our military and helping advance bipartisan military justice reform." 

Biden tweeted earlier in the day that he was "signing an Executive Order to make sexual harassment an offense in the Uniform Code of Military Justice." 

The order is also meant to "strengthen the military's response to domestic violence and the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images," he said. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had previously appointed an independent commission to submit recommendations as to how best to deal with perpetrators of sexual violence in the armed forces, and how to prosecute them more effectively. 

The commission concluded that removing decisions about prosecuting sexual assault from the military chain of command was the only solution. 

Instead of incurring administrative sanctions as was previously the case, perpetrators may receive prison time.

China mulls bill to tackle workplace discrimination against women

Yahoo – AFP, December 25, 2021

Assembly-line workers at a factory in Fuyang in eastern China (AFP/STR)

Chinese lawmakers are discussing new rules to prevent workplace discrimination and sexual harassment against women amid a string of high-profile cases in recent months. 

A draft bill published Friday includes a ban on employers stating gender preferences on job ads and quizzing female applicants about their marital or pregnancy status –- a common practice that has been criticised for decades. 

Rapid economic growth in the past four decades coupled with the one-child rule has opened up more educational and employment opportunities for Chinese women. 

But women's participation in the workforce has dropped, due to gender-based filtering when hiring and as more women care for families amid a severe shortage of affordable childcare options. 

A report by Human Rights Watch in June found that one in five civil service job postings in 2019 specified a preference for male applicants. 

The report also says that it was a common practice for employers including schools to force female staff to sign contracts promising not to get pregnant for several years as a pre-condition for being hired. 

The proposed new rules come amid concerns that China's new three-child rule could make employers even more reluctant to hire women and as officials crack down on the local #MeToo movement after a string of cases that led to a public outcry over sexual assault in the workplace. 

Earlier this month, e-commerce giant Alibaba group fired a female staffer who had accused a manager of sexual assault. 

The proposed amendments will make enforcement easier by clearly defining what sexual harassment is, state-run Xinhua news agency said. 

According to a draft text published Friday, it prohibits "vulgar speech", "inappropriate physical behaviour" or "the display or dissemination of sexual images, information, text, audio or video". 

It also requires employers to set up mechanisms to prevent, investigate and respond to such complaints "without delay", but there were no details on any penalties for failing to do so. 

The amendments are open for public comment until January 22, 2022.

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