Hindus have applauded His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for appointing 29 women to participate in October Synod of Bishops on Evangelisation. This reportedly largest participation ever by women in the Synod “is a step in the right direction", distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said in a statement in Nevada (USA) today. But all the 29 women are non-voting members, as all the appointed 36 voting members known as Synod Fathers are all men, reports suggest. Zed, who is president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that men and women were equal in the eyes of God and religions should respect that. Women could disseminate God's message as skillfully as men and deserved equal and full participation and access in religion. Rajan Zed urged Holy See to reconsider favorably the ordination of women priests in Roman Catholic Church and hold a referendum among its congregations worldwide to learn about the feelings of Catholics on the subject of ordination of women. Zed pointed out that as women were equal partners in the society, so they should be equal partners in the religion also. Vatican should be more kind to Roman Catholic women as exclusion of women from religious services, just because they were female, was very unfair and ungodly. Quoting Hindu scriptures, Rajan Zed says: Where women are honored, there the gods are pleased. Zed indicated that theologians and canonists of the Church needed to address women ordination issue urgently; re-evaluate Church doctrine, theology, male hierarchy and history; and give women a chance. Women should be ordained to priesthood and should perform the same functions as male priests. Treating women as not equal to men was clearly a case of discrimination promoting gender inequality. Church's Cannon Law 1024 says—Only a baptized man validly receives sacred ordination. Rajan Zed noted that there had been, however, some positive signs regarding status of women in Roman Catholic Church as Vatican invited women to participate in the Synod of Bishops in 2010 and 2008 and girls outnumbered boys for the first time at the altar servers gathering in Vatican in 2010, where about 60 percent of young pilgrims were reportedly female. Holy See being the largest religious organization in the world should show exemplary leadership in women equality to the rest of the planet, Zed stressed. Zed argued that reprimanding of the US Catholic nuns' group, Leadership Conference of Women Religious founded in 1956, by Vatican for reportedly raising the subject of ordination of women and other issues was unfortunate. The forthcoming Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, due to take place from October seven to 28 in Vatican City, will be on the theme of “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”. Its women bloc will include 10 experts and 19 observers out of 94 such appointees. The 12th Synod in 2008 had 25 women participants. Synod is an ecclesiastical gathering for discussion and decision of issues relating to faith, morals, or discipline. Roman Catholic Church, largest of the Christian denominations with about 1.2 billion adherents, is headed by Pope and headquartered in Vatican. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
