Pope Leo XIV wants to continue to appoint women to top positions in the Catholic Church - but for the time being he has rejected the ordination of female deacons.
The issue has been discussed for many years, various commissions have been set up and the Synod on Synodality has also dealt with it, the Pope said in an interview with the US portal "Crux" published on Thursday.
According to Leo XIV, this will continue to be an issue, but he has "no intention at present of changing the Church's teaching on this subject".
According to the head of the Church, there are other fundamental questions that need to be clarified first.
"Why should we talk about the ordination of women to the diaconate if the diaconate itself is not yet properly understood, developed and promoted within the Church?" said the Pope.
The permanent diaconate of men is only widespread in some regions of the world.
In other areas, however, it had "never really been promoted" after its introduction by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
"Continue to listen"
However, Leo XIV signalled that he was fundamentally prepared to continue listening to the issue.
There are study groups examining the theological and historical background of some questions relating to the diaconate, he recalled, and summarised: "We will continue on this path and see what comes out of it."
He wants to deal with the overarching issue of the role of women in the church in a synodal way, Leo continued.
Most people take it for granted that the role of women in the church must continue to develop.
It is important to recognise the gifts of women, who can contribute to the life of the Church in many ways, said the Pope.
With this in mind, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Francis and appoint women to leadership positions at various levels of church life.