Women

It can be challenging to realize the state of the Church fifty years ago. For example, Father Hermann Schmidt, SJ, professor at the Gregorian University who served as a consultant to the council’s preparatory commission on the liturgy spoke at a press conference. Asked about the role of women, he said that council Fathers could draw up norms permitting greater participation by women in the liturgical life of the Church, such as authorizing women’s choirs, noting that the current norms stressed the desirability of male choirs.