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Proponents of an increased role Women in the Catholic Church have accused Pope Francis fail in its case at a global meeting of church leaders that ends this week, leaving aside the question of whether women should be allowed to be ordained clergy.

The role of women in the Church has been the subject of heated debate outside the Church. Synod of Bishopsthe second of two month-long Vatican summits held one year apart, following an unprecedented two-year survey to gather the views of Catholics around the world.

At the first synod held a year ago, members declared that It was “urgent” for the global Church to attract more women into leadership positions. Francis has taken some steps to promote women into positions previously held only by men, such as allowing almost 60 women are among the 368 voting members in this synod.

But critics say Francis took the discussion of female clergy off the synod agenda and asked the Vatican’s typically conservative doctrinal department to investigate whether women could be ordained deacons.

“What (Francis) has done so far to improve the position of women in the Church has only been to maintain appearances,” said Lucetta Scarafia, an Italian journalist who for seven years wrote a monthly women’s magazine published by the Vatican newspaper. “It is useless for women to wait for the good Pope to recognize their true worth.”

The Catholic Church has an exclusively male clergy, and the Pope John Paul II stated that he had no authority to ordain women to the priesthood. However, Church historians say there is evidence that in earlier centuries women served as deacons, ordaining ministers who, unlike priests, could not celebrate Mass.

Francis, 87, has already created two previous Vatican commissions to consider the ordination of women as deacons, but has made no progress on the issue. The issue is one of 10 items he removed from Synod consideration and ordered study groups to report to him in June.

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Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the Church’s top doctrinal man, said at the Oct. 2 summit thatand “there is still no room for a positive solution” about women deacons.

Reuters