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Vatican Breaks Barriers: First Woman Appointed to Major Leadership Role
In a historic move for women’s empowerment, Pope Francis has appointed Italian nun Sister Simona Brambilla as the prefect of the Vatican’s department overseeing Catholic religious orders. This marks the first time a woman has held such a senior position within the Church’s governing hierarchy.
Pope Francis has been consistent from the start of his papacy that women matter as much as men in the church, emphasising the role of the laity in church. He has been clear that the teaching of his predecessors, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, on the exclusion of women from the priesthood remains in force. However, he believes that allowing females to serve on the altar, read at Mass, and serve in canonical tribunals is insufficient. The debate over the ordination of women as priests has been ongoing since the 1970s, when push for greater involvement of women in ministry began to be heard in the Vatican. The current Pope’s stance on this issue has been met with resistance, with some believing that it would rupture the unity of the Catholic Church. here
Sister Simona’s new role places her in charge of 600,000 nuns and 129,000 priests worldwide who belong to religious orders. Her appointment is part of Pope Francis’s broader effort to promote gender equality within the Church, though the ban on female priests remains firmly in place.
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Motorbike-Sized Tuna Fetches $1.3 Million at Tokyo Auction
Issei Kato/Reuters
In a testament to Japan’s enduring love for premium seafood, the Onodera Group, a Michelin-starred sushi chain, shelled out $1.3 million for a 276-kilogram bluefin tuna at Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market. The New Year auction is a celebrated tradition, with this sale securing the second-highest price ever recorded.
Michelin-starred sushi restaurateurs Onodera Group claimed the 608-pound (276-kilogram) fish with its million-dollar bid at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market on January 5, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.
The bid marks the second highest price since the seafood wholesale market, considered the world’s largest, began to collect data in 1999, according to Kyodo. The highest bid on record is $3.1 million (333.6 million yen) for a 278-kilogram tuna in 2019.
Vendors from across the country put their best catches up for auction at the market most mornings of the week. But the prestigious new year auction carries a special meaning for bidders who converge to vie for the honor of claiming the first batch of the year.
“The year’s first tuna brings good luck. We want to make people smile with food,” said Shinji Nagao, the president of Sushi Onodera, cited by Kyodo.
The prized tuna will be served at the Onodera Group’s high-end restaurants across Japan, underscoring the industry’s recovery following years of pandemic-related setbacks.
