We hear grumblings all the time that the Church is sexist, or misogynist, or somehow trampling on the rights of women by denying them Holy Orders.

But then you have women who are administering parishes — acting, in effect, as pastors to their flocks — and now comes word that the pope is looking at ways to expand women’s roles in the upper echelons of the Church:

Pope Benedict is working on a plan to put more women in top jobs at the Vatican, his spokesman has disclosed.

Briefing journalists after visiting the Pope at his holiday retreat in the Alps, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the pontiff would give women “more space and more importance”. At a debate late on Wednesday, the cardinal, who runs the Vatican bureaucracy, said changes would be introduced in an expected reshuffle of senior posts.

“We’re drawing up the new appointments in the Vatican – everyone knows that – and in the context of the responsibilities of the women, there’ll be posts that they take up”, he said.

The top priority of Benedict’s papacy is to tackle what Catholic leaders see as rampant secularisation in Europe. A key reason for this, in the view of many Vatican officials, is the disaffection of women who once formed the backbone of Catholic congregations.

The most senior woman in the Vatican is a Salesian nun and university professor, Enrica Rosanna, who is the equivalent of a junior minister. She was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2004 to the number three post at the ministry that oversees the religious orders.

Yeah, that sure sounds sexist and misogynist to me.

Next thing you know, they’ll be putting out Sister Enrica action figure dolls…