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This is Open to Debate. I'm John Donvan. Hi, everybody.

Today I'm handing off the microphone to Naima Reza, our frequent guest moderator,

who is also the host of her own show, Smart girl dumb questions, which is so worth to listen. But in this episode of Open to Debate, Naima is investigating a conversation that's taking place within the Catholic Church that focuses on women and leadership and power structures. Here's Naima to tell you more. Welcome to Open to Debate. I'm your moderator,

Naima Raza, and today the late Pope Francis is going to help me introduce the topic. Here he is in a 60 Minutes interview last year, and he was just asked whether a little girl growing up Catholic

could ever dream of being in the clergy. No. I understand you have said no women as priests, but you are studying the idea of women as deacons.

Is that something you are open to?

If it is deacons with holy orders, no.

So a flat no. But as you may have heard, there's a new pope in town.

And if we can have a pope from Chicago, you might wonder, could we you may have heard, there's a new pope in town. And if we can have a

pope from Chicago, you might wonder, could we one day have women in the clergy, if not as

priests, perhaps as deacons? Or is that still a flat-out no? And while today's episode is

about the Catholic Church, it really tugs at themes that are bigger than anyone faith.

And it pokes at authority and the way

things have always been done, asking if and how a structure that's famously patriarchal, extremely

traditional, and deeply entrenched, can or should change. And we have to ask, is transformation

dangerous, desirable, or absolutely imperative? When it comes to Catholics,

the question of the female clergy, and in particular of the diaconate, has been debated for decades,

and it's been studied for years. Polls show the majority of American Catholics would support

...