During the Francis papacy, the role of women in the church emerged as a pressing priority, with Catholics across the globe calling for change.

The Argentine pontiff listened, breaking some important glass ceilings in the Vatican when it came to appointing female leaders to senior positions. He chose to make gradual changes that, to the outside may have seemed like small steps, but were huge leaps to those on the inside.

The pope appointed the first woman leader of a department in the church’s central administration and the first female president of the office governing the Vatican City State. Francis also chose the first women to sit at the board level in the church’s central administration, including at the influential department for choosing bishops.

By 2023, 10 years into his pontificate, the percentage of women in the Vatican workforce had risen from 19.2 to 23.4%. More broadly, Francis gave women the power to vote for the first time at a major global gathering of bishops, known as a synod, and formally opened up non-ordained ministry roles as he sought to increase participation.

On Holy Thursday last year he broke with tradition by travelling to a female prison in Rome to wash the feet of 12 women prisoners. It was the first time a pontiff had only washed the feet of women in the annual ceremony that emphasizes humility.

But while the pope made some landmark reforms, many will be hoping that his successor moves further, and faster, and there was sometimes sharp criticism of his stance on the role of women in society.

Kim Daniels, the director of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and a Vatican adviser on communication, said the pope had “made significant strides towards greater inclusion of women in church decision-making” and that his reforms to broaden participation would be key to his legacy.

The lack of opportunity for women in the church is likely to come into sharp focus during the forthcoming papal conclave: Only members of the all-male body which is the College of Cardinals will vote on who will become the next pope.

It highlights a wider concern that Catholics across the world have raised in recent years: That while women frequently make up a majority in the pews on Sunday, they are scarcely represented at the church’s decision-making levels. Although lay people are increasingly more involved in church administration, it is primarily bishops and priests who make final decisions.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that women are on the front lines of the church’s work on the ground, with nuns providing healthcare and education in developing countries and plenty of women leading Catholic schools and universities.

On the question of female involvement in a conclave, some have argued that women could be made cardinals, given the role of a cardinal is primarily to advise a pope and elect his successor.

Ordination questions

Sister Christine Schenk, an American nun, author and founder of international reform-focused group “FutureChurch,” said it was time to give a “deliberative voice” to women and lay people at “every level of the church,” adding that if the same model of electing a pope remains in place, “we need as many female cardinals as male cardinals at the conclave.”

A more realistic possibility in the short term is allowing women to once again become deacons, an ordained ministry distinct from the priesthood. Deacons can witness marriages, perform baptisms and preach during Mass. Those in favor point to evidence for female deacons in scripture and their presence in the early church right up until the Middle Ages.

Women deacons could also bolster the church’s presence in schools, hospitals and prisons, along with providing leaders for Catholic communities. Church leaders in the Amazon, where priests are in short supply, raised the question at a 2019 synod, calling on the pope to “promote and confer ministries for men and women in an equitable manner.” A 2024 synod concluding document, approved by the pope, said that the question of ordaining women as deacons should remain an “open” question.

To that end, several Vatican commissions were set up study the question of female deacons were established by Francis, although no findings were never made public.

Francis maintained the ban on women’s ordination as priests and deacons, something which disappointed those keen to see women in more visible church leadership roles, but insisted that decision-making and leadership doesn’t depend on whether someone is ordained. He repeatedly stated that the church is female and asked for theologians to help in trying to “de-masculinize” it.

Centuries of misogyny

Significantly, a live debate in the church about the role of women is being allowed to take place. Schenk described it as the most impactful shift during the Francis pontificate, ending the marginalization of “Catholics who wish to discuss full inclusion of women in every aspect of church ministry and decision-making.”

“The question Francis looked at is how to get more people involved in the work of the church, in as many ways and places as possible. That is why he appointed women to senior roles in the Vatican,” said Hofstra University Professor Phyllis Zagano, a member of the first commission on female deacons.

“On the question of women deacons, Francis was trying to deal with centuries of misogyny that misunderstood the role of women in the church and society. The synod process he started tried to get the church away from a male-only perspective and to look at women, rather than as a problem to be solved, but as able to be fully involved in the church’s work. Restoring women to the ordained diaconate reinforces the trajectory the church has been on.”

Despite the various ways Francis initiated reforms and made appointments, there is still a long way to go until women are given greater roles and responsibility in the church. The next pope is likely to find this topic right at the top of his in-tray.

“Previously the Vatican – indeed many, if not most, prelates – were leery of even using the words ‘women’ and ‘ministry’ in the same sentence,” said Schenk. “Now such issues are being openly discussed – something long overdue and a sign of newfound strength and maturity in a church that no longer fears discerning (and) discussing changes in how we walk together as the People of God.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that his country has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Ukraine’s army says fighting continues.

“The Kyiv regime’s adventure has completely failed,” Putin said Saturday, congratulating the Russian forces that he said defeated the Ukrainian military in the region in what would be a symbolic boost for Moscow at a crucial point in the war.

But the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a Telegram post that Putin’s claim about the end of hostilities in Kursk was “not true.”

“The defensive operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the designated areas in Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold their positions and perform their assigned tasks,” the Telegram post said.

Ukraine launched its shock incursion into Kursk in August, swiftly capturing territory in what was the first ground invasion of Russia by a foreign power since World War II.

Since then, Russia, with support from North Korean soldiers, has been fighting to oust Ukraine’s forces from its borders, while Kyiv had poured precious resources into holding onto its territory there, with the view of using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. The operation was also launched to relieve pressure from the embattled eastern frontline.

In his address, Putin said recapturing Kursk “creates conditions for further successful actions of our troops in other important areas of the front.”

In a post on Telegram, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, thanked the North Korean soldiers, praising their “high professionalism, steadfastness, courage and heroism in battle.”

Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence reports found that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to fight in Russia.

If Putin’s claims are true, hopes of using Kursk as a bargaining counter are now gone and Ukraine’s retreat has the potential to dent Kyiv’s political clout as well as its military’s morale after three years of war and with intense efforts underway towards finding peace.

Though the US has attempted to broker peace talks between Ukraine and Russia over recent months, tensions between the leaders of the three countries have meant that very little has come to fruition.

Another whirlwind week of diplomacy saw US President Donald Trump accuse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of making it “so difficult to settle this war” for refusing to accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea but later saying Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal.”

On Saturday morning, at the funeral of the late Pope Francis in the Vatican, Zelensky briefly met with Trump for talks on potential peace negotiations. A White House spokesperson called the meeting “productive,” while Zelensky thanked Trump for the meeting, writing on X that it “has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.”

This story has been updated.

Russia has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, President Vladimir Putin said.

“The Kyiv regime’s adventure has completely failed,” Putin said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held crunch war talks in the heart of the Vatican minutes before the start of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, as the White House mounts an increasingly urgent push to strike a peace deal in Ukraine.

Photographs released by the Ukrainian presidency showed the two leaders huddled in close discussion without aides in the ornate surroundings of St. Peter’s Basilica.

A White House spokesman accompanying Trump said that the two leaders “met privately today and had a very productive discussion.” A spokesman for Zelensky said the meeting lasted for about 15 minutes, and the leaders agreed to continue talks, possibly later Saturday.

It was the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Zelensky since a disastrous White House meeting in February, when the President and other US officials publicly berated Zelensky for being insufficiently grateful for US support and briefly suspended arms shipments and intelligence sharing.

US involvement in talks

The US has been applying more pressure on Ukraine after threatening last week it could walk away from the talks “within days” if it becomes clear a deal cannot be reached.

Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” that would end the conflict, which Russia launched in 2014 and escalated with its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine. They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social after landing in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for three hours on Friday, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, who said the talks were “constructive and very useful.”

Before leaving Kyiv for Rome on Friday, Zelensky suggested a number of compromises with the goal of advancing peace talks.

“In the coming days, very significant meetings may take place — meetings that should bring us closer to silence for Ukraine,” he said.

“We are ready for dialogue, I emphasize again, in any format with anyone,” he said, but “only after a real signal that Russia is ready to end the war. Such a signal is a complete and unconditional ceasefire.”

Kyiv and Moscow have not met directly since the early weeks of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor. Any direct talks would likely require further discussion and add delay to the diplomacy the Trump administration has hoped will yield results in a matter of days.

Accepting that Ukraine would not join NATO in the foreseeable future, he said: “I think we have to be pragmatic. We have to understand what security guarantees Ukraine needs.”

Zelensky said those guarantees might include a military contingent from Europe and what he called a “backstop” from the United States.

“For us, the backstop does not necessarily have to be boots on the ground in Ukraine,” Zelensky said, but could include cyber defense “and above all Patriot air defense systems.”

On Thursday, Kyiv was hit by the largest wave of Russian missile strikes since July last year. Twelve people were killed.

‘Ukraine Deal Framework’ still faces hurdles

Zelensky also spoke Friday of what he called “constructive” proposals drawn up in London this week between Ukrainian and European officials.

A copy of those proposals was obtained by Reuters. Titled “Ukraine Deal Framework,” it proposes a full and unconditional ceasefire in the sky, on land and at sea, as Ukraine has previously agreed to.

The draft proposed Ukraine would receive “robust security guarantees including from the US … while there is no consensus among Allies on NATO membership.” Those would be similar to those in NATO’s Article 5, under which all members are obliged to assist an attacked nation.

One part of the draft that is likely to be opposed by Moscow says that “the guarantor states will be an ad hoc group of European countries and willing non-European countries.” There would be “no restrictions on the presence, weapons and operations of friendly foreign forces on the territory of Ukraine,” nor on the size of the Ukrainian military.

The draft says negotiations on territory would begin after the ceasefire comes into effect, and their starting point would be the current frontlines. But it adds that Ukraine would regain control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022.

On the proposed minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine, which would give the US access to billions of dollars-worth of rare metals, the draft says Ukraine will be fully compensated financially, including through Russian assets that will remain frozen until Russia compensates damage to Ukraine.

Moscow is also likely to oppose that.

The draft obtained by Reuters does not mention specifically mention Crimea. Witkoff’s plan proposed the US recognize Crimea as part of Russia, but did not suggest that Ukraine also had to. Recognizing Russian control of Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, would cross a major red line for Ukraine and its European allies, and would be in breach of established international law.

Zelensky rejected the idea, saying there was “nothing to talk about” as such a recognition would be against Ukraine’s constitution. He told reporters Friday: “I agree with President Trump that Ukraine does not have enough weapons to regain control of the Crimean peninsula by force of arms. But the world has sanctions opportunities, other economic pressure.”

One victim had recently returned home after decades working abroad to enjoy a retirement filled with travel and family time; another hoped the trip into the beauty of Indian-administered Kashmir would cheer the spirits of his semi-paralyzed wife.

Both men were among 26 tourists shot dead by militants this week in a massacre that has ripped open old wounds between India and its neighbor Pakistan, tipping them a step closer to military escalation.

Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety, but each control only part. They have fought three wars over the territory – which is famous for its dramatic mountains and lush meadows – since their independence from Britain in 1947.

A bloody, decades-long insurgency in India’s part of the region has killed tens of thousands, waged by militant groups demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

India says those groups are supported by Pakistan, which Islamabad denies.

Tuesday’s attack – during which men were singled out and gunned down from close range, according to survivors’ testimony – was the latest in a list of bloody incidents to stain the region.

Balachandran Menonparambil feels as though he’s lost his “right hand,” after his friend of six decades Ramachandran Narayanamenon was killed in the attack.

Having spent decades working in Qatar, Narayanamenon “looked forward to a life of retirement,” according to his friend, who described him as “a happy man,” caring and reliable.

“He was on a trip with his wife Shiela, daughter Aarti, and two grandchildren and was looking forward to enjoying himself with his grandchildren,” said the 70-year-old.

He recalled how “excited” Narayanamenon, 69, sounded in their last call before he boarded the flight to Kashmir on Monday.

A day later, Menonparambil was told that his friend was dead.

“I was watching TV and they began to show what was happening in Kashmir… so I called him, but he did not pick up,” he said.

He then reached out to Narayanamenon’s son Arvind, who told him that “Dad is gone.”

He said people came up to offer condolences to him at the cremation. “Everybody was asking me what I will do, only half of me is working now. I told them he is there with me in my heart,” he said.

Other survivors speaking to local media said the gunmen accused some of the victims of supporting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In 2019, Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government stripped Muslim-majority Kashmir of its previous autonomy, sparking protests.

After Tuesday’s massacre, New Delhi swiftly pointed the finger at Pakistan, downgrading ties and suspending its participation in a crucial water-sharing treaty. Pakistan has denied involvement and said any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to it would be considered an act of war.

All three men, described as “loving fathers” and family breadwinners, came from just outside the megacity of Mumbai. They had taken the trip to Pahalgam together, according to Kadam.

Sanjay and Hemant were both accountants working for small private firms, while Atul worked for the Indian Railways, he said.

For the Leles, Kadam said, the trip was long planned. His sister-in-law suffers from a form of paralysis on the left side of her body that means she walks with difficulty.

“They had been planning this trip for a while but because of her health issues… it had gotten postponed. Once her health was doing better, they finally all lined up their schedules and managed to go,” he said.

“Lele told his wife that if you won’t go, none of us will go. So she agreed and finally they all went,” said Kadam.

Kadam himself did not go on the trip, but later traveled to Kashmir to help bring the shell-shocked survivors from his family back home.

The holidaying family bought food from a stall not long before the attack. Unaccustomed to the realities of the restive region, they initially mistook the sound of gunfire for fireworks, Kadam said, but were warned to take shelter by locals who sensed danger.

All three men were shot shortly after, he said. A bullet grazed his 20-year-old nephew Harshal’s hand.

It took almost four hours for disabled Kavita to struggle down the hill to safety, he said.

He said the families have taken hope from protests in India demanding justice for the victims and their families.

Still, their lives have been changed forever.

“This is not something that can end,” he said.

“We have to now live with this.”

Throngs of mourners are gathering in Vatican City and lining the streets of Rome on Saturday to give a final send-off to Pope Francis, who will be remembered as a champion of migrants and the poor, and for his efforts to reshape the Catholic Church.

His funeral Mass is being held on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the Catholic Church’s most important sites, with more than 50 world leaders and 11 reigning monarchs in attendance. They are expected to include US President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Filipino President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., head of the largest Catholic nation in Asia.

The Vatican has prepared for as many as 250,000 people to flock to St. Peter’s Square and one million more to line the 6-kilometer (3.7 mile) procession route from Vatican City through Rome to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in hopes of seeing the pope’s modest coffin as it travels to his final resting place.

Many more of world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will watch the funeral for the first Latin American pope on TV.

Pope Francis died at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke on Easter Monday, just one day after he appeared in the same square to offer a blessing to the faithful at the high point of the Christian calendar.

In the days that followed, about 250,000 mourners came to pay their final respects as his body lay in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica. His coffin was officially sealed on Friday night in a liturgical rite led by the Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, the acting head of the church.

As daylight gleams off the massive travertine columns of St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning, the funeral Mass will open with the chant, sung in Latin: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”

A Bible reading will be given in English, and a “Prayer of the Faithful” will be offered up in multiple other languages, including French, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish, German and for the first time, Mandarin, fitting for a pope who sought to reach out to followers in all parts of the globe.

In keeping with tradition, the Mass will include a homily and communion and end with a final commendation and farewell. Francis approved the order of the day for Saturday back in June 2024.

But other elements of the day will be pared back, as Francis had sought to “simplify and adapt” proceedings, so that the papal funeral is “that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful person in this world,” according to Vatican officials.

Francis, who chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, with his commitment to poverty, peace and nature, also wanted to reflect his own dedication to the homeless and disadvantaged in the day’s events.

He believed “the poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” a Holy See statement said. “For this reason, a group of poor and needy people will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin.”

They will be the last members of the public to see his wooden coffin, after it’s driven slowly through the streets of Rome – past tourist highlights like the Piazza Venezia and the ancient Colosseum – in his final procession.

Francis will become the first pope in more than three centuries to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, with the interment taking place away from the public eye.

He was a pope of many firsts – the first Latin American Pontiff, the first of the Jesuit order and the first modern-day pope born outside of Europe.

Elected in 2013 as an outsider candidate from Argentina, Francis went on to usher in progressive reforms, including the promotion of women’s roles in the church.

But his 12-year leadership was not without criticism. He took some important steps to address the Catholic Church’s clerical sexual abuse scandals, but campaigners and survivors say there is still much more to do.

Divisions within the Church over same-sex relationships also persisted throughout his papacy. When asked about his position on sexual orientation, the pope famously said, “Who am I to judge?” but also reaffirmed the Church’s position that homosexuality is considered sinful.

And his record was disparaged by some of the more conservative cardinals and members of the Church.

Francis issued a rebuke of the Trump administration’s immigration policy earlier this year, and criticized Vice President JD Vance’s use of theology to defend its approach. Vance was one of the last people to meet with the pope, in a brief encounter on Easter Sunday.

The next pope will be chosen by cardinals from around the world in conclave, a closed-door process that may see a battle play out between those who want to continue Pope Francis’ progressive path and those who want to reverse it.

“He made some good changes in the Church. I think the Church is now more open,” said Laura Grund, from Leipzig, Germany, who was among the last people to see the late pope lying in state. “He opened many doors.”

“He was a very simple man, who loved other people,” said Sister Luisa, a nun from Munich. “We feel very blessed, but also deep sorrow.”

Lost dogs rarely capture international attention but for several weeks the world has watched and waited for updates on the search for Valerie, a miniature dachshund missing in the Australian wilderness.

Then on Friday night, after 529 days roaming Kangaroo Island, off South Australia, the tiny dog with a pink collar was finally cornered, and the internet erupted with rare joy.

“Valerie has been safely rescued and is fit and well,” Kangala Wildlife Rescue announced on its Facebook group on Friday night to a flurry of likes and shares.

Key to her rescue was a smelly T-shirt worn by her owner in 12-hour shifts that was ripped up and used as a scent trail to attract her to an enclosure, Kangala directors Jared and Lisa Karran said in a video posted to Facebook.

“We were able to rip little strips off of it, and we started the process of just adding more and more bits towards the trap site as we went along,” said Lisa Karran.

Karran wore the owner’s now “tatty” T-shirt while sitting in the cage, and eventually the rogue sausage dog dropped her defenses and approached her rescuers.

“She came up, would sniff us and we’d just go by her cues, until she was completely calm and snuggled up in our laps. It was amazing,” Karran said.

Valerie vanished during a camping holiday with her owners Josh Fishlock and Georgia Gardner, November 2023. When strangers tried to help, she fled into the undergrowth, and her owners eventually gave up and returned home to the mainland.

With no sightings it was assumed Valerie had met her match with a snake or perhaps a giant Rosenberg’s goanna, reptiles up to 1.5 meters long that occupy the island.

Then reports of multiple sightings started to spread. Could it be that Valerie was alive?

A massive search operation swung into action led by volunteers from the Kangala Wildlife Rescue, a non-profit group set up in 2020 following the devastating Australian bushfires.

“We are using surveillance and various trapping and luring methods in the area she was last seen to try and bring her home. This is a tiny dog in a huge area, and we will need help from the public to report any sightings and a lot of luck,” the group announced on Facebook.

When bad weather compromised the 4G cameras they’d set up to monitor her movements, a call went out for a portable Starlink system. “Message Elon on X. I bet he would help,” someone suggested. Thankfully, an offer came from closer to home.

Some suggested using heat-seeking drones to find her, others recommended roast chicken.

Not all followers have been supportive. Some accused the charity of prolonging the search to raise extra money through appeals for donations. A member of the group responded that they were doing their best to find her.

Part of the problem, the charity said, was the island’s vibrant ecosystem.

“One of the reasons this is such a difficult rescue and not as easy as just baiting and setting traps, is due to the fact we are constantly competing with hundreds of wildlife like possums, wallabies, kangaroos, goannas and feral cats. All which are all just after a feed also,” the group posted on Facebook.

Home to around 5,000 people, the island is about 45-minute trip by ferry from the mainland. Tourists go there to see Australian native wildlife, but officials have long had a problem controlling introduced species including feral cats. The island is thick with bush, and there are many places for a small dog to hide.

The Kangala rescuers put out food boxes and a pen was set up with toys from home. A remote-controlled trapping device was procured, and then they waited.

By Friday, Valerie’s adventure was over.

After the gate to the enclosure closed behind her, Valerie looked around for an exit, the rescuers said. After a few anxious moments, she did what any lost dog might do after realizing the game was up.

“She actually went into her crate, the one that was set up to look like the one at home, and she went and had a sleep,” said Jared Karran.

Valerie is now “decompressing,” Karran said, and will be returned to her owners for a more sedate life on the mainland.