It was very painful for me to watch the your visit to the USA. I became acutely aware of the absence of women’s presence. No where, were women included in welcoming you Papa Francis as you arrived, nor were they present at prayer services. It became all to clear to me, not only am I, but all women are voiceless in the Church, but now we are also invisible. The synod is composed of 270 bishops, not one woman has a vote! Women are the heart of the church it is through them that the faith is passed on. How can you talk about family when half of the family is not present to share their faith experience. Many years ago, someone in our church community was having serious doubts as to whether to have her daughter baptized. At the time, I thought she was over reacting. Today I think she was more on target than I was. She did not want her daughter to be a 2nd class citizen, as a 72 year old woman I am getting tired of waiting to enjoy full status as a member of this church. If we are baptized then we should enjoy full participation in all the sacraments.