Hailing altar girls outnumbering boys, Hindus urge Vatican to be more kind to Catholic women

Nevada (US), Aug 10 (ANI): Hindus have commended Vatican for altar girls outnumbering altar boys for the first time at the altar servers gathering in Vatican on August four.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that "it was a step in the right direction". He also applauded Pope Benedict for appointing record 25 women to participate in October 2008 Synod of Bishops on the word of God.

Pope met with over 53,000 altar servers from over 17 countries of Europe on August four in St. Peter's Square for once-in-five years "International Pilgrimage of Altar Servers," and about 60 percent of young pilgrims were reportedly female.

But Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Vatican to be more kind to Roman Catholic women. New rules announced by Vatican last month reportedly described attempted ordination of women as a 'grave crime' carrying same punishments/procedures/gravity as for sex abuse and heresy.

Rajan Zed said that women could disseminate God's message as skillfully as men and deserved equal and full participation and access in religion. Women were equal partners in the society, so they should be equal partners in the religion also. Exclusion of women from religious services, just because they were female, was very unfair.

Quoting Hindu scriptures, Zed said: Where women are honored, there the gods are pleased. Men and women were equal in the eyes of God and religions should respect that, Zed stressed.

Roman Catholic Church is the largest of the Christian denominations and is headed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and headquartered in Vatican. (ANI)