Nun Moves Up at Vatican

ROME — The Vatican has appointed a nun to the No. 3 position in one of its departments, the highest position held by a woman within the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope John Paul II appointed Sister Enrica Rosanna, an Italian nun, to the post of undersecretary at a Vatican department called the Congregation for Consecrated Life, it said Saturday.

The department is responsible for Catholic religious orders and congregations around the world.

In March, the pope appointed a U.S. professor, Mary Ann Glendon, to head a Vatican academy, the first time a woman had chaired such an important post within the church.