March 8 is International Women’s Day. It is clear that if we empower women, we will empower humanity. Women are breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling in many countries. While we celebrate their achievements in various fields of endeavour, let us resolve to reach out in solidarity to the millions of women and girls around the world who continue to struggle to address social, economic, cultural and political challenges.
The sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person form the foundation of the social teaching of our Church. Yet the dignity of many continues to be trampled upon on a daily basis. In his apostolic exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel” (paras 103,104), Pope Francis reminds us that, “Demands that the legitimate rights of women be respected, based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity, present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded.”
Are we evading these questions? Are we ‘making it happen’ for girls, women, boys and men in our parishes? We are dishonouring God if we act as though women and girls do not matter.
And Catholic women, in a society/world that is becoming more and more secular, remember that while you have rights, you also have responsibilities. In January 2015, Pope Francis focused on the primary and indispensable role of women in transmitting the faith to new generations. “Mothers and grandmothers are the ones who [in primis] transmit the faith… It is one thing to pass on the faith, and another to teach the matters of faith…the gift of faith comes to us through women, as Jesus came to us through Mary.”
We are all part of the Body of Christ. Therefore, during Lent, let us take some time to reflect on how we treat the girls and women in our family and in our communities. What can we do to make their lives better? What opportunities exist in your parish to enable women to contribute their skills and expertise? What are the various ministries in your parish doing to affirm women?
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As Hillary Clinton has said: “As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace everywhere in the world, as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled, subjected to violence in and outside their homes – the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realised.”
If we are to advance the rights of women and girls, we must LISTEN to them. On January 17, while he was in the Philippines, Pope Francis demanded greater attention to women’s voices, saying: “Women are capable of seeing things from a different angle than men…Women have a lot of things to say to us in today’s society. Sometimes we’re too chauvinistic, and we don’t allow room for women.”
His remarks at the Pontifical Council for Culture’s Plenary Assembly in Rome (February 4-7) on the theme “Women’s Culture: Equality and Difference” are noteworthy. David Gibson (www.religionnews.com) reports that Pope Francis said “the Catholic Church should help ‘guarantee the freedom of choice’ for women to take up leading posts in the Church and in public life while also maintaining their ‘irreplaceable role’ as mothers at home… the Church must reflect changes in society by giving women greater responsibility and visibility ‘so that women will not feel like guests but as full participants in various social and church environments. This is a challenge that cannot be put off any longer…’
“He decried the ‘many forms of slavery’ women face today, including the ‘commodification’ of women and the ‘mutilation’ of their bodies. He blasted the widespread violence against women and the ‘painful wounds inflicted’ on them because they are women, apparently references to rape and domestic abuse, issues he has previously highlighted. He also denounced the ‘throwaway culture’ that exploits poor women in particular, who are subject to various forms of exploitation.”
Let’s promote justice for all God’s people.
