Sisters ask Synod to promote women's dignity in Middle East

(October 20, 2010) The Catholic Church in the Middle East should be a leading example of respecting and promoting women in a region where their rights often are limited, a Maronite nun from Lebanon told the Synod of Bishops. Holy Family Sister Marie-Antoinette Saade, an observer at the synod for the Middle East, told the bishops on October 18, it "indeed would be true witness" if Catholics throughout the region worked to give women their "true and rightful place" in the church and society. Sister Saade was one of a dozen female experts and observers at the synod, which included about 250 participants. "Should the church not be at the leading edge in this area, given the practices in some Muslim communities where women are beaten, imprisoned, violated, abused, without rights, treated as domestic slaves?" she said. Focusing on the needs of women, who are the heart of the family, will strengthen families and in turn strengthen society, she said. Lebanese Sister Daniella Harrouk, superior general of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary pleaded with the synod on October 18 to support Catholic schools in the Middle East and ensure their ongoing survival, including by setting up a schools' fund to which all the dioceses and religious orders in the region would make substantial, generous and regular contributions.