Vatican newspaper's new insert focusses on women

(June 01, 2012) The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, has launched a monthly insert dedicated to women, aiming to bring greater attention to their important but sometimes neglected role in the church. The glossy four-page colour supplement, which debuted May 31 to mark the end of the month dedicated to Mary, is called "Women, church, world," and will feature on the last Thursday of every month. The idea was proposed by female journalists at the Vatican paper as a way to "widen the coverage of the newspaper of the Holy See" by including more articles on women and the church, the newspaper said. The front page will be dedicated to religious or laywomen who play a critical role in the church, yet whose contribution "is still hidden," the paper said. In particular, L'Osservatore said, highlighting the work of about 740,000 women religious around the world - compared with only 460,000 priests and men religious - "will also help amend prejudices and preconceived notions about the Catholic Church and its attitude toward women.”
The monthly insert will cover issues dealing with "life and the condition of women, without neglecting 'hot button' issues," such as "procreation, access to culture and emancipation," the Vatican newspaper said. Like the main newspaper, it will include articles written by non-Catholic authors. Other regular features will include articles about women's spirituality, issues relating to religious life and reviews of new books and movies.