Irreplaceable role of women in the family, greater role in the Church and Society:
Pope
Vatican City, 25 January 2014: ‘I give thanks to the Lord with you for all the good
that the Italian Women's Centre has made during its seventy years of life, especially
for works in the field of education and human development, and the testimony about
the role of women in society and in the church community.’ Pope Francis made these
remarks on Saturday while addressing the members of the National Congress sponsored
by Italian Women’s centre on its 70th anniversary, in the Clementine Hall
in the Vatican.The Italian Women’s Centre (Centro Italiano Femminile, or CIF) was set up in 1944 as a federation of Catholic women’s associations. It was established in response to the need for guidance on civic and social issues which arose at the end of the Second World War, when Italy introduced universal suffrage and millions of women were called to vote for the first time ever.
Over the past few decades, said the Pope in his address, alongside other cultural and social transformations, including the identity and role of women in the family, in society and in the Church, have experienced significant changes, and in general the participation and responsibility of women has been on the rise.
Confirming that the process of change has also led the discernment on the part of the Magisterium of the Popes, Pope Francis cited the Apostolic Letter of 1988 Mulieris dignitatem of Blessed John Paul II on the dignity and vocation of women. It is a document in line with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, has recognized the moral and spiritual strength of the woman. The Pontiff also recalled the Message for the World Day of Peace 1995 on the theme "Women: Teachers of peace."
Pope Francis said that he recognizes the vital contribution of women in society, particularly with their sensitivity and intuition to the other, the weak and the helpless. He also said that he was pleased to see many women share some pastoral responsibilities with the priests in 'accompanying persons, families and groups, as in theological reflection. He hoped that women would widen the space for a feminine presence more extensive and incisive in the Church. Pope Francis hoped that the expansion of activities of women, both within the ecclesial and civil sectors and professions, may not overlook and forget the irreplaceable role of women in the family.
The qualities of delicacy peculiar sensibility and tenderness, which is abundant in the female mind, represent not only a genuine force for family life, for the exposition of a climate of serenity and harmony, but a reality without which the human vocation would be unfeasible. While the contribution of female genius is important in the world of work and in the public sphere, this contribution is an essential part of the family. For us Christians, family is not simply a private place, but the "domestic Church", whose health and prosperity is essential for the health and prosperity of the Church and of society itself. The presence of women in the home proves more than ever necessary for transmission to future generations of sound moral principles and the faith itself.
The question is how to keep a balance effective presence in many areas of the public sphere in the world of work and a preferential attention for the family, said the Pope. He called for discernment and prayer, in addition to the reflection on the reality of women in society. In dialogue with God, illumined by his Word, watered by the grace of the sacraments, the Christian woman shall answer the call of the Lord. He invoked on them the guidance of mother Mary, who guarded her Son, present at the wedding at Cana, on Calvary and at Pentecost, to deepen the meaning and role of women in society.Source: VR Sedoc
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