Mike Curtiss (14 Oct
2013)
"Pope Francis, the RCC is a woman."
Pope Francis: Women called to service, not servitude
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday spoke about “the vocation and
the mission” of women on Saturday when addressing participants of a
study seminar organized by the Women’s Section of the Pontifical Council
for the Laity on the 25th anniversary of Blessed Pope John Paul II’s
Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem. The letter was the first in papal
teaching dedicated entirely to the theme of the woman, and the study
seminar in particular discussed the point which says that God entrusts
man, the human being, to woman in a special way.
“What does this ‘special entrusting’…of the human being to woman
signify? It seems evident to me that my predecessor is referring to
maternity,” said Pope Francis.
“Many things can change and have changed in our cultural and social
evolution, but the fact remains that it is the woman who conceives,
carries in her womb and gives birth to the children of men,” the Pope
continued. “And this is not simply a biological matter, but carries a
wealth of implications for the woman herself, for her way of being, for
her relationships, for the way in which we lend respect to human life
and to life in general. Calling a woman to maternity, God entrusted the
human being to her in an altogether special manner.”
The Pope warned that there are two dangers always present when speaking
about this topic, calling them “two extreme opposites that destroy woman
and her vocation.”
“The first is to reduce maternity to a social role, to a task, albeit
noble, but which in fact sets the woman aside with her potential and
does not value her fully in the building of community. This is both in
the civil sphere and in the ecclesial sphere,” explained the Holy
Father. “And, in reaction to this, there is the other danger in the
opposite direction, that of promoting a type of emancipation which, in
order to occupy spaces taken away from the masculine, abandons the
feminine with the precious traits that characterize it.”
Pope Francis also spoke about the special gifts given to women in the Church.
“ I would like to underline how the woman has a particular sensitivity
for the ‘things of God’, above all in helping us to understand the
mercy, tenderness and love that God has for us,” he said. “ And it
pleases me to think that the Church is not ‘il Chiesa’ [‘the Church’,
masculine]: it is ‘la Chiesa’ [feminine]. The Church is a woman! The
Church is a mother! And that’s beautiful, eh? We have to think deeply
about this.”
The Pope said the document Mulieris Dignitatem arises in this context
and offers a profound, organic reflection, with a solid anthropological
base, enlightened by Revelation.
“From here, we must restart that work of deepening and of promoting, for
which I have already hoped many times. Even in the Church, it is
important to ask oneself: what presence does the woman have?” he said.
“I suffer – speaking truthfully! – when I see in the Church or in some
ecclesial organizations that the role of service that we all have, and
that we must have - but that the role of service of the woman slips into
a role of “servidumbre” [Spanish: servitude]. . . But when I see women
that do things out of “servitude” and not out of service,” said Pope
Francis. “And that it is not understood well what a woman ought to do.
Can she be valued more? It is a reality that is close to my heart and
for this I wanted to meet … and bless you and your commitment. Thank
you, let us move this forward together! May most holy Mary – a great
woman, eh? – the Mother of Jesus and of all God’s children, accompany
us. Thank you!”
Text from page
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/10/12/pope_francis:_women_called_to_service,_not_servitude/en1-736720
of the Vatican Radio website