On 12 October 2013 Pope Francis received in audience
the participants in the study seminar “God entrusts humanity to women”,
promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, on the occasion of the 25th
anniversary of the publication of Blessed John Paul II's apostolic letter, “Mulieris
dignitatem”, dated 15 August 1988. The seminar was attended by experts and
representatives of ecclesial movements, from twenty-five countries and from
diverse professional fields. I was
privileged to be amongst the invited participants and to greet His Holiness.
The Holy Father remarked that “'Mulieris dignitatem'
is an historical document, the first of the pontifical Magisterium entirely
dedicated to the theme of women”, and with reference to the title of the
seminar, he observed that in his opinion the key to understanding John Paul
II's phrase is maternity.
“Many things can change and have changed in cultural
and social evolution, but there remains the fact that it is the woman who
conceives, carries and gives birth to the sons and daughters of men. And this
is not simply a biological fact, but also gives rise to a wealth of
implications both for the woman herself, for her way of being, and for her
relationships, for the way in which she positions herself with regard to human
life and life in general. In calling the woman to the role of maternity, God
has in an entirely special way entrusted the human being to her.
“…Women have a particular sensibility for 'matters of
God', especially in helping us to understand mercy, tenderness and the love
that God has for us.”
“…Also in the Church, it is important to ask: what
type of presence do women have? Could it be accorded greater worth? It is an
issue of great importance to me, and for this reason I wished to meet with you
and bless you and your work. Thank you, and let us continue in this work
together! May Mary Most Holy, great woman, Mother of Jesus and of all the
children of God, accompany us”.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.news.va/en/news/the-church-must-address-the-role-of-women
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In the 25th
anniversary of the apostolic letter’s publication on the dignity and vocation
of women, the Pontifical Council for the Laity would like to propose a renewed
reflection upon this important document. The Mulieris Dignitatem was
written straight after the Synod on the vocation and mission of the laity in
the Church and the world, celebrated in 1987. It responded to a request, which
arose out of the Synod itself, which called for a consideration of the
anthropological and theological foundations of the feminine condition as an
essential foundation for every novelty to occur in the life of the Church. The
post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, published a
little after the Mulieris Dignitatem, contains the warning: “Above all
the acknowledgment in theory of the active and responsible
presence of woman in the Church must be realized in practice. …
the revised Code of Canon Law contains many provisions on the participation of
women in the life and mission of the Church: they are provisions that must be
more commonly known and, according to the diverse sensibilities of culture and opportuneness
in a pastoral situation, be realized with greater timeliness and
determination.” (ChL, 51).
For more information, please visit:
http://www.laici.va/content/laici/en/sezioni/donna/notizie/-dio-affida-l_essere-umano-alla-donna----comunicato-stampa.html
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| Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, President, Pontifical Council for the Laity with Pope Francis |
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During the
celebration of this Year of Faith we have been urged to rediscover our faith so
we may share with others the joy and enthusiasm of an encounter with
Christ. In an increasingly
individualistic and secular society, the love of Christ impels us to reach out
to others, draw them near to us and the Lord and embrace them in faith. Women are called to offer the gift of self
and to be present for others in ways which contradict the individualistic
mentality that seeks self-gratification at the expense of others. Acts of Christian charity—too numerous to
list--recall the tender care given by Jesus to each one in need of His healing
touch.
Among the fundamental values linked to women’s actual lives is what
has been called a “capacity for the other”.
Although a certain type of feminist rhetoric makes demands “for
ourselves,” women preserve the deep intuition of the goodness in their lives of
those actions which elicit life, and contribute to the growth and protection of
the other…. It is women, in the end, who
even in very desperate situations, as attested by history past and present,
possess a singular capacity to persevere in adversity, to keep life going even
in extreme situations, to hold tenaciously to the future, and finally to
remember with tears the value of every human life.
“Letter to the Bishops of
the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in
the World” - 2004, Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect
We cannot deny
the love of God within each of us nor the mission which He has entrusted to us
as beloved daughters. Moreover God has
called us to be spiritual mothers who have the ongoing responsibility to sow
and nurture seeds of faith in all those entrusted to our care. We need to share our: love of God and
devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary; desire to participate in the Holy Mass,
frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist and sacrament of Reconciliation;
hunger to learn more about our Catholic faith, God’s moral law, social doctrine
of the Church; and fidelity to the Magisterium.
Pope Francis
wrote in the Encyclical Letter, Lumen Fidei (13): "Faith consists in the willingness to
let ourselves be constantly transformed and renewed by God’s call."
Empowered by
the Holy Spirit to manifest the “feminine genius” and guided by Our Mother of
Good Counsel, we will grow in faith, share with others our hope, and give
witness to Jesus’ love. We will joyfully
answer God’s call to “constantly transform and renew” ourselves as we lovingly
provide vital service to women, the Church, and the world.
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