God Entrusts Humanity to Women

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The Holy Father remarked that “'Mulieris dignitatem' is an historical document, the first of the pontifical Magisterium entirely dedicated to the theme of women”, and with reference to the title of the seminar, he observed that in his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 25^th 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


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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