𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝?

It is necessary to respect women, which is not the case in some countries. The dignity and the rights of women can be put seriously at risk by dangerous practices. In Africa, girls ought to be able to pursue their studies as far as boys. Similarly, it is necessary to fight vigorously against forced nmarriages. When I travel to the four corners of the world, I realize that the real problem is not an illusory equality, but respect for the dignity and the very freedom of women. The images of women that the Western media present are too often degrading and humiliating. A woman's body is treated as merchandise for the depraved pleasure of certain men. Through organızed prostitution, women become objects with commercial value. Yet the West falsely claims to champion and defend women's rights. ...

There are small groups of women who demand ordination to priesthood and the episcopate. Along this line, aberrations have been
perpetrated in some Protestant communities. People accuse the Catholic Church of insuficiently respecting the place of women. If I may make a remark, it seems to me that the relevance of this question is very restricted geographically. ... Unfortunately, I have the sense that the West is still trying to influence other cultures. In many regions of the world, I do not think that ideological egalitarianism in relations between men and women is the model being sought.

The extravagance of the feminist ideology goes so far as to try to eradicate some words from the vocabulary: father and mother, husband and wife. God created us as complementary and different. If I look in the Gospels at how Jesus treated women, I see that he had great respect for them. The Church's only model must be this gentle, respectful way that Christ had of associating women with his mission. In this regard, it is a shame that some are trying to blame the pope, the cardinals, or the bishops by suggesting that their positions are reactionary.

The idea of a woman cardinal is as ridiculous as the idea of a priest who wanted to become a nun! The Church's point of reference remains Christ, who behaved justly toward women and men, giving to each person his or her appropriate role. Jesus was followed by some women from Galilee who were happy to be at his service. At the foot of the Cross, he had Mary Magdalen and some other sorely wounded women who watched the terrible scene of the crucifixion. According to the Gospels, Mary Magdalen was the first person to see the risen Jesus on Easter morning. She asked for nothing else but to serve the Lord in her specific role as a woman, in the purity that she had regained and consecrated.

In the world there are societies that are matriarchal or patriarchal. In them everyone plays his role, in terms of his nature. Following God's plan, the woman is mother and the man is father. Women ought to fight so that their bodies, which are sacred, will not be utilized and commercialized, because they are God's temple and the sanctuary of new life. In the Church, women can have a very important role, starting with the most prestigious ideal, aspiring to sanctity.

How can we not mention the endless host of daughters of God, starting with the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of God, and then Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine, Jeanne de Chantal, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Maria Goretti, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Blessed Clementine Anwarite, Virgin and martyr, or Jospehine Bakhita. For a long time the Church has known how to exalt and appreciate the specific genius of women. Saint John Paul II spoke about them as sentinels of the invisible; he was quite right.