Pope Benedict XVI decried chauvinism and the "serious and relentless" exploitation, discrimination and violence being waged against the world's women."There are places and cultures where women are discriminated against or undervalued just for the fact that they are women," he said Feb. 9 in remarks to participants attending a Vatican-sponsored international congress.
The Feb. 7-9 congress, "Woman and Man: The 'Humanum' in Its Entirety," was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity to mark the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter, "Mulieris Dignitatem" ("On the Dignity and Vocation of Women").
The pope told some 250 participants during a special audience at the Vatican that discrimination can be the result of "religious arguments and family, social and cultural pressures" aimed at supporting "the disparity of the sexes."
The pope recalled a speech he gave last year in Brazil, at a meeting of Latin American and Caribbean bishops, in which he criticized the persistent "chauvinistic mentality" that "ignores the novelty of Christianity which recognizes and proclaims the equal dignity and responsibility of women with respect to men."
In his Feb. 9 address, he highlighted how, in some societies, women continue to be violated and are turned into objects "of maltreatment and exploitation in advertising and the consumer and entertainment industry."
Faced with such "serious and relentless phenomena, the commitment of Christians seems all the more urgent so that everywhere they become promoters of a culture that recognizes the dignity that belongs to women in law and in reality," he said.
The church teaches that men and women are equal in dignity; however, there exist real sexual differences that are not cultural constructions, but are "written into human nature," he said.
He paid special attention to the family.
"Starting from their conception, children have a right to be able to count on their father and mother -- that they will take care of them and be with them while growing up," he said.
For that reason, he said, governments must do all they can to support social policies that "foster the stability and unity of marriage, the dignity and responsibility of husband and wife, (and) their rights and irreplaceable duty to educate their children."
The pope emphasized that women must be allowed to contribute to "the construction of society," and people must recognize and enhance the "feminine genius."
One congress participant, American Vicki Thorn -- the founder of Project Rachel, the post-abortion healing ministry of the Catholic Church -- said the question of opening up the priesthood to women had been brought up briefly at the congress by two women from the United States.
She said this subject seems to be more of a concern in North America while it seems a nonissue for women from Europe and Latin America.
"I think that we especially in the United States got so into the power thing, that to be a priest, that's the important thing," she said.
She said the Catholic Church was one of the few places in society where women could be enormously influential and had critical leadership roles running religious communities and institutions like hospitals and schools.
Throughout history, women in the church "were doing things at a time when other women were oppressed ... and it was only within the church where women had this ability to become something. But to be of service ... to care for others -- that's our charism."
She said teaching or making people aware of the history of women in the Catholic Church "is something sadly lacking."
"Yes, we were not priests, but our role was different, we were the pragmatic responders: Women were poor -- we taught them to sew, we taught them to read, we cared for the ill, we took in the orphans, we helped the widows and then we went to the bishops or the priests" and secured funding or support for the programs to continue and thrive, she said.
Thorn said the long history of women who were leaders and who performed "all these corporal works of mercy ...is our heritage, and we ought to be proud of that ... it's a rich tradition that we haven't celebrated."
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