The rights of women should be respected said Pope Francis on 11 March, Saturday at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. The Holy Father rejected abuses against women, including physical violence and forms of discrimination, such as arbitrary dismissals due to pregnancy or lower salaries compared to those of the opposite sex.
“For a long time, women have been the first waste material. This is terrible. The rights of each person must be respected. We cannot remain silent in the face of this scourge of our time,” the Holy Father said.
The Pontiff reiterated that “the dignity and fundamental rights of every person must be respected: education, work, freedom of expression, etc.” And he said this “is particularly true for women, who are more easily targeted for violence and abuse.”
The speech was delivered during an audience for members of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontiff Foundation and the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities (SACRU), on the occasion of the presentation of the book: “More Women’s Leadership for a better world. Care as the engine of our Common Home”.
Referring to the forms of discrimination that often affect women, Pope Francis lamented that a woman can end up being “used” in big cities, and receiving lower wages.
He also criticized companies that, when they see a pregnant woman, do not “give her the job”, or if they see her “starting at work”, they send you home”.
“It is one of the modalities that is used today in large cities: discarding women, for example, with maternity. It is important to see this reality, it is a plague”, warned the Holy Father.
In this sense, she asked that “we do not leave women victims of abuse, exploitation, marginalization and undue pressure without a voice, like the ones I mentioned with work.”
“Let us express their pain and forcefully denounce the injustices to which they are subjected, often in contexts that deprive them of any possibility of defense and redemption,” the Pope emphasized.
Elsewhere in his speech, Pope Francis stressed that the “irreplaceable specificity of women’s contribution to the common good is undeniable.”
“We already see it in Sacred Scripture, where it is often women who mark important turning points at decisive moments in the history of salvation,” he said, recalling figures such as Sara, Rebeca, Judit, Susana, Ruth and the Virgin Mary.
Likewise, he highlighted the legacy of saints of the Church such as Catherine of Siena, Josefina Bakhita, Edith Stein, Teresa of Calcutta. As well as those women “next door, who we know with so much heroism to lead difficult marriages, children with problems.”
In this sense, the Holy Father added that women “are impressive people because of their determination, courage, fidelity, ability to suffer and transmit joy, honesty, humility, tenacity.”