I formulated three suggestions in this regard: to study the possibility of ordaining women to the permanent diaconate; to permit married couples to speak during homilies in Mass to bear witness to the connection between the proclaimed Word and their lives as spouses and parents; to recognize the equal ability of women to take on decision-making roles in the Church.
Pope Francis told 800 superiors of women's orders from around the world that the Catholic Church needs religious women and that religious women need to be in harmony with the faith and teachings of the church. "What would the church be without you?" the pope told the women May 8. "It would be missing maternity, affection, tenderness and a mother's intuition."
As a practising Catholic and a feminist there are two refrains I have heard from friends over the years. One goes something like this, and tends to be a question asked by my feminist friends: ‘why on earth would you remain a Catholic?'
“Violence against women is a human rights and public health emergency,” Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, said of the 15th batch of annual grants from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) which awarded $17.1 million for 22 initiatives.
