World needs women, not for what they do, but who they are, pope says
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By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The exploitation of any person is acrime, but the exploitation of a woman "destroys harmony" in theworld, Pope Francis said.Commenting on the Genesis story of God creating Eve, PopeFrancis told people at his early morning Mass Feb. 9 that the creation storyemphasizes how the world needs the qualities women have.Men and women "are not the same, one is not superior tothe other, no," the pope said. "It's just that men do not bringharmony. She is the one who brings that harmony that teaches us to caress, tolove with tenderness and who makes the world something beautiful."After the creation of Adam, the pope said, "God himselfnotices the solitude" of Adam, who "was alone with all theseanimals."God could have said, "'Hey, why don't you take a dog,who will be faithful, to accompany you through life and two cats to pet.' Afaithful dog is good, cats are cute -- at least some think so, others no, forthe mice no!" the pope said.But Adam still felt alone, s...
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The exploitation of any person is a
crime, but the exploitation of a woman "destroys harmony" in the
world, Pope Francis said.
Commenting on the Genesis story of God creating Eve, Pope
Francis told people at his early morning Mass Feb. 9 that the creation story
emphasizes how the world needs the qualities women have.
Men and women "are not the same, one is not superior to
the other, no," the pope said. "It's just that men do not bring
harmony. She is the one who brings that harmony that teaches us to caress, to
love with tenderness and who makes the world something beautiful."
After the creation of Adam, the pope said, "God himself
notices the solitude" of Adam, who "was alone with all these
animals."
God could have said, "'Hey, why don't you take a dog,
who will be faithful, to accompany you through life and two cats to pet.' A
faithful dog is good, cats are cute -- at least some think so, others no, for
the mice no!" the pope said.
But Adam still felt alone, so God decided to make a suitable
companion for him. In the Genesis story, God casts a deep sleep on Adam, the
pope noted, so it is reasonable to assume that before Adam saw Eve, he dreamed
of her.
"To understand a woman, it is necessary to dream of her
first," the pope said. And when Adam awakes, he recognizes her immediately.
After all the birds and animals were created, Adam sees Eve and says, "Ah,
this time, yes!"
Too often when people speak about women they talk in terms
of function, "'woman was made to do this' -- No!" the pope said. The
woman herself is special and "without her the world would not be the
same."
"Often we hear people say, 'In this company, this
institution, there must be a woman to do this or to do those things,'" he
said. "It's true that women must do things and that she does things like
all of us do," but her purpose does not lie in a task, but in the
qualities she brings.
"Exploiting a person offends humanity," he said,
"but exploiting a woman is something more, it is destruction, it is
turning back, it is destroying harmony."
"Woman is harmony, poetry, beauty," the pope said.
"Without her, the world would not be as beautiful, it would not be
harmonious."
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Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
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Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
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Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...