Archbishop Gallagher speaks at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 23, 2025. / Credit: Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 23, 2025 / 15:12 pm (CNA).
The Vatican's secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Tuesday reaffirmed before the United Nations the Holy See's commitment to promoting the dignity and equality of women but warned that these goals cannot be achieved without respecting dignity "from the unborn to the elderly."
"Women's equality cannot be achieved unless the dignity of all people is respected, especially the most fragile and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly," the archbishop, a native of Liverpool, England, said Sept. 23.
Gallagher gave his address on the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the text was released by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York.
The archbishop emphasized that the protection of the right to life "is essential, as it underpins all other fundamental rights."
Gallagher also called for comprehensive, quality health care for pregnant women, noting: "Although maternal mortality rates have dropped significantly since 1990, progress has stalled in recent years. Access to prenatal care and skilled birth attendants as well as to health care systems and infrastructure must increase, while false solutions such as abortion rejected."
Don't focus on 'divisive issues'
The prelate therefore stated that the Holy See hopes that, "instead of focusing on divisive issues that are not necessarily beneficial to women, states fulfill their commitments to ensure equality for women and respect for their God-given dignity."
Gallagher recalled that the Beijing Declaration — the commitment adopted by 189 countries at the Fourth World Conference on Women, organized by the U.N. in September 1995 in China — was a decisive milestone in the promotion of women's rights.
However, he pointed out that there are issues that "remain unaddressed."
Specifically, he referred to "the higher extreme poverty rate among women," the "obstacles" to accessing quality education — and even "exclusion from it" — and "lower wages in the workforce."
Gallagher made it clear that these conditions "impede the full achievement of women's equal dignity and ability to fulfill their potential in all spheres of life."
Alarming level of violence against girls and women
The archbishop focused on the continued prevalence of "violence against women and girls," which he said is "deeply alarming."
"Wherever it occurs, at home, during trafficking, or in conflict and humanitarian settings, it constitutes an affront to their dignity and is a grave injustice," he emphasized.
He also noted that technology is also being used to "exacerbate certain forms of abuse and violence."
Gallagher pointed out that violence is not limited to "sexual exploitation and trafficking" but also includes "the practices of prenatal sex selection and female infanticide."
"These acts, condemned in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, continue to result in the deaths of millions of 'missing girls' each year," he stated.
The archbishop insisted that any form of violence against women and girls is "unacceptable and must be combated."
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
