The Pope’s call is echoed in the message of Italy’s nationwide campaign against all forms of violence against women: How we treat women in all their dimensions shows the extent of our humanity, Pope Francis emphasizes.
Paolo Ondarza – Vatican News
A poisonous weed that plagues our society and needs to be rooted out. This is how Francis defines violence against women in his message addressed to the promoters of the initiative against men’s violence against women, organized by the Italian state radio and the Milan-based Home for Battered Women. The Bishop of Rome calls for the cutting of cultural and mental roots that grow in the soil of prejudice, possessiveness and injustice.
The behavior towards women shows the level of humanity
The Pope calls for immediate action at all levels, with decisiveness, urgency and courage to give voice to our voiceless sisters. The way we treat women reveals the extent of our humanity, writes the Pope, thinking of the many women abused, abused, enslaved, victims of the arrogance of those who think they can dispose of their bodies and lives, forced to submit to the lust of men.
Women are treated as objects
In too many places and in too many situations, the Pope notes, women are relegated to the background, considered inferior, objects. When a person is reduced to a thing, his dignity ceases to be perceived, he is considered only as property that can be dealt with in everything, even to the extent that he can be killed.
Where there is domination, there is abuse
František emphasizes the ambiguous role played by the mass media, which on the one hand favors the support of women, but on the other hand broadcasts messages marked by hedonism and consumerism, whose models, male and female, submit to the criteria of success, self-assertion, competitiveness, the power to attract others and control them . However, as the Pope notes, where there is domination, there is also abuse, while God wants us free and enjoying full dignity.
Education for respect
Therefore, according to the Pope, there is an urgent need for educational action, which, starting with the family, places the person with his dignity at the center and prioritizes fair and balanced relationships based on mutual respect and recognition.
