VATICAN CITY, DEC 7, 1996 (VIS) - This morning, in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, the Pope thanked the participants in the international meeting "Femmes" (Women) for having shown "the constant attention of the Church for a renewed presence of women in social life and for her constant commitment in this field."
The theme of the ongoing meeting is "A Renewed Commitment by All for the Good of Women Throughout the World." The Pope stated that "among those areas on which it is important to reflect, in order to propose appropriate solutions, what must be especially underlined are the questions of real and legal guarantees of the rights of persons, access to educational systems for all, respect for the dignity of individuals and families and the recognition of the feminine and masculine identity."
He also thanked the Holy See delegation for the work it did during the UN Conference on Women in Beijing, for having underlined forcefully "the right of every person to be respected for herself, in the integrity of her bodily, intellectual and spiritual being, so that she may never be reduced to being considered or treated as an object or as an instrument in the service of political or economic interests, often inspired by neomalthusian ideologies."
"It would be good to invite our contemporaries," continued the Holy Father, "to ask themselves about what is called in an undue manner 'reproductive health,' an expression which has a contradiction which distorts the very meaning of subjectivity; in reality, this includes the pretended right to abortion and, from this fact, it denies the elementary right of every human being to life."
Further on, he stated that "maternity, in its personal and ethical sense,
shows a creativity on which depends in great part the humanity of every human
being; it invites man also to learn and to express his own paternity. Thus, the
woman brings to society and the Church her capacity to take care of men."
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