Pope Francis called to “protect women” and considered that violence against them “is an outrage against God”, by leading the first mass of the year at the Vatican, after which he also recalled the “uncertain and difficult times” that they are lived “because of the pandemic.”
“And while mothers give life and women preserve the world, let us all work to promote mothers and protect women “, asked the pontiff when celebrating the Mass of the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Then, when reciting the Angelus in front of thousands of faithful, he recalled that there are still “uncertain and difficult times due to the pandemic.”
“There are many who are frightened by the future and burdened by social situations, personal problems, the dangers that come from the ecological crisis, injustices and planetary economic imbalances,” he explained in this context.
The condemnation of gender violence
During this Saturday’s mass, the Pope criticized “how much violence there is against women.”
“Enough”, also claimed during the celebration also allusive to the World Day of Peace, for which in mid-December he dedicated a message with the slogan “Dialogue between generations, education and work: instruments to build lasting peace.”
In his first mass in 2022, the Pope also ruled that “to hurt a woman is to outrage God, who took humanity from a woman, not from an angel, not directly.”
At the end of December, in an interview with Channel 5 in Italy, the Pope had already described the problem of violence against women as “almost satanic”.
“The number of women beaten, mistreated at home is so, so great, even by her husband. The problem is that for me it is almost satanic, because it is taking advantage of the weakness of those who cannot defend themselves, they can only stop the blows. It is humiliating, very humiliating, “he criticized then.
Let us all work to promote mothers and protect women. How much violence there is against women. Enough. To hurt a woman is to outrage God, who took the humanity of a woman.
– Pope Francis (@Pontifex_es) January 1, 2022
The request for decent work
In the message released last month on the occasion of the 55th World Day of Peace that is celebrated this Saturday, Francis had asked that politics play an “active role” in promoting “greater offers of decent work”, which he considered “indispensable. to build and maintain peace. “
“Work is an essential factor to build and maintain peace; it is an expression of oneself and one’s own gifts, but it is also commitment, effort, collaboration with others, because you always work with or for someone “, he developed in the text.
In this Saturday’s Angelus, the Pope thought “of young mothers and their children fleeing wars and famines or waiting in refugee camps.”
“Peace is also our commitment: it asks us to take the first step, it asks us for concrete gestures,” claimed Bergoglio.
“Peace is also our commitment: it asks us to take the first step, it asks us for concrete gestures”Pope Francisco
During the Mass with which he opened the 2022 celebrations, the Pope focused his homily on the “meditation” that – according to Catholic tradition – Mary had, indicated as the mother of Jesus.
“This inclusive gaze, which overcomes tensions by preserving and meditating in the heart, is the gaze of mothers. It is the look with which many mothers embrace the situations of their children, “the Pope developed.
Thus, for Francisco, it is about “a concrete look, which is not discouraged, which is not paralyzed by problems, but rather places them on a broader horizon.”
“The faces of mothers who care for a sick or difficult child come to mind. How much love is in their eyes, which, while crying, know how to communicate reasons to continue waiting,” he later expanded from the Central Altar of the Basilica.
“His gaze is a conscious gaze, which does not have illusions and, nevertheless, beyond suffering and problems, it offers a broader perspective, that of care, that of love that renews hope,” added Bergoglio and stated : “This is what mothers do.”
“The Church is mother, the Church is woman”he added later. Mothers, for the Pope, “know how to overcome obstacles and conflicts, they know how to instill peace.”
Greetings and best wishes from #Pope Francisco for the new year 2022, after praying the #prayer of #Angelus, – #VaticanNews ?⬇ https://t.co/SEQO35J2DH
– Vatican News (@vaticannews_es) January 1, 2022
“Thus, they manage to transform adversities into opportunities to be reborn and grow. They do so because they know how to conserve, they know how to keep the threads of life together,” he stressed.
“We need people who are capable of weaving threads of communion, who counteract the barbed wires of the divisions, which are too many,” he emphasized.
“Mothers, women, do not look at the world to exploit it, but to make it have life. Looking with the heart, they manage to keep dreams and concrete together, avoiding deviations from aseptic pragmatism and abstraction,” he added.
This Friday, in his last homily in 2021, the Pope had denounced “the temptation of everyone for himself” that existed around the world to face the exit from the coronavirus pandemic.
“This time of pandemic has increased the feeling of confusion around the world,” the pontiff also said during the so-called Vespers and Te Deum of gratitude for the year that passed.
