The following is a guest blog by Simona Prete, Head of Communications.
“Working for the British Embassy to the Holy See, I am privileged to meet and engage with remarkable women at the Vatican and in the Catholic network. Our Ambassador Nigel Baker noted on International Women’s Day: “the vital role played by women religious in almost every aspect of Church life on the ground and across the world, be it in education, development work, health care, managing parishes, supporting Papal nuncios, or spreading the word about the faith”.
The title of my guest blog flows from the message for the World Day of Peace in 1995, in which Pope John Paul II wrote: “May they [women] be witnesses, messengers and teachers of peace in relations between individuals and generations, in the family, in the cultural, social and political life of nations, and in particularly in situations of conflict and war”. This is as true today as 18 years ago. But women’s work is too often behind the scenes, they are not represented enough in public sphere, they are still being discriminated against and under the threat of violence. And yet a strong thread running through the FCO’s report on human rights and democracy for 2012 is the vital role women themselves can, do and must play in defending human rights throughout the world.
This week, I attended a conference at the Pontifical Urbaniana University on the theme “Women and Public Engagement”, seen from the perspective of Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Catholic women. The debate focussed on the role of women with faith, and raised the question whether their role was defined by religion or by the culture which has grown up around the religion over the years. These women told of their own experiences, how they shaped their faiths, how they overcame obstacles – each one on individual journey, describing tolerance, education, family, justice, teaching, and empowerment.
Pope Francis recently underlined the fundamental role of women in the Church. He said that women of faith can teach values in a culture of tolerance and respect, and they can bring these words into life, in the family as well as in our society. With that sort of backing, perhaps women need to stand up a little more for ourselves and our views?”