The Pope says in a New Year’s speech that violence against women insults God

Author: Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis used his New Year’s message on Saturday to make a clear call to end violence against women, saying it was offensive to God.

Francis, 85, celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the day the Catholic Church celebrates the solemnity of Our Lady of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the annual World Day of Peace.

Francis appeared in good shape on Saturday after an unexplained event on New Year’s Eve where he went to church but at the last minute did not preside over it as expected.

At the beginning of Saturday Mass, he walked the entire length of the central passage of the basilica, unlike on Friday night, coming out of a side entrance near the altar and looking out of the corner.

Francis has a sciatica condition that causes pain in his legs, and sometimes a spill prevents him from standing for long periods of time.

Francis weaved his New Year’s homily around motherhood and women’s issues — saying they held the threads of life together — and used it to make one of his strongest calls to end violence against them.

“And because mothers give life and women keep the world (together), let’s make greater efforts to promote mothers and protect women,” Francis said.

“How much violence is directed against women! That’s enough! It hurts a woman to insult God, who has taken our humanity from a woman.”

In an Italian television program last month, Francis told a woman who beat her ex-husband that men who commit violence against women do something “almost satanic”.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began almost two years ago, Francis has spoken out against domestic violence several times, and it has intensified in many countries since the blockade left many women trapped in abuse.

Public mass attendance was lower than in recent years due to COVID restrictions. Italy surrounding the Vatican City https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-reports-record-144243-coronavirus-cases-155-deaths-2021-12-31 reported a record 144,243 coronavirus-related cases. He introduced new measures on Friday and recently, such as the obligation to wear masks outside.

In a text on the World Peace Day Message published last month, Francis said that nations should spend money on weapons to invest in education, and condemned the growing military cost to social services.

The annual message of peace is sent to heads of state and international organizations, and the Pope gives a signed copy to leaders who pay official visits to the Vatican next year.