Pope Francis advocates women's rights; says they have 'legitimate claims' for justice & equality

April 03, 2019:

On Tuesday. Francis issued a document inspired by an October 2018 meeting of bishops on better ministering to today's young Catholics.

The meeting was marked by demands for greater women's rights, and the final document called the need for women to claim decision-making positions in the church "a duty of justice."

Pope Francis says women have "legitimate claims" to seek more justice and equality in the Catholic Church, but has stopped short of endorsing more sweeping calls from his own bishops to give women decision-making roles.

In the lengthy document "Christ is Alive," Francis endorses no such conclusion. He writes that the church must be attentive to women's "legitimate claims" for equality and must better train men and women with leadership potential.

The synod took place against the Church's clergy sex abuse crisis and included demands for greater women's rights. The bishops' final recommendations called the need for women to hold positions of responsibility and decisionmaking in the church "a duty of justice."

"A living church can look back on history and acknowledge a fair share of male authoritarianism, domination, various forms of enslavement, abuse and sexist violence," Francis said.

"With this outlook, she can support the call to respect women's rights, and offer convinced support for greater reciprocity between males and females, while not agreeing with everything some feminist groups propose."

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