Holy See Urges Fight Against Violence Against Women

Archbishop Bernadito Auza, Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, on Oct. 8 spoke at a meeting of the UN General Assembly on the advancement of women. He urged that all people join in the fight against violence and discrimination against women,

From Vatican News:

“The Holy See condemns all forms of violence against women, including harmful stereotypes that justify violence and promote discrimination against them,” said Archbishop Bernadito Auza, addressing a meeting of the UN General Assembly on “Advancement of Women”.

He recalled Pope Francis condemning trafficking in persons as a “crime against humanity” that must be consistently denounced and fought by all.  Archbishop lamented that today, when slavery is thought to be a tragic historical memory, there are in fact more persons enslaved than ever before.

The Holy See’s representative praised groups and movements fighting human trafficking, such as Talitha Kum by Catholic nuns, that invest in education and youth employment in order to address some of the deepest causes that make women and girls vulnerable to traffickers.

Uncomfortable truth

In this regard, Archbishop Auza recalled the observation of Pope Francis regarding an uncomfortable truth that “if there are so many young women victims of trafficking who end up on the streets of our cities, it is because many men here – young, middle-aged, elderly – demand these services.”