Pope Francis, returning Nov. 6 from a four-day visit to the Persian Gulf, passionately defended women’s rights, strongly condemned the practice of female genital mutilation and condemned those who treat women as “second-class citizens.”
A society that fails to value women, the Pope told journalists in a press conference aboard his return flight from Bahrain to Rome, “is a society that will not make progress.”
“Why on earth can’t we stop the tragedy of female genital mutilation today?” he asked, digressing away from the main themes of his trip and describing the practice, sometimes carried out in countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as both “terrible” and “crime”.
The pope spoke about women’s rights after being questioned by a journalist about the ongoing protests by women in Iran. Francis did not address the Iranian protests directly, but spoke of the long struggle for women’s suffrage both in his native Argentina and in the United States.
“I wonder why does a woman have to fight for her rights?” Francis asked loudly.
For weeks, Iranian protesters, particularly women and girls, have taken to the streets following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested by the country’s vice squad for not wearing the hijab according to the country’s strict dress code Government.
Since then, waves of protesters – both inside Iran and around the world – have called for a range of social, civil and economic reforms in the Islamic Republic. A leading human rights organization has documented the killing of at least 233 protesters in Iran since demonstrations began on September 17.
While Francis did not comment specifically on the Iranian situation, on September 28 the Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, devoted its entire front page to the protests under the headline: “Repression doesn’t stop Iranian women.”
The pope also cited his own track record of appointing more women to the top of Vatican offices, saying that things improved each time a woman took on a Vatican office. Although the Vatican is still largely run by male clergy, Francis has appointed women to leadership positions in the Vatican Museums, the Vatican’s Office for the Synod of Bishops, and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, among others.
The pope’s comments on November 6 came during an in-flight press conference en route back to Rome after a four-day visit to Bahrain, where Francis chaired a high-profile interfaith summit sponsored by the country’s Sunni Muslim leadership.
During his visit to the Persian Gulf kingdom, the pope repeatedly encouraged the tiny nation to step up its commitment to human rights by ending religious discrimination and abolishing the death penalty. The country has been heavily criticized by the international community for its treatment of political prisoners and allegations of discrimination against the Shia Muslim population by the Sunni Muslim leadership.
The Pope spoke for just over 50 minutes and told reporters traveling with him that the trip only reinforced his commitment to interfaith and ecumenical work.
“The key is dialogue,” he said.
After spending time with Bahrain’s tiny but vibrant Catholic population, the Pope was also asked about the situation of the Church in Europe, particularly in Germany, where the Catholic Church is losing members.
He said there was a need for church leaders — where the Catholic community is undergoing a synodal process examining a range of controversial issues such as women’s ordination and blessings for LGBTQ couples — to listen to the “holy people of God” and to prioritize the evangelization.
Francis was also questioned by reporters on the unfolding situation in France, where journalists recently revealed that a bishop who resigned in 2021 on ill health had been disciplined by the Vatican after being credibly accused of sexual misconduct.
The Pope neither went into the specific case of the now emeritus Bishop of Créteil Michel Santier, nor did he address the question of why the Vatican was initially not transparent in disclosing the reasons for his resignation, but only said: “There are people in of the Church who still don’t understand.”
Francis said that since reporting of abuse and cover-ups in the Archdiocese of Boston drew global attention to the clergy abuse scandal in 2002, the church’s procedures for reporting and punishing clergy offenders are “now clear.”
While he said “no one can say ‘I didn’t know,'” he lamented that there are still priests and bishops who do not have the courage to face abuse. The pope also defended the church’s response to abuse, saying the number of perpetrators is now fewer than other groups in society.
In particular, Francis mentioned that he recently received two complaints about previous abuse cases. He said these cases are not being handled well by church authorities and he has recently reopened them for a new review. He did not specify whether the cases involved priests or bishops.
As throughout his visit to Bahrain, the Pope also lamented the raging wars in Myanmar, nearby Yemen and Ukraine, as well as the deteriorating situation in Lebanon, which is currently without a government.
Francis made a direct appeal to Lebanese politicians to put their personal interests aside in order to reach an agreement so the country can restore its “greatness.”
On the Ukraine issue, the Pope said Vatican diplomats continued to work actively in the pursuit of peace and said he had “great affection” for both Russia and Ukraine. While repeatedly voicing his concern and solidarity with “martyred” Ukraine, Pope Francis has made a series of appeals in recent weeks for the two nations to begin serious peace negotiations.
Before leaving Bahrain on November 6, Francis met with priests, religious, pastoral workers and seminarians from across the Persian Gulf region.
During his address at Sacred Heart Church in the heart of Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the Pope made a final plea to the country’s diverse and multi-ethnic Catholic population to continue to live in unity with their neighbors, be they of other Christians or of other faiths traditions.
Christ, he said, “opens the one language of love, so that the different human tongues may no longer remain distant and incomprehensible”.
“He breaks down the barriers of distrust and hatred to make room for acceptance and dialogue,” the pope said. “He frees us from fear and instills in us the courage to go out and meet others with the unarmed and disarming power of mercy.”
Francis’ visit to Bahrain, his 39th international trip since his election as pope in 2013, marked his 12th visit to a Muslim-majority country.
The Vatican has not officially confirmed when or where the 85-year-old Francis will travel next. However, the Pope said last week that he intended to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan in early February 2023 after his ongoing knee problems forced him to reschedule an earlier visit to the two African nations originally planned for July 2022 move .