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Angolan Catholic Archbishop Urges Creation of “spaces” for Women in All Professions

Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins of Angola’s Huambo Archdiocese. Credit: Radio Ecclesia

Except for jobs that require physical exertion, women can thrive in professions where men currently dominate, the Archbishop of Angola’s Huambo Archdiocese has said, calling for the creation of spaces and opportunities for women to emerge in Church and society.

In his homily during thanksgiving Mass to mark the end of the Women Week in his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins said the woman “must be at the man's side in everything.”

“We need to create spaces where women can emerge, where they can express their talents, where they can demonstrate their self-esteem through initiatives,” Archbishop Zeca said during the March 10 Eucharistic celebration at Our Lady of the Conception Cathedral of Huambo Archdiocese.

During the event which members of the Association for the Promotion of Women in the Angolan Catholic Church (PROMAICA) organized, the Angolan member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) said, “Women, first of all need to esteem themselves and that allows them an equal place in society with men.”

“Yes, perhaps there are those jobs that by physical configuration, by biological nature, are reserved exclusively for men, those jobs of physical effort, yes, that's what the Creator wanted. But any kind of work that requires intelligence, that requires tact, that requires humanism, that requires affection, the woman must be at the man's side in everything,” the Archbishop said.

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He continued, “If a man is a doctor, a woman should also be a doctor, if a man is an aviator pilot, a woman should also be an aviator pilot.”

Archbishop Zeca said, “Women are a real backbone for the local churches, because they are so numerous within the Church. Their presence in the Church is active and fruitful, and they organize themselves in a good way and support the apostolate within the Church in an extraordinary manner.”

“The Church is full of women and here I see a multitude of women and few men. Women are in large numbers in the churches and they are well organized,” the Angolan Catholic Archbishop said in his March 10 homily.

According to Archbishop Zeca, women are the ones who when poverty grows are ready to defend human dignity. “They are ready to defend the family, they are ready to defend the religion they profess, they are ready to defend Catholicism,” he said.

The 58-year-old SVD member, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2012 as Auxiliary Bishop of Luanda Archdiocese said, “The Church has an obligation imposed by Jesus to protect women.”

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“She is the bearer of the supreme gift and the most sublime gift, which is life, which is love. This recognition gives rise to the duty of zeal, respect, honor and dignity for women,” he said.

Archbishop Zeca said, “It is therefore a question of the obligation that the Church is imposed by Christ to ensure that her behavior, in her dignified and zealous treatment of women, is a true example for the whole of human society.”

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.