Vatican City, 15 March, 2021 / 5:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis has called for more support for working mothers during and after the coronavirus pandemic, saying that women are needed in the renewal of society and the economy.
“Women urgently need help with childcare, and should not be discriminated against in terms of pay and advancement, or with the loss of their work as women,” the pope said in a book-length interview to be published March 16.
“Rather, their presence is increasingly precious at the center of the processes of social, political, occupational and institutional renewal.”
The pope pointed to the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s role in the “rebirth of humanity,” and said that women should be given the space to help bring about a better future.
Pope Francis suggested that women -- if given more support -- could make a “decisive contribution to the reconstruction of the economy and of the society to come because women make the world beautiful and make contexts more inclusive.”