Pope defends Church must ‘rediscover its feminine face’

This Monday, the Pope declared that the Church must “rediscover her feminine face” and that the world must see mothers as models “in order to find peace,” warning that “anyone who harms a woman defiles God.”

“The Church needs Mary to rediscover her feminine face, to become more like the one who, as woman, Virgin and Mother, represents her example and her perfect figure,” the Pope said on the day the Catholic Church celebrates Solemnity of Saint Mary.

At a New Year’s Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis said the world needs to “look to mothers and women to find peace, to escape the spiral of violence and hatred and to regain human eyes and hearts that see.”

In front of senior officials of the Roman Curia, other authorities and the faithful, the Pope appealed to “the whole of society” to “welcome the gifts of women, every woman, to respect them, to care for them, to value them.”

Because, he declared, “whoever harms a woman defiles God, who was born of a woman,” Mary.

“Our time, deprived of peace, needs a Mother who unites the human family. Let us look to Mary as the creator of unity,” the pontiff urged.

The Church has celebrated World Peace Day on New Year’s Day since 1967.

This year, to mark this date, the Pope published a message in which he spoke about the risks associated with artificial intelligence.

“Artificial intelligence must be understood as a galaxy of different realities, and we cannot “a priori” assume that its development will make a beneficial contribution to the future of humanity and peace between nations. Such a positive outcome will only be possible if we can act responsibly,” he said.