Pope, in New Year's homily, praises women as peacemakers [View all]
Source: AP
By FRANCES D'EMILIO
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis ushered in the new year Saturday by praising the skills women bring to promoting peace in the world, and he equated violence against women to an offense against God.
The Roman Catholic Church marks Jan. 1 as a day dedicated to world peace, and a late-morning Mass in Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica paid tribute to the Virgin Mary’s special place in the faith as the mother of Jesus.
Mothers “know how to overcome obstacles and disagreements, and to instill peace,” Francis said during his homily.
“In this way, they transform problems into opportunities for rebirth and growth. They can do this because they know how to ‘keep,’ to hold together the various threads of life,” the pontiff said. “We need such people, capable of weaving the threads of communion in place of the barbed wire of conflict and division.”
Pope Francis delivers his homely as he celebrates a Mass for the solemnity of St. Mary at the beginning of the new year, in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-europe-religion-vatican-city-da9f221497b6922c32cdf1f24c30a030
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