Pope, appearing on St. Peter's Square, said: "We renew the commitment that, for us Christians, is based on the Gospel for the recognition of the equal dignity of man and woman." He added: "Unfortunately, many women are still discriminated against from childhood and suffer various forms of violence." "To them, in a special way, I express my solidarity and my prayers," the pontiff said. In a letter published in the monthly "St. Peter's Square" magazine this Sunday, the pontiff urged to "implement specific projects to prevent and eradicate violence against women" starting "with the education of young people." In the text, the American pope responds to the letter sent by Giovanna, an Italian woman who raises the issue of gender-based violence. Pope Leo XIV expressed this Sunday, on the occasion of International Women's Day, his solidarity and prayers to all women who suffer forms of violence, following the Sunday Angelus prayer. "You raise an important issue that has always caused me great suffering: violence in relationships, and especially violence against women. In a world often dominated by violent thinking, we need to support the feminine genius even more," explains the pope. He states that perhaps women are attacked and killed precisely "because they are a sign of contradiction in this confused, uncertain, and violent society, because they point us to values of faith, freedom, equality, generativity, hope, solidarity, and justice" and "these are great values, but they are attacked by a dangerous mentality that infests relationships, generating only selfishness, prejudice, discrimination, and the desire for domination." And it is for these reasons, adds the American pope, that "they often lead to violence, as unfortunately the numerous recent cases of femicide demonstrate." The pope emphasizes that "we must never underestimate an act of violence, and not be afraid to denounce it, including that climate of justification or that mitigates or denies responsibility." And he adds that the entire Church "shares the urgent need to implement specific projects to prevent and eradicate violence against women," and that "to stop violence, we must start with the education of young people." "We must eliminate this violence and find ways to shape people's mentality; we must be people of peace, who love everyone," he affirmed.
