Vatican Rejects "false solutions such as abortion" While Defending Women’s Equality at UN

Don’t focus on ‘divisive issues’

The prelate therefore stated that the Holy See hopes that, “instead of focusing on divisive issues that are not necessarily beneficial to women, states fulfill their commitments to ensure equality for women and respect for their God-given dignity.”

Gallagher recalled that the Beijing Declaration — the commitment adopted by 189 countries at the Fourth World Conference on Women, organized by the U.N. in September 1995 in China — was a decisive milestone in the promotion of women’s rights.

However, he pointed out that there are issues that “remain unaddressed.”

Specifically, he referred to “the higher extreme poverty rate among women,” the “obstacles” to accessing quality education — and even “exclusion from it” — and “lower wages in the workforce.”

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Gallagher made it clear that these conditions “impede the full achievement of women’s equal dignity and ability to fulfill their potential in all spheres of life.”

Alarming level of violence against girls and women

The archbishop focused on the continued prevalence of “violence against women and girls,” which he said is “deeply alarming.”

“Wherever it occurs, at home, during trafficking, or in conflict and humanitarian settings, it constitutes an affront to their dignity and is a grave injustice,” he emphasized.

He also noted that technology is also being used to “exacerbate certain forms of abuse and violence.”

Gallagher pointed out that violence is not limited to “sexual exploitation and trafficking” but also includes “the practices of prenatal sex selection and female infanticide.”

“These acts, condemned in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, continue to result in the deaths of millions of ‘missing girls’ each year,” he stated.

The archbishop insisted that any form of violence against women and girls is “unacceptable and must be combated.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

As a journalist, Victoria Cardiel has specialized in social and religious news. Since 2013, she has covered the Vatican for various media outlets, including Europa Press and Alfa and Omega, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Madrid.