Pope Francis on Equality: Putting Women in their Rightful Place

Recently, during another press conference aboard the papal airplane, Pope Francis spoke about women’s equality. In one statement he’s quoted as declaring, “A society that is unable to put women in her [rightful] place does not move forward.”

Just like Ephesians 5:22, this statement, when taken completely out of context, sounds quite incriminating. Is Pope Francis saying that we should, as a society, put women “in their place” by keeping them under the thumb of males? This is what what the statement may sound like to individuals who push a certain misogynistic agenda.

But again, such a maneuver requires abuse of the Pope’s words and that they be twisted out of context.

What did Pope Francis mean when he said a society needs to put women in their rightful place?

I’ve become aware of a Catholic individual who takes a great deal of joy out of promoting a toxically misogynistic message. On his Twitter feed he recently quotes this singular sentence from the papal interview, with the succinct comment, “Game!” This indicates that, to him, Pope Francis is advocating the use of coercive control, abuse, and domination of male over female.

Hypocritically, this particular individual has been quite outspoken about what a horrible pope he considers Francis to be. He has even gone so far as to call Francis the “worst pope in the history of Catholicism.” Yet now, all of a sudden, he’s promoting and quoting Pope Francis? Hmmm….

It’s important to read the entire papal interview on equality.

Another problem with this outright abuse of Francis’ message becomes clear when the entire article on the interview is read.

Pope Francis clearly states:

“We have to tell the truth. The fight for women’s rights is an ongoing fight because in some places women have equality with men but in other places they do not. We have to keep fighting [for equality], because women are a gift.”

Referring to Ephesians 5, Pope Francis makes it clear that

“Man is to take care of women as his own flesh, and all women’s rights come from this equality.”

It’s in this context that he makes his next statement — the one certain abusive personalities may construe as “proof” of their power and coercive authority over females, when in fact the Pope was clearly indicating the opposite.

“Man is to take care of women as his own flesh, and all women’s rights come from this equality. A society that is unable to put women in [her] rightful place does not move forward.”

Fullness of Truth

When read in the fullness of truth, it’s very obvious what Pope Francis is saying in this statement. All a reader has to do is look at the entire interview in context — as well as all the other statements Pope Francis has made on women’s rights and domestic abuse — to realize that a woman’s “rightful place” in society is not at the subservient beck and call of men.

A woman’s “rightful place” is one of mutual self-giving in authentic charity. This requires women, and men, to be mutually “submissive” to each other. This type of submission has nothing to do with abuse, power, control or superiority. It’s about equality, recognizing the differences in gender that make male and female complimentary. These differences enable an equal contribution to home and society.

When men twist certain statements out of context in order to weakly “prove” their superiority, that’s an obvious red flag indicating an abusive personality. God made woman to be a helpmate, not a slave, because “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).

Man and woman reflect each other in beauty and glory, mirroring in a smaller way the ultimate beauty and glory of the Trinitarian God. There is no power-over in the Trinity; there is only love.

Craven Acts of Cowardice

Whether or not you agree with some of the controversial things Pope Francis has said and done, it’s nevertheless true that he has a long history of speaking in favor of women’s equality and against domestic abuse. Even in the much-debated apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia he clearly states:

“I think particularly of the shameful ill-treatment to which women are sometimes subjected, domestic violence and various forms of enslavement which, rather than a show of masculine power, are craven acts of cowardice. The verbal, physical, and sexual violence that women endure in some marriages contradicts the very nature of the conjugal union.”

Taking a single line out of context and twisting it around to make it sound as if the opposite is meant is a grotesque manipulation. This is clear proof that a “craven act of cowardice” has been committed.

It’s time to stop trying to convince others that certain people are superior. We need to eradicate these toxic attitudes and behaviors in order to live the fullness of life. This fullness includes mutual self-giving, Christian charity, and complimentary equality in all things. Including our differences.