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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


HOLY SEE STATEMENT of Prof. Mary Ann GLENDON
Head of the Delegation of the Holy See
to the Fourth World Conference on Women

Beijing, 5 September 1995


Madame Chairperson, 

The Delegation of the Holy See wishes first of all to express its 
special thanks and appreciation to the Government of the People's 
Republic of China, to whom it gladly renews the cordial and respectful 
good wishes of Pope John Paul II. The warm reception we have received 
from the authorities and from the people here in Beijing and the 
efficient manner in which the arrangements for the Conference have been 
managed have further helped to make this World Conference such a 
memorable experience. 

1. We are celebrating the Fourth World Conference on Women. Our 
Conference follows on a series of other International Conferences which 
will surely mark the international social climate, as we move to the end 
of this millennium and to the beginning of the new one. From Rio de 
Janeiro to Vienna, from Cairo to Copenhagen and now here in Beijing, the 
community of nations and each single State have been focusing their 
attention on the significance and the practical consequences of what was 
affirmed in the first principle of the Rio Declaration, namely, that 
"Human beings are at the centre of the concern for sustainable 
development". 

Today, more than ever our task is to move from aspiration to action. We 
must see that what has been affirmed at the universal level becomes a 
reality in the everyday lives of women in all parts of the world. The 
historical oppression of women has deprived the human race of untold 
resources. Recognition of the equality in dignity and fundamental rights 
of women and men, and guaranteeing access by all women to the full 
exercise of those rights will have far-reaching consequences and will 
liberate enormous reserves of intelligence and energy sorely needed in a 
world that is groaning for peace and justice. 

During the preparations for this Conference, the Holy See has listened 
carefully to the hopes, fears and daily concerns of women in various 
parts of the world and from different walks of life, as well as to their 
criticisms. Pope John Paul II has directly addressed the concerns of the 
Conference in numerous talks and encounters, especially in his recent 
personal Letter to Women. He has acknowledged the deficiencies of past 
positions, including those of the Catholic Church, and has welcomed this 
initiative of the United Nations as an important contribution to a 
global improvement in the situation of women in today's world. 

The Delegation of the Holy See, headed by a woman and composed mainly of 
women with varied backgrounds and experiences, applauds the purpose of 
the draft Platform of Action to free women at last from the unfair 
burdens of cultural conditioning that have so often prevented them even 
from becoming conscious of their own dignity. 

The views of the Holy See represent the aspirations of many people, 
believers of all faiths and non-believers alike, who share the same 
fundamental vision and wish it to be known. It is only when different 
viewpoints are sensitively listened to and appreciated that one can 
arrive at a true discernment of situations and a consensus on how to 
remedy them. 

2. I will draw attention, therefore, to some of the many points where my 
Delegation concurs with the Platform of Action, while at the same time I 
will also indicate some areas which my Delegation feels ought to have 
been developed in a different manner. 

At times in the preparatory process, the Holy See has had strenuously to 
emphasize that marriage, motherhood and the family, or the adherence to 
religious values, should not be presented only in a negative manner. To 
affirm the dignity and rights of all women requires respect for the 
roles of women whose quest for personal fulfilment and the construction 
of a stable society is inseparably linked to their commitments to God, 
family, neighbour and especially to their children. 

The position of women is linked with the fate of the entire human family 
There can be no real progress for women, or men, at the expense of 
children or of their underprivileged brothers and sisters. Genuine 
advances for women cannot overlook the inequalities that exist among 
women themselves. Enduring progress for women must be rooted in 
solidarity between young and old, between male and female, as well as 
between those who enjoy a comfortable standard of living with ample 
access to basic needs and those who are suffering deprivation. 

At the same time, it should be clear that promoting women's exercise of 
all their talents and rights without undermining their roles within the 
family will require calling not only husbands and fathers to their 
family responsibilities, but governments to their social duties. 

Because so many women face exceptional difficulties as they seek to 
balance greater participation in economic and social life with family 
responsibilities, this Conference rightly places a high priority on the 
right of women to effectively enjoy equal opportunities and conditions 
with men in the workplace as well as in the decision-making structures 
of society, especially as they affect women themselves. 

Justice for women in the workplace requires in the first place the 
removal of all forms of the exploitation of women and young girls as 
cheap labour, all too often at the service of the lifestyle of the 
affluent. It requires equal compensation and equal opportunities for 
advancement, while addressing also the added responsibilities they may 
bear as working mothers, and according special attention to the problems 
of women who are the sole providers for their family. 

Furthermore, effective action on behalf of working mothers requires 
recognition of the priority of human over economic values. If efficiency 
and productivity are considered the primary goals of society, then the 
values of motherhood will be penalized. The fear of reinforcing certain 
stereotypes concerning the roles of women, should not prevent this 
Conference from clearly addressing the special challenges and the real-
life needs and values of those millions of women who dedicate themselves 
to motherhood and family responsibilities, either on a fulltime basis or 
who reconcile them with other activities of a social and economic 
nature. Our societies offer far too little tangible recognition or 
concrete assistance to those women who are struggling to do a decent job 
of raising children in economically trying circumstances. For our 
Conference not to face these issues would be to render true equality for 
the majority of the world's women even more elusive. 

The Holy See, at this Conference, as it did also on the occasion of the 
World Summit on Social Development, stresses the importance of finding 
new ways of recognizing the economic and social value of women's 
unremunerated work, in the family, in the production and conservation of 
food and in a wide range of socially productive work within the 
community. Women must be guaranteed measures of economic and social 
security which reflect their equal dignity, their equal rights to 
ownership of property and access to credit and resources. The effective 
contribution of women's work to economic security and social well-being 
is often greater than that of men.

3. I wish to return, now, to the fact that so many women today do not 
have access to those basic rights which belong to them as human beings, 
to the extent, in fact, as I have said, that they are often even unaware 
of their own dignity. I return to this theme to indicate some areas of 
special concern and commitment of the Holy See for the coming years. 

It is well-known that the Catholic Church, in its manifold structures, 
has been a pioneer and leader in providing education to girls in both 
developed and developing countries, and often in areas and cultures 
where few groups were willing to provide equal educational opportunities 
to both girls and boys. 

Every human person has the right to be helped to make the fullest use of 
the talents and abilities they possess and thus, as the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights asserts, "everyone has the right to 
education". Universal access to basic education is, indeed, an 
established goal of all nations. Yet in today's world, of the 
scandalously high number of persons who are illiterate, over two thirds 
are women. Of the millions of children who are not enrolled in basic 
education, about seventy percent are girls. What is to be said of the 
situation in which the simple fact of being a girl reduces the 
likelihood of even being born, of survival or of then receiving adequate 
education, nutrition and health care? 

On August 29 last, His Holiness Pope John Paul II committed all of the 
over 300.000 social, caring and educational institutions of the Catholic 
Church to a concerted and priority strategy directed to girls and young 
women, and especially to the poorest, to ensure for them equality of 
status, welfare and opportunity, especially with regard to literacy and 
education, health and nutrition and to ensure that they can, in all 
circumstances, continue and complete their education. The Holy See has 
made a special appeal to the Church's educational institutions and 
religious congregations, on their own or as part of wider national 
strategies, to make this commitment in favour of the girl child a 
reality. This is, in fact, a commitment already assumed at the 
Copenhagen Summit for Social Development and the Holy See, as on that 
occasion, places itself side by side with all the governments of the 
world to work in collaboration with them on such programmes of 
education. More and more it is recognized that investment in the 
education of girls is the fundamental key to the later full advancement 
of women. 

The question of education is closely linked with the question of poverty 
and the fact that the majority of those who today live in abject poverty 
are women and children. Efforts must be strengthened to eliminate all 
those cultural and legal obstacles which impair the economic security of 
women. The reasons specific to each region or economic system which 
render women more likely to bear the heavier burden of poverty must be 
addressed. No part of the world is without its scandal of poverty which 
strikes women most. Every society has its specific pockets of poverty, 
of groups of persons especially exposed to poverty, at times within 
sight of others whose patterns of consumption and lifestyle are all too 
often insensitive and unsustainable. The "feminization of poverty" must 
be of concern to all women. Its social, political and economic roots 
must be addressed. Women themselves must be in the forefront in the 
fight against the inequalities among women in today's world, through the 
concrete caring and direct solidarity with the poorest among women. 

May I draw attention here to the extraordinary work that has been done, 
and is being done today, by a category of women whose service is so 
often taken for granted: that of religious sisters. In their communities 
they have developed innovative forms of female spirituality. From their 
communities, they have developed forms of solidarity, caring and 
leadership for and among women. They are examples of how religious 
principles are for so many women today a source of inspiration in 
fostering a new identity for women and a source of perseverance in the 
service and advancement of women. 

4. The Holy See also recognizes the need to address the urgent specific 
health care needs of women. It supports the special emphasis of the 
Conference documents on expanding and improving women's health care, 
especially since so many women in today's world do not even have access 
to a basic health care centre. In such a situation, the Holy See has 
expressed its concern regarding a tendency to focus privileged attention 
and resources on the consideration of health problems related to 
sexuality, whereas a comprehensive approach to the health of all women 
would have to place greater emphasis on such questions as poor 
nutrition, unsafe water and those diseases that afflict millions of 
women each year, taking a vast toll on mothers and children. 

The Holy See concurs with the Platform of Action in dealing with 
questions of sexuality and reproduction, where it affirms that changes 
in the attitudes of both men and women are necessary conditions for 
achieving equality and that responsibility in sexual matters belongs to 
both men and women. Women are, moreover, most often the victims of 
irresponsible sexual behaviour, in terms of personal suffering, of 
disease, poverty and the deterioration of family life. The Conference 
documents, in the view of my Delegation, are not bold enough in 
acknowledging the threat to women's health arising from widespread 
attitudes of sexual permissiveness. The document likewise refrains from 
challenging societies which have abdicated their responsibility to 
attempt to change, at their very roots, irresponsible attitudes and 
behaviour. 

The international community has consistently stressed that the decision 
of parents concerning the number of their children and the spacing of 
births must be made freely and responsibly. In this context, the 
Catholic Church's teaching on procreation is often misunderstood. To say 
that it supports procreation at all costs is indeed a travesty of its 
teaching on responsible parenthood. Its teaching on the means of family 
planning is often regarded as too demanding on persons. But no way of 
ensuring deep respect for human life and its transmission can dispense 
with self-discipline and self-restraint, particularly in cultures which 
foster self-indulgence and immediate gratification. Responsible 
procreation also requires especially the equal participation and sharing 
of responsibility by husbands, something which will only be achieved 
through a process of changing of attitudes and behaviour. 

The Holy See joins with all participants in the Conference in the 
condemnation of coercion in population policies. It is to be hoped that 
the recommendations of this Conference to this effect will be adhered to 
by all nations. It is also to be hoped that, in order to arrive at 
informed consent, couples will be provided with clear information about 
all possible health risks associated with family planning methods, 
especially where these are at an experimental stage or in cases where 
their use in certain nations has been restricted. 

There is clear consensus within the international community that 
abortion should not be promoted as a means of family planning and that 
all efforts must be made to eliminate those factors which lead women to 
seek abortions. Pope John Paul II has emphasized, in speaking of the 
responsibility for a women's tragic and painful decision to have an 
abortion, "before being something to blame on the woman", there are 
occasions when " guilt needs to be attributed to men and to the 
complicity of the general social environment". All who are genuinely 
committed to the advancement of women can and must offer a woman or a 
girl who is pregnant, frightened and alone a better alternative than the 
destruction of her own unborn child. Once again, concerned women must 
take the lead in the fight against societal practices which facilitate 
the irresponsibility of men while stigmatizing women, and against a vast 
industry that extracts its profits from the very bodies of women, while 
at the same time purporting to be their liberators. 

The Conference has, however, rendered a great service by casting a 
spotlight on violence towards women and girls, violence which may be 
physical, sexual, psychological or moral. Much more needs to be done in 
all our societies to identify the range and the causes of violence 
against women. The extent of sexual violence in the industrialized 
nations, as it becomes more evident, comes often as a shock to their 
populations. The fact of the use, in this twentieth century, of sexual 
violence as an instrument of armed conflict has stunned the conscience 
of humanity. 

All such forms of violence against women should be condemned and social 
policies to eliminate the causes of such violence should be given 
priority consideration. More must be done to eliminate the practice of 
female genital mutilation and other deplorable practices such as child 
prostitution, trafficking in children and their organs and child 
marriages. Society must also reach out to all those who have been the 
victims of such violence, ensuring that justice be applied to the 
perpetrators of such violence, as well as offering the victims holistic 
healing and rehabilitation into society. 

The question of violence experienced by women is also linked to those 
factors which underlie the widespread hedonistic and commercial culture 
which encourages the systematic exploitation of sexuality and especially 
reduces women to the role of sex objects. Should the Conference not 
condemn such attitudes, it could well be accused of condoning the very 
root causes of much violence against women and girls. 

Finally, I feel that greater attention could have been drawn to the 
needs of specific categories of women, especially within changing social 
and economic environments. I will simply mention here elderly women, who 
are among those who experience special problems in all our societies.

Madame Chairperson, 

The title of our Conference is "equality, development and peace". We 
must move from a vision of human persons looked on as mere instruments 
or objects to one in which every person can fully realize her or his 
dignity and full potential. Our century has been a century of 
unprecedented scientific progress, but one also which has seen horrific 
conflicts and wars. In the midst of a culture of death, it has been very 
often women who have safeguarded and promoted a civilization of love, 
preserving the vestiges of human dignity throughout the darkest days and 
years. Ignored, underestimated and taken for granted, the beneficent 
influence of women has radiated throughout history, enriching the lives 
of successive generations. 

It is to the future that we must now look. The freer women are to share 
their gifts with society, and to assume leadership in society, the 
better are the prospects for the entire human community to progress in 
wisdom, justice and dignified living. The Delegation of the Holy See 
hopes that this Conference and the name of the great city of Beijing 
will be remembered by history as an important moment in which, by 
advancing women's freedom and dignity, we will have contributed to 
building a civilization of love, where every woman, man and child can 
live in peace, liberty and mutual esteem, with full respect for their 
rights and responsibilities; a civilization where life and love can 
flourish; a civilization where the culture of death shall have no 
dominion. May Almighty God accompany us and sustain us in our task.