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Pope Francis applauds women on International Women’s Day
March 8, 2023
Pope Francis greets women ambassadors to the Holy See and women leaders of Catholic organizations after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican March 8, 2023, which is International Women’s Day. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — At the end of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square March 8, International Women’s Day, Pope Francis led a round of applause for women.

He thanked the world’s women “for their commitment to building a more humane society” through their ability to see and understand the world “with a creative gaze and tender heart.”

“It is right for them to be able to express these skills in every sphere, not just within the family,” he wrote in the preface to a book, “More Women’s Leadership for a Better World: Caring as the Engine for Our Common Home.”

In the preface, published by Vatican News on Women’s Day, the pope wrote that “the church can also benefit from the valorization of women” by allowing them to do more than just perform a particular function or job and actually transform the culture to be more caring.