Pope Francis called for the faithful to foster a sense of personal responsibility in the Roman Catholic Church’s mission in our rapidly changing society.

The first pope from the Americas emphasized the importance of the laity and women in planning for the church’s future during a homily at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in downtown Philadelphia Saturday morning.

“In a particular way, it means valuing the immense contribution which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to make to the life of our communities,” he said.

Francis, 78, shared the story of how Pennsylvania native Saint Katharine Drexel’s life was changed when Pope Leo XIII asked her about her contribution to fulfilling the church’s needs.
“First, those words – ‘What about you?’ – were addressed to a young person, a young woman with high ideals, and they changed her life,” Francis said. “They made her think of the immense work that had to be done, and to realize that she was being called to do her part.”

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Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on September 26 in Philadelphia.
 
Francis has praised the role women play in the church many times and elaborated on his dedication to respect for women in his first apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” (The Joy of the Gospel), which outlines his vision for the institution in the modern world.

“We need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church,” he wrote in the 2013 document. “Because ‘the feminine genius is needed in all expressions in the life of society, the presence of women must also be guaranteed in the workplace’ [quoting Pope John Paul II] and in the various other settings where important decisions are made, both in the Church and in social structures.”

These sorts of statements appear to align with what some see as liberal denunciations of unfettered capitalism and manmade climate change. But he has been criticized for saying that the reservation of the priesthood for men is not open to discussion.

British theologian Tina Beattie has lamented that the pope has not, in her opinion, done more to include women in his revolutionary interpretations of the church’s teachings.
“Francis is a potent and prophetic voice of late modernity,” she wrote in the Los Angeles Times. “His greatest potential allies are the women who make up more than half the church. We are on your side, Pope Francis. Can you hear us?”



(Photo: Tony Gentile/Pool Photo via AP)