Violence against women offends God

 

 Pope Francis used his New Year's message on Saturday to make a strong call for an end to violence against women, saying it offends God, Reuters reports.

The 85-year-old Francis celebrated a liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica on the day the Roman Catholic Church celebrates both the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the annual World Day of Peace.

Pope Francis looked in good shape on Saturday after his inexplicable decision on New Year's Eve when he was in office, but he did not lead it as expected.

 At the beginning of the liturgy on Saturday, he walked the entire length of the central aisle of St. Peter's Basilica, unlike Friday night, when he entered from a side entrance near the altar and observed the service from the side.

Pope Francis suffers from sciatica, which causes pain in his legs, and sometimes his attack prevents him from standing up for a long time.

The pope built his New Year's sermon on motherhood and women - saying it was they who held the threads of life together - and used it to make one of his strongest calls to end violence against them.

 "And because mothers give life and women protect the world, let us all work harder to encourage mothers and protect women," Francis said.

"How much violence is directed against women! That's enough! To hurt a woman means to offend God, who took care of our humanity from a woman - not through an angel, not directly, but through a woman," he said, referring to the Mother of Jesus. Maria.

During an Italian television program last month, the pope told a woman who had been beaten by her ex-husband that men who abused women were doing something "almost satanic".

 Public participation in liturgies was lower than in some previous years due to restrictions due to the coronavirus. Italy, which surrounds the Vatican, announced a record 144,243 coronavirus cases on Friday and recently imposed new measures such as the obligation to wear masks outdoors.

In the text of his Message for World Peace Day, issued last month, Francis said nations should redirect money spent on armaments to invest in education, and condemned rising military spending at the expense of social services.

 The annual message of peace is sent to heads of state and international organizations, and the pope gives a signed copy to the leaders who pay official visits to the Vatican next year.