The Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations has called on nations to implement policies that support families and promote equality between women and men. Source: Vatican News.
“Policies that support and protect families, motherhood and maternity need to be implemented alongside the promotion of equality between women and men,” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia told the UN in New York on Monday.
Archbishop Caccia spoke during high-level political forum debates on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday.
SDG Goal 3 related to ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing. Archbishop Caccia emphasised that health is not merely the absence of illness, but “a holistic state of physical, psychological, social, spiritual and emotional wellbeing,” and “a vital part of integral human development”.
Yet, he lamented, that progress toward achieving SDG 3 remains uneven.
“Persistent obstacles, including fragile health systems, inadequate funding, and an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases continue to exacerbate existing health disparities.”
Regarding the Catholic Church’s meaningful contribution to healthcare, Archbishop Caccia noted that the Church, which operates approximately a quarter of all health facilities worldwide, will continue to provide care to the poorest and those in the most remote areas.
He also welcomed the discussion on Sustainable Development Goal 5, dedicated to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, which was held on Tuesday.
“Gender equality is rooted in the equal God-given dignity of every man and woman, inalienably grounded in his or her very being, which prevails in and beyond every circumstance,” he said.
Archbishop Caccia said that recognising this equal dignity is a critical starting point for achieving SDG5.
“However,” he warned, “recognition alone is not enough,” for “equality requires creating conditions that enable the integral development of women and girls, including access to quality education and healthcare, and decent work and participation in every sphere of life for women.”
Archbishop Caccia said that any meaningful discussion of SDG5 must address the systemic obstacles to the integral development of millions of women and girls, including poverty, violence and exclusion.
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Holy See: Policies must support families, motherhood, equality (By Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican Media)
