VATICAN CITY — An international conference entitled, “Women and the post-2015 development agenda, the challenges of Sustainable Development Goals,” is taking place in Rome May 22 — 24. The event is being jointly sponsored by the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations and the World Women’s Alliance for Life and Family.
At a press conference held in the Vatican on Thursday, May 21, the President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson, said 2015 was a crucial year for the international community concerning development issues and said the new Sustainable Development Goals that will be approved in September have many important implications for women and their role in society.
More than 100 delegates from across the world will be taking part in the three day conference to discuss issues pertaining to women including modernity, the so-called gender theory, surrogate motherhood, education, inter-religious dialogue, old and new forms of slavery, poverty, violence and femicide.
Cardinal Turkson said it was important for the voices of Catholic women to be heard in the negotiations leading up to the adoption of the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.
Other speakers at the press conference included Olimpia Tarsia from the World Women’s Alliance for Life and Family and Maria Giovanna Ruggeri from the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations.
In her address, Tarsia lamented that key issues like defending traditional marriage between a man and a woman and protecting life from conception until natural death are not included in the 17 objectives that are being proposed by the UN for the new development goals.
For her part, Ruggeri said their organization seeks to work with men and women of good will to promote solidarity and teach people to recognize Christ in the faces of people, especially those of the poorest.
And today we celebrate...