Pope John Paul II and Women

Thanks for Rick for the link to Lisa Schiltz's  essay, "Why Larry Summers Should Have Had the Pope Review his Draft: THe Implications of John Paul II's Teaching for Gender Balance at Caholic Universities."  The essay is much broader than the title suggests - addressing the role of women both within the family and in the workplace (and in the public sphere generally) and I greatly enjoyed reading it. 

While there is much that has come out of Rome in recent years that has been upsetting to women, there is, particularly in Mulieris Dignitatem, a recognition of feminine "genius" that has been given too little attention.  Professor Schiltz does a nice job exploring Pope John Paul II's statements about women and of the societal obligation to make it possible for women to respond to their callings both within the family and within the public sphere.

She does acknolwedge that "If there were no social evils left to be addressed in this world, clearly, John Paul's preference would be that every mother would choose to dedicate herself full time to child-raising, because no call to make the world a better place in any other way would ever be as compelling.  But we're not there yet; John Paul recognized that, and I think that is why he consistently called upon society to make it more feasible for women who are mothers to fully respond to all of the aspects of theri 'complicated calling,' both with repsect to their families, and in the public sphere."