Pope urges efforts to protect women in New Year’s homily

Pope Francis pushed for measures to protect women as he delivered his homily on New Year’s Day.

“How much violence is directed against women! Enough! To hurt a woman is to insult God, who from a woman took on our humanity,” the pontiff said at St. Peter’s Basilica, according to The Associated Press.

The pope said on Saturday that mothers understood how to “instill peace” and navigate through difficulties, saying “In this way, they transform problems into opportunities for rebirth and growth.”

“They can do this because they know how to ‘keep,’ to hold together the various threads of life,” the pope noted, according to the AP. “We need such people, capable of weaving the threads of communion in place of the barbed wire of conflict and division.

The pope has previously spoken about violence against women, including earlier this month when he spoke to a woman named Giovanna, who left an abusive relationship.

Pope Francis noted during his conversation with her that there was a “very, very high” number of women who had been beaten or abused in their households.

“The problem is that, for me, it is almost satanic because it is taking advantage of a person who cannot defend herself, who can only (try to) block the blows,” according to Reuters, which noted the conversation aired on Italy’s TG5 network.

“I see dignity in you because if you didn’t have dignity, you wouldn’t be here,” the pontiff told the woman.

Jan. 1 is considered a day highlighting world peace in the Roman Catholic Church, according to AP.