By Matters India Reporter
ROME, October 7, 2026: On the eve of Pope Leo’s October 7–14 meeting with bishops, families and theologians marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the Catholic Women’s Council (CWC) has issued a sweeping critique of the Church’s approach to family life, calling for urgent reforms to address women’s dignity, equality and protection from violence.
The CWC, a global network of more than 60 Catholic groups, said the landmark papal document continues to speak from an “androcentric, patriarchal framework” that marginalizes women’s voices.
“Too often ‘women’s dignity’ is invoked in place of women’s equality,” the report states, urging a decisive shift away from theology that defines women primarily as complementary to men.
The council’s 40‑page synthesis highlights five pressing realities: androcentric frameworks, abuse within the Christian family, marriage and canon law, sexual education, and diversity of families.
Leaders from every continent contributed through listening sessions, reflecting widespread frustration with what they describe as structural exclusion.
On abuse, the report condemns the Church’s uneven response to clergy misconduct, noting that “generations of Catholic women and families have suffered from a widespread culture of clergy abuse, systematic cover‑up and an uneven commitment to survivor justice.”
It insists that any renewed engagement with Amoris Laetitia must acknowledge how abuse shatters family cohesion and trust, and calls for clear canonical guidelines to protect women from exploitation by priests and parish staff.
The document also challenges canon law provisions that pressure women to remain in violent marriages. It warns that pastoral practices urging reconciliation often re‑traumatize victims.
“Women being urged to return to marriages marked by violence contradicts their inherent dignity and self‑determination,” the council writes. It demands explicit recognition of violence as grounds for separation and nullity, and free access to independent legal advice.
On sexual education, the council criticizes the Church’s reliance on virginity and abstinence as moral ideals, arguing that such teaching impairs women’s autonomy.
It calls for age‑appropriate, fear‑free sex education rooted in scientific evidence and Christian values, emphasizing consent and bodily integrity.
The report also urges the Church to condemn practices such as virginity testing and female genital mutilation as grave human rights violations.
The council highlights the diversity of families worldwide, from single‑parent households to widows facing stigma and economic insecurity.
It challenges the Church’s tendency to define family narrowly as a heterosexual union, insisting that single mothers lead “holy, sacrificial, and fully formed Catholic families.” Priests and bishops, it says, must end discrimination and reverse the burden of shame placed on widows and single women.
In its conclusion, the CWC warns that failure to confront patriarchal frameworks and abuse risks “betraying the Gospel” and abandoning women and families to harm. It calls for synodality to move beyond dialogue toward collective action that ensures equal rights and dignity in liturgy, parish life and society.
“We pray that the voices of women will persuade decision‑makers within the Church to move towards ensuring, as a matter of urgency, that women have an equal place within the Church — a place free from injustice, oppression and violence,” the council said.