MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis urged yesterday Filipinos to listen to women more, saying “women are capable of seeing things from a different angle than men.”
The pope made the remark during his encounter with thousands of youth from different parts of the Philippines at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
He noted that four out of five people who addressed him on stage were male.
“There is only a small representation of females here, too little,” he said, bringing laughter from the crowd.
The pope listened to children who spoke about their experiences of growing up on the streets.
On Jan. 16, the pope met children of Tulay ng Kabataan foundation at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, his first unscheduled stop during his visit.
Pope Francis said there is a need to listen to women and girls in society.
“Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we’re too macho, and we don’t leave enough room for women,” the pontiff said.
“Women are capable of seeing things from a different angle… with a different eye. Women are able to ask questions that men can’t understand,” he said.
“So when the next pope comes, please have more women and girls among your numbers,” the pope said.
This was not the first time that Pope Francis called for greater roles for women in society.
Last December, Pope Francis urged the International Theological Commission “to draw greater profit from this specific contribution of women to the understanding of the faith.”
“In virtue of their feminine genius,” he said, “female theologians are able to take up… certain unexplored aspects of the unfathomable mystery of Christ.”
The pope had also said that while the Roman Catholic Church’s ban on women priests is definitive, he wants to appoint more nuns and other women to senior positions in the Vatican.