HOLY SEE ADDRESSES COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was the March 1 statement at the United Nations by Ellen Lukas of the Holy See delegation to the 43rd annual session of the Committee on the Status of Women. She focused on the "two critical areas of concern from the (1995) Beijing Platform of Action being studied: ... Women and Health and Institutional Mechanisms to Advance Women."

On the first topic, she pointed to the Church's "long history of involvement in women's health care" as well as its extensive worldwide network of educational and health care facilities. She highlighted how, at the Beijing conference on women, the Holy See was troubled that "the Plan of Action emphasized reproductive health to the detriment of other very pressing health problems suffered by women and girls. This is generally recognized as decimating the female population of developing countries." She cited the illnesses and diseases which kill tens of millions in developing countries alone each year.

Lukas re-affirmed the Holy See's support for: a woman's right to a healthy pregnancy, adequate health care, "serious efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality" and "initiatives to protect women from violence and abuse." She also re-stated the Church's approval of "the Natural Family Planning method, which is highly effective when used properly."

On the topic of Institutional Mechanisms to Advance Women, the Holy See delegate declared; "The Holy See gives this enterprise its support as long as governments establishing these mechanisms do not allow themselves to become captives of groups advancing a too-narrow view of women's interests, ... do not exclude the concerns of aged or other women who can no longer contribute to the economy, ... and work to advance a woman's true good and dignity."

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