Goward Supports Pope on Women

From The Australian: Goward supports Pope on women [August 02, 2004]:



"Pope John Paul II won unexpected praise from Australia's leading feminist bureaucrat yesterday, when Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward branded the new papal document on women 'a small step forward for man but a great step forward for womankind'.



The Vatican document celebrates sexual difference, attacks extreme feminism for promoting a conflict between the sexes and calls for 'a just valuing of the work of women within the family', so that mothers who work don't have to choose to 'relinquish their family life'. 'What I think the Pope is recognising is that if we don't help women to work and have children we are going to see a continuation of the decline in the fertility rate and in the happiness of women,' Ms Goward told Sky News.



'When the Pope says let's get on with it and support women in both those roles, I think the game's over.'



An advocate of paid maternity leave, Ms Goward said the papal document - a Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World - could even help reverse the falling birthrate.



'We love being different and we love having children,' Ms Goward said. "