Pope Francis addressed over 850 Superior Generals of women religious who have just concluded the plenary assembly which takes place every three years. A series of topics namely the abuse of religious women, her diaconate, the role of women in the church and the possibility of an apostolic trip were discussed in his speech for the audience.
The Holy Pontiff appreciated their courageous choice to take a religious life and pointed out the risks involved in the same. He further added that fearing risks and not growing can even turn riskier. Pope Francis stated that the cases of clerical abuse cannot be tackled overnight but the process has already begun to tackle it in the Church and termed such instances as not just shame but blessed shame for the Catholic Church.
The Holy Father pointed out that the religious community should not act as servants to the clergy and that they must carry out their mission in the dimension of Service not that of Servitude.
