Pope Francis Calls for Equality

The Pope called for wage equality in a public forum yesterday.

“Feminism” is a bit of a buzzword lately, but it seems like more and more people are hopping on the equality train. One of those people is Pope Francis – someone who holds a position that in the past has not been the most friendly toward the plight of women. This is seen as a major “win” for women in the Catholic Church, who have always been trying to get into the high ranking area of the church as well.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church announced to a crowd that men and women who do perform the same job should be paid in equal amounts, calling gender-based income disparities a “pure scandal.”

Francis, 78, also included in his speech a call for Christians around the world to “become more demanding” in righting that wrong, according to the Washington Post. The speech itself focused in on the importance of marriage and being equal within marriage, and it isn’t clear if the remarks were written or they were a branch made in the moment.

“For example: supporting with conviction the right of equal compensation for equal work.”

“Why is it expected that women must earn less than men?,” he asked. “No! They have the same rights. The disparity is a pure scandal.”

The Pope also spoke about blaming the declining marriage rates on feminist groups, which he said we ought not to do. 

There hasn’t been an immediate reaction from Catholic groups or other members of the leading group, but some are already speaking out and saying that the Pope had no right to make claims that are not tied to his line of work. Still, others are applauding him for once again trying to bring the Catholic Church into the modern era.