Archbishop: 'The Church must champion and promote the dignity of women'

Archbishop Eamon Martin, Credit: Catholic Communications Office, Ireland

Source: Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference

Homily of Archbishop Eamon Martin during Mass for the 'Abide in His love' Women's Conference in Bundoran, Co Donegal on 23 November 2025.

Today's gospel reading situates the kingship of Christ on the Hill of Calvary. He is the King of Friday; the Servant King. An inscription above his head declares him to be 'the King of the Jews', but at his feet, according to John's Gospel, a group of holy women is gathered - courageous to the last: Mary His mother; her sister Mary, the wife of Clopas; and Mary Magdalene. Other women are named elsewhere - Matthew says many women are there; Luke relates the encounter between the suffering Jesus and the weeping 'daughters of Jerusalem'; tradition gives us the story of Veronica, who steps forward to wipe away the sweat and blood from His gentle face. In short, it is clear that women are leading characters in the story of Christ the King.

That wonderful hymn, Hail Redeemer, King Divine, sings of the "King of Love on Calvary" - no greater love.

For Christ is a humble King, emptying Himself completely, forgiving his persecutors, winning souls for God even as He died: "today you will be with me in paradise". Christ the suffering King is consoled by those faithful women who stayed. They had already been by his side from Galilee to Jerusalem; they had consistently cared for Him with loyalty and affection, sustaining His ministry by their presence and resourcefulness; all along they had shown a deep commitment to His mission. Now, in these final hours, they do not desert Him or run away. They remain, 'abiding' in his presence, silent yet strong, these courageous "queens of love" on Calvary - faithful to the end.

Pope Saint John Paul once wrote these powerful words in appreciation for the dignity and vocation of women: "The Church gives thanks for each and every woman: for mothers, for sisters, for wives; for women consecrated to God in virginity; for women dedicated to the many human beings who await the gratuitous love of another person; for women who watch over the human persons in the family, which is the fundamental sign of the human community; for women who work professionally, and who at times are burdened by a great social responsibility; The Church gives thanks for "perfect" women and for "weak" women - for all women as they have come forth from the heart of God in all the beauty and richness of their femininity; as they have been embraced by his eternal love; as, together with men, they are pilgrims on this earth, which is the temporal 'homeland' of all people and is transformed sometimes into a "valley of tears."

The Gospels tell us that some of the courageous women, who were present at the death of Jesus on the Cross, went on to assist at His burial. Women were also 'lead characters' on Easter morning, among the first to hear the Good News that "he is risen", and prominent among its first proclaimers - Mary Magdalene is 'apostola apostolorum'. And women are there again on Pentecost Day, waiting and praying in the upper room. Saint Paul, in turn, will point to many faithful women helping to build up the early Christian communities, and nourishing the faith of the first Christians.

This year we mark the centenary of Quas Primas, the encyclical letter by which Pope Pius XI promulgated in December 1925 - exactly one century ago - for today's great Feast of Christ the King. Those were troubled times, as Church and society emerged from the horrors of the

First World War and the political turmoil that followed. In the midst of such chaos, Pope Pius offered Christ to the world - the King of Kings - to reign in the hearts of all women and men.

Pope Pius pointed out that the many evils in the world at that time were due to the fact that the majority of people "had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; (holding) that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics". Pope Pius added that to have any hope of a lasting peace among the nations, Christ the King must reign in our minds, our wills, our hearts and in our bodies. For His kingdom - as today's preface reminds us - is unlike the warring kingdoms of this world. His is an 'eternal and universal kingdom', 'a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace'.

Of course, the task of building up this kingdom belongs to all of us - women and men - baptised members of the faithful. Together we share in the priestly, prophetic and kingly vocation and mission of Jesus Christ and of His Church.

Pope Saint John Paul emphasised this point when he was in Limerick during his historic Apostolic visit to Ireland back in 1979. The laity - women and men - are "a chosen race", "a holy priesthood", called to be "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world". He said: "It is their specific vocation and mission to express the Gospel in their lives and thereby to insert the Gospel as a leaven into the reality of the world in which they live and work. The great forces which shape the world - politics, the mass media, science, technology, culture, education, industry and work - are precisely the areas where lay people are especially competent to exercise their mission. If these forces are guided by people who are true disciples of Christ, and who are, at the same time, fully competent in the relevant secular knowledge and skill, then indeed will the world be transformed from within by Christ's redeeming power."

His words of course are reminiscent of the words of Jesus in Matthew's gospel, when he said: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened" (Mt 13:33).

I love the way that the Irish poet, Tomás Rua Ó Súilleabháin, in his beautiful hymn A Rí an Domhnaigh, reminds us that Jesus is not just King of Sunday, but he is also Rí an Luain; Rí na Máirte; Rí na Céadaoine; Rí na Déardaoine; Rí na hAoine; Rí an tSathairn! This task of 'leavening' the Kingdom of God in the world is not just for Sundays. And it belongs to men and women.

In recent years we have become more appreciative of the indispensable contribution that women make to transforming the world "from within" and contributing to the daily life and mission of both Church and society. Sadly, we live in a world where the personal dignity of women is too often threatened by violence, abuse, inequality, commercial surrogacy, pornography, gender ideology and various forms of exploitation.

Friends, delegates to this Women's Conference, all the more reason then for us, and for all in the Church, to champion and promote the dignity and specific charisms that you bring as women to enrich the quality of mission, governance, leadership, education, catechesis and evangelisation, as well as dialogue and decision-making in the Church. In a special way you are called to insert, as leaven in the Church and in the world, your particular insights and witness as women to key contemporary matters such the protection of human life; outreach to poor, vulnerable and marginalised people; the safeguarding of children, marriage and the family; quality education and spiritual formation in our schools and parishes; and best practice in care and support for those who are disabled, sick or dying.

I congratulate and thank God for you, the organisers speakers and delegates at this Women's Conference, 'Abide in His Love'. Your woman's voice, your specific vocation and charisms are needed more than ever today in Church and in society, for we struggle at times to navigate the complex, contradictory and misleading messages surrounding many contemporary issues which, left unchecked, risk the 'dehumanising' of human life and dignity.

Pope Saint John Paul, in Christifideles Laici, (his apostolic exhortation on the vocation and mission of the lay faithful) emphasised that women exercise a "special role in the Kingly mission of Christ" because "women have the task of assuring the moral dimension of culture". He reminded us that God actually entrusted the human being to women, "precisely because the woman in virtue of her special experience of motherhood is seen to have a specific sensitivity towards the human person and all that constitutes the individual's true welfare, beginning with the fundamental value of life."

No pressure then, conference delegates! But as Pope John Paul often said, 'Do not be afraid'! Millions of lay women are already doing just that - not to mention the 600,000 women religious around the world who, like you, are unashamedly "working for the kingdom".

May the Lord give success to the work of your hands. Amen.