Family disintegration keeps women in poverty, Vatican envoy tells UN

March 18, 2015

Speaking to a March 18 UN meeting on the status of women, the Vatican’s representative said that the disintegration of family life is a major factor in perpetuating poverty.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See’s permanent observer at UN headquarters in New York, said that women living in poverty are statistically less likely to marry or stay married, or to educate their children. The result, he said, is “entangling them in the vicious circle of poverty and marginalization.”

“While governments and society do not create families, they have crucial roles to play in supporting healthy families and fostering parenting,” the Vatican envoy said.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Holy See: Fragile families, decline of marriage linked to female poverty (Vatican Radio)