Woman, Man’s Helpmeet
June 10, 2024
James Peale, The Artist and his Family
“AFTER creating man, God created woman and determined her mission, namely, that of being man’s companion, helpmeet and consolation … It is a mistake, therefore, to maintain that woman’s rights are the same as man’s. Women in war or parliament are outside their proper sphere and their position. There would be the desperation and ruin of society. Woman, created as man’s companion, must so remain under the power of love and affection, but always under his power. How mistaken, therefore, is that misguided feminism which seeks to correct God’s work. It is like a mechanic trying to correct the signs and movements of the universe. Scripture, and especially the three epistles of St. Paul, emphasizes woman’s dependence on man, her love and assistance, but not her slavery to him.”
— Pope St. Pius X, 1909 address to a delegation of the Union of Italian Catholic Women
