Pope John Paul II was an incredible supporter of the dignity of women. Throughout his years serving as Pope, JP II wrote encyclicals addressing women’s rights, such as, On the Dignity and Vocation of Women. John Paul II was also a world promoter for peace. This seems to have been an especially important value to him since he grew up during World War II watching his family die from the effects of war. He was able to see the pain that could be caused through such violence. Thus, Pope John Paul II has been called a champion of women’s rights and of peace, which align perfectly with the United Nations and Commission on the Status of Women’s goals.

I knew all of this before attending the CSW, however, there’s a story I didn’t know. In the early years of the first wave of the feminist movement, Pope John Paul II traveled to the United States to attend the Commission on the Status of Women. Upon arriving at the CSW, he noticed a change in the atmosphere at the Commission since it’s beginning in 1995 in that now, the central argument of women’s rights was focused on and had been equated with reproductive rights and abortion. Pope John Paul II saw the dangers this could create for our society, which I will explain in my next post. However, upon seeing this new change in the Commission and seeing the lack of voice in the pro-life movement, Pope John Paul II saw that he needed to take action. So he made some phone calls to the heads of the Pro-Life movements around the world, personally calling leaders in the Pro-Life movement to action to from themselves as official Non-Goverenmnet Organization (NGO’s).

Pope John Paul II did this knowing that this would enable the Prof-Life movement to attend the CSW with a more legitimized voice and that the movement would be able to have a bigger impact. C-Fam was one of the organizations that rose to the call to action established by John Paul II in starting this movement. Thus, in the year 2015, I found myself at the United Nations Headquarters, connected to my hero John Paul II in even the smallest way.

In fact, while attending Mass in the Catholic Church located across the Street from the United Nations headquarters, several of the members of the International Youth Coalition were excited to find the featured image on this blog in the Church. Two of the Champions of world peace and love: John Paul II and Mother Theresa. In fact, John Paul II’s image is surrounded by the United Nations symbol. This is perfectly fitting for a man who so strongly represented peace and equality for all life.