The dignity of women The magisterial definition of the dignity of women and their place in the Church and in society according to the encyclical Pacem in terris (1963) by Pope John XXIII

Abstract

The dignity of women as defined by the Catholic Magisterium differs from modern legal definitions of what constitutes a person’s dignity and which provide the basis for modern equality laws for the prevention of discrimination. These conceptual differences also lead to a difference in terms: the Catholic Magisterium speaks of equivalence rather than equality between the sexes. This article explains the Catholic doctrine of the dignity of women and their place in the Church and in society as stipulated in the most important documents since the Second Vatican Council. This overview illustrates that the Magisterium justifies its position based on God’s plan, which sees the relationship between the sexes rooted in their complementarity along ontological categories. Since the 1960s, the Catholic Magisterium has repeatedly responded to new, significant developments in the women’s movement.