(OSV News) — Recognizing “equal dignity and rights” for men and women must be the “foundation of a just and human-centered society,” said the Vatican’s top diplomat to the United Nations.

Archbishop Christophe Z. el-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N., shared his thoughts in a statement during an Oct. 6 committee meeting amid the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The U.N.’s Third Committee, which the archbishop addressed, has focused on human rights questions, including the advancement of women, as part of its scheduled sessions, which began Oct. 1 and will conclude Nov. 20.

Archbishop el-Kassis opened his statement by quoting Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas,” in which the Pope called for “concrete decisions” and actions that demonstrate parity of rights and dignity between the sexes.

However, the archbishop stressed, “while women and men have equal dignity, equality does not mean sameness.”

He said that “equity cannot be achieved without recognizing the unique characteristics of each sex” and fostering a “creative and mutually enriching collaboration between men and women at all levels.”

Obstacles to equality

Women should enjoy “equal opportunities in all spheres of life without being compelled to renounce either their family life or professional aspirations,” said Archbishop el-Kassis.

He added, “This is particularly true for women, who continue to face daily obstacles in fully pursuing motherhood and their professional lives.”

The archbishop quoted Pope Leo’s May 25 address to members of the European Parliament’s demography intergroup, in which the Pope pointed to “contradictory claims of purportedly family-friendly policies” that discriminate against motherhood and family life while they “exalt abortion as a right.”

Archbishop el-Kassis also identified “widespread” violence against women as another threat to equality.

“The majority of trafficking victims are women and girls who experience violence, exploitation, and objectification, which violates their God-given human dignity,” he said.

“New forms of exploitation and abuse” have also emerged due to “medical and technological advances,” he warned.

Surrogacy is one example, he said, reiterating Church condemnation of the practice by citing Pope Leo’s Jan. 9 address to Vatican-accredited diplomats.

In that address, Pope Leo deplored surrogacy as “transforming gestation into a negotiable service,” violating the dignity of the child and the mother, while “distorting the original relational calling of the family.”

A guiding principle

“In the face of these challenges,” said Archbishop el-Kassis as he concluded his address, “the Holy See hopes that the recognition of equal dignity and rights for men and women will serve as a guiding principle for all multilateral commitments and form the foundation of a just and human-centered society.”

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Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X.