The New Feminism

Perhaps you have heard the term and have been wondering about what this “New Feminism” stuff is all about. Many have pegged it a “Catholic-thing” since the name is largely attributed to a quote by John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) where he calls for a ‘new feminism’.
However, New Feminism is not just something for us Catholic girls. It is for all women. The principles of New Feminism should resonate with all women because at the heart of it all is a call for us to embrace our feminine call to mother. We are all called to mother, not always physically, but always with great love and acceptance for others. Our feminine contribution of unconditional love for others is what will bring about a true
Pope Paul VI pleaded and implored women in the 1965 Second Vatican Council’s closing address, ”Reconcile men with life and above all, we beseech you, watch carefully over the future of our race. Hold back the hand of man who, in a moment of folly, might attempt to destroy human civilization.”
New Feminists are needed to restore the balance that has been lost in recent decades. When woman decided to grasp at masculine qualities and abandon her own “feminine genius,” our world lost sight of “otherness” and became exceptionally self-focused. We ended up with abortion, contraception, and divorces ripping families apart. Children have suffered terribly in this world where feminine responsibility has been eschewed.
Our world needs motherhood. This is not to say that women can only live out their femininity in the home caring for children; it simply means that to be female is to be a sort of mother to our race, in whatever profession you happen to have. Motherhood does not have to be physical motherhood. The qualities that women naturally possess also lend themselves to spiritual and adoptive motherhood of those all around us. A woman in politics, a woman in the business world, and a woman raising children all have the same responsibility to teach others about universal human dignity. We need people who simply love humanity unconditionally and will fight for every one of us like our own mothers would.
“In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a “new feminism” which rejects the temptation of imitating models of “male domination”, in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation.” (Evangelium Vitae, n. 99)
“”Reconcile people with life“. You are called to bear witness to the meaning of genuine love, of that gift of self and of that acceptance of others which are present in a special way in the relationship of husband and wife, but which ought also to be at the heart of every other interpersonal relationship. The experience of motherhood makes you acutely aware of the other person and, at the same time, confers on you a particular task: “Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the woman’s womb . . . This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings not only towards her own child, but every human being, which profoundly marks the woman’s personality”. A mother welcomes and carries in herself another human being, enabling it to grow inside her, giving it room, respecting it in its otherness. Women first learn and then teach others that human relations are authentic if they are open to accepting the other person: a person who is recognized and loved because of the dignity which comes from being a person and not from other considerations, such as usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty or health. This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change.” (ibid). source: http://www.ignitumtoday.com/?s=the+new+feminism. Leah Jacobson, author