Pope Francis was very impressed by the role of women in South Sudan, especially because many of them are left to raise several children alone in a country at war. He was also moved by the courage of the religious women and missionaries, some of whom have lost their lives in South Sudan. For this reason, the Pope criticized the fact that sometimes in the West it seems that the role of women is reduced to cosmetics advertising:
I saw the women in South Sudan—they raise their children and sometimes they do it alone. But they have the strength to build up a country. The women are good. The men go to the fight. They go to war, and these ladies with two, three, four, five children carry on. I have seen them in South Sudan. And speaking of women, I would like to say a word to the nuns—the nuns who meddle. I've seen some of them in South Sudan. Then in today's Mass, you heard the names of the many nuns who have been killed—their throats slit in this war. Let's go back to the strength of a woman. We have to take her seriously and not use her only as a make-up advertisement. Please, this is an insult to the woman. The woman is made for greater things!
