(ZENIT News / Rome, 03.10. 2026) – The March edition of Piazza San Pietro, the magazine published by St. Peter’s Basilica, is dedicated to women. This issue features a moving letter addressed to the Pope from Giovanna, a Roman reader, who implores: «Pope Leo, help us stop violence against women. No more femicides.»
The woman, who confesses to having tears in her eyes, bathed in tears for so much unjustified suffering inflicted on women, lives with a respectful and loving husband. But her privilege immediately raises the question: Why should being loved be an exception? Why does love become a deadly trap for so many women? Giovanna recounts the shock she feels at each new case of femicide, a phenomenon that transcends social classes and generations, and denounces the «culture of possession,» which regards women as property, to the point of justifying their elimination if they decide to leave.
Her appeal extends to the invisible children of these tragedies: children who often witness their mother’s murder and are doubly orphaned, victims of a pain that the State, she writes, does not sufficiently support. Hence the appeal to the Pope: only an educational alliance between the Church and schools can truly influence the formation of consciences, especially among the youngest. «Who else,» she asks, «can spread a culture of respect and freedom, capable of overcoming social, cultural, and religious barriers?»
Pope Leo XIV’s response is clear and profoundly pastoral. The Pontiff confesses that violence in relationships, and in particular violence against women, is a source of great suffering for him. He recalls the «feminine genius» evoked by Saint John Paul II, highlighting how women are protagonists of a culture of care, fraternity, and hope. Precisely for this reason, he observes, they sometimes become the target of a mentality that fears the values they embody: freedom, equality, generativity, justice.
“Violence, any violence, is the boundary that separates civilization from barbarism,” the Pope writes, recalling also what he affirmed on the Solemnity of Pentecost and on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. No mitigating circumstances or justifications will be tolerated. Every act of violence must be denounced, just as the cultural climate that minimizes or denies responsibility must be exposed.
But the Pontiff does not limit himself to condemnation. He welcomes Giovanna’s call for a strong educational alliance: the Church, families, schools, parishes, Movements, and public institutions must work together to implement specific prevention and education projects. The path indicated is clear: to educate young people to respect the dignity of every person, man and woman, to open their hearts to a culture of peace, and to eradicate the mentality of domination.
In his farewell, Pope Leo XIV promised prayers and blessings, transforming a private letter into a universal message. Letters that are, Father Fortunato affirms, a balm to the heart and a guide for a society so lost and disoriented.
Below is the full text of the Pope’s letter.
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To combat violence against women, let’s implement specific prevention and formation projects
Giovanna:
You raise an important issue that has always caused me great suffering: violence in relationships, and in particular, violence against women.
In a world often dominated by violent thought, we must further support the feminine genius, as Saint John Paul II affirmed, the «genius of women,» protagonists and creators of a culture of care and fraternity, essential for providing a future and dignity to all humanity. Perhaps this is why women are also attacked and murdered: they are a sign of contradiction in this confused, uncertain, and violent society, because they teach us values of faith, freedom, dignity, generativity, hope, solidarity, and justice. These are great values, but they are attacked by a dangerous mentality that infests relationships, generating only selfishness, prejudice, discrimination, and a desire for domination.
This attitude, as I said during the homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost (June 8, 2025) during the Holy Mass of the Jubilee of Movements, Associations and New Communities, «often leads to violence, as sadly demonstrated by the numerous recent cases of femicide.» Violence, any violence, is the boundary that separates civilization from barbarism. We must never underestimate an act of violence, and we must not fail to denounce it, including that climate of justification that mitigates or denies responsibility. Walking together in mutual respect for our humanity is not a dream, but the only possible reality for building a world of light for all. Dear Giovanna, I thank you for your urgency regarding the need for an ever-stronger educational alliance.
The Church, together with families, schools, parishes, Movements and Associations, Religious Congregations, and public institutions, can share the urgency of implementing specific projects to prevent and halt violence against women. As I said last November 25, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, «to stop violence, we must begin by educating young people, by opening our hearts to the idea that every person is a human being who deserves respect, the dignity of men and women, of all people.» And then I added: «We must eliminate this violence and find ways to shape people’s mindsets; We must be people of peace, who love everyone. Thank you, Giovanna, for your letter. I will pray for you, your family, and your loved ones, and I offer them my Blessing.
Pope Leo XIV
