Conditions in many parts of the world force women and girls to bear the burden of carrying out everyday chores for their families and communities, keeping many of them from getting even a basic education, the Vatican's U.N. nuncio said Oct. 6.

The archbishop explained that women are "too often undervalued" and vulnerable to discrimination, not only when they are part of an ethnic, religious or linguistic minority, but for simply being women.

Swaziland's police commissioner praised the Diocese of Manzini and Bishop José Luis Ponce de Leon for organizing marches to help in "the fight against crime."

Their actions of several Catholic groups follow the appointment of a panel of experts set up by Pope Francis to consider the controversial question.

"Women are fully entitled to actively take part in all settings, and their rights must be affirmed and protected," the pope said.