Women are partners with men in the tasks of the sacred and secular realms.
457. The wisdom of God’s plan demands that we foster the development of their female identity in reciprocity and complementarity with the identity of men.
This complementarity isn’t confined to male/female dynamics, but may also serve as a model for anytime two or more persons unite to perform any human task. Different gifts and abilities surface and humans, as social beings, combine in ways to achieve something beyond the addition of the number of people involved.
The Church has a role–promoting women.
Hence, the Church is called to share, guide, and accompany projects for promoting women with already existing organizations in society, recognizing the essential and spiritual ministry that women bear within themselves: receiving life, welcoming it, nourishing it, giving birth to it, sustaining it, accompanying it, and deploying their being as women by creating habitable spaces of community and communion.
Women (and by extension, men) are not only breeding stock for Planet Earth:
Motherhood is not a solely biological reality, but it is expressed in diverse ways. The maternal vocation is fulfilled through many kinds of love, comprehension, and service to others. The material dimension is also embodied, for example, in adopting children, offering them protection and a home. The Church’s commitment in this realm is ethical and deeply evangelical.
For deeper examination, an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference.
Catholic Sensibility 