Pope Francis enrages eurocels with his answers on the woman question, doubles down in subsequent interviews

Speaking to students at the Catholic University of Louvain, the pope addressed the role of women, saying, "There is much involved here, including the questions of violence and injustice, as well as ideological prejudices."

Women, he said, are members of a communal Church and must carry out their roles as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers, just as men must fulfill their own roles as sons, brothers, husbands and fathers.

Men and women have been called into the world to love, he said, saying this must be expressed in their roles both in society and in the Church.

"What characterizes women, that which is truly feminine, is not stipulated by consensus or ideologies, just as dignity itself is ensured not by laws written on paper, but by an original law written on our hearts," he said.

It was that phrase in particular which promoted the university to issue a note of protest.

"UC Louvain expresses its incomprehension and disapproval of the position expressed by Pope Francis regarding the role of women in the church and in society. UC Louvain can only express its disagreement with this deterministic and reductive position," the statement said.

Stop calling yourselves a Catholic University if you're going to argue against natural law theology. So many souls have been lost to the limp wristed leadership and poor catechesis offered by the modern education system.

"UC Louvain is an inclusive university and committed to the fight against sexist and sexual violence. It reaffirms its desire for everyone to flourish within it and in society, whatever their origins, gender or sexual orientation," the university said. "It calls on the Church to follow the same path, without any form of discrimination."

No.

For his part, Francis framed his reflection in terms of human dignity.

Human dignity is an innate quality that can never be taken away, he said, insisting that Christian culture seeks "to develop ever fresh understandings of the vocation and mission of men and women and their mutual being for each other in communion."

"They are not meant to be rivals, but truly to be for each other," he said.

Women, he said, are "at the heart of salvation history," since it is through Mary that Jesus came into the world. Womanhood, then, "speaks to us of fruitful welcome, nurturing and life-giving dedication."

In this regard, the pope in an off-the-cuff remark condemned s*x-change and transgenderism, saying, "It's ugly when a woman wants to be a man, no, she's a woman!"

I love Pope Francis so much. He's got a little something for everyone. But that's not all! He doubled down:

Pope Francis on Sunday brushed aside criticism of his rhetoric on women during his weekend trip to Belgium, insisting that to masculinize women is "not Christian" and the product of an "exaggerated feminism."

Francis then invoked a classic Argentine trope, a reference to the Tango, to imply that suggestions he has a conservative mentality vis-à-vis women, or their role in the Catholic Church, are ridiculous.

Yet the pope may actually have added more fuel to the fire at another point, when, referring to Belgium's former King Baudouin, who resigned for a day in 1990 rather than sign a law legalizing abortion, Francis praised his courage by saying what he did required "a politician with pants."

Based King Baudouin, Pope Francis has announced he will be entering the process for canonization. New royal saint dropping soon.