Commenting on the celebration of Mother’s Day in Argentina, Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata said this week “the culture of extreme feminism, which is a culture of death and destruction of the family and of the natural order” strips motherhood of its true meaning.

Archbishop Aguer warned that “ultra-feminist ideologies” distort cultural traditions by treating motherhood as a burden and a problem, ignoring mothers who confront burdens and problems with joy.

He noted that feminism treats motherhood almost like a “curse in which the woman must free herself from the slavery of being a mother in order to live in authentic freedom, in accord with the impulses of her whims.”

The true meaning of motherhood, he countered, is to discover its meaning for the woman, who initiates a special relationship with her baby long before birth, “long before seeing his face or holding him in her arms.”  For this reason, he went on, “the role of mothers is essential for the formation of the human person.”

Mother’s Day is celebrated in Argentina on October 11, which, in centuries past was the date of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God.  That feast day is now celebrated on January 1.