Speaking to Low Countries Jesuits, the pope emphasized that he is trying “more and more to bring women into the Vatican with roles of higher and higher responsibility.” The pope also expressed concern about the rise of paganism in the West, emphasizing that, “We do not need a statue of a pagan god to talk about paganism: the very environment, the air we breathe is a gaseous pagan god! And we must preach to this culture in terms of witness, service and faith. And from within we must do it with prayer.”