Skip to main contentAccessibility feedback
Background Image

Did Jerome say Woman is the Root of All Evil?

Question:

Did St. Jerome say woman is the root of all evil?

Answer:

Not precisely. He held that Eve’s sin was the beginning of Adam’s, and so in this sense, she could be the “root” of original sin. Yet it remains true that all the Fathers hold that Adam is the one responsible for the sin becoming a congenital state. So there is plenty of responsibility to share in the matter of universal evils. St. Jerome was famous among the Fathers of the Church for his many women followers, so he was hardly a misogynist. St. Paula and St. Eustochium followed him to Palestine to set up a monastery there near him in Bethlehem, and when he was in Rome he often taught in the salons of pious Roman matrons.

Did you like this content? Please help keep us ad-free
Enjoying this content?  Please support our mission!Donatewww.catholic.com/support-us