Students at the world's oldest Catholic university applauded Pope Francis for his calls to protect the environment and promote justice, but he was challenged when it came to his vision of the role of women in the church and society.

The world must make a choice: whether to manipulate nature or cultivate it, Pope Francis said in a meeting with university students and researchers.

The challenge of integral development, which includes caring for creation and promoting justice for and solidarity with all peoples, is to be faithful to God and to every man and woman, he said.

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"This type of development is contrary to all forms of oppression and rejection of others, and the church denounces these abuses, committing herself above all to the conversion of each of her members, each one of us, to justice and to truth," he said in his talk to hundreds of students at the French-speaking UCLouvain campus Sept. 28.

Pope Francis, who often chooses to visit countries "on the peripheries," wanted to go to this nation in the heart of Europe to help celebrate the 600th anniversary of the world's oldest Catholic university. He had met with professors and staff at the Dutch-speaking KU Leuven main campus Sept. 27.

His visit to Belgium -- a predominantly Catholic, though increasingly secularized, country -- was marked by very pointed, yet polite, criticism along with praise from government and university leaders.

The university students followed suit, giving the pope a 2,000-word, four-page letter that showed both their enthusiastic support for putting the pope's call for integral human development into action as well as their doubts and even skepticism about whether the Catholic Church, its all-male priesthood and current teachings are up to the task.

"What does the notion of 'integral development' mean for the Catholic Church?" the students asked in their letter, which was read aloud to the pope. Is the church ready to take into account the inequalities of class, gender and race, they asked because "the call for integral development seems to us incompatible with positions on homosexuality and the place of women in the Catholic Church."

The students questioned whether there was "an unjust division of labor in the name of a supposed 'natural' propensity that leads to a sexual division of labor," and they said they believed "Catholic theology tends to reinforce this division through its 'theology of women,' which exalts their maternal role and forbids them access to ordained ministries" as well as often renders them "invisible" or missing from church ministry, decision making and influencing theology.

"What, then, is the place of women in the church?" was a central question of the students together with how best to confront today's social, economic and environmental crises.

In his response, the pope emphasized that "God is Father, not overlord; God is Son and Brother, not dictator; God is the Spirit of love, not of domination," and that whoever corrupts religion by turning it into "an instrument of domination" is guilty of blasphemy.

The challenge of integral development, he said, is to remain faithful to God and the human person, which includes being against all forms of oppression and rejection of others as well as embracing and promoting justice and truth, that is, to be holy and live "a just and happy life."

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"The choice to be made then is between manipulating nature or cultivating it. And we must begin with our own human nature, including questions of eugenics, cybernetic organisms and artificial intelligence," he said, as well as choosing whether to manipulate or cultivate one's own inner life.

Speaking specifically about women in the church, the pope said, "the church is woman," the bride of Christ and not "a multinational corporation."

"A woman within the people of God is a daughter, a sister, a mother, just as I am a son, a brother, a father. These are all relationships, which express the fact that we have been made in the image of God, as men and women, together not separately!" he said.

Men and women are not meant to be rivals, "this would be feminism or chauvinism," he said; it's about men and women being there for each other.

"It's bad when a woman wants to act like a man," he said, saying women are more important than men because their nature speaks of "fruitful welcome, nurturing and life-giving dedication."

He called for people to be more attentive to all the many ways women show this love in everything they do, at home, work, school, church and society, "from marriage to motherhood, or from virginity to the service of others and the building up of the kingdom of God."

The pope ended with strong encouragement for students and institutions to foster a holistic education that focuses on serving the common good. "Go forward and do not get caught up in ideological" extremes, he told them.

In an unusual move, the university released a statement reacting to the pope's speech, saying it "solidly" agreed with the pope on his positions regarding the environment and social inequalities.

However, the university said it wanted to express "incomprehension and disapproval" of the pope's position on the role of women in the church and society, saying that defining women as a fertile welcome, devoted to care is "deterministic and reductive."

The university reaffirmed its desire for people to flourish no matter their "origins, gender or sexual orientation," the statement said.

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The event was still a moment to initiate dialogue with the pope, it said, and it welcomed that opportunity.

The students had given the pope a long standing ovation at the end of his speech, which was mostly dedicated to the environment and the task of education. Students and residents waiting outside also showed their enthusiasm when the pope appeared on a balcony to receive a "calotte," a special cap worn by the Louvain students.