Pope Francis on Wednesday discussed gender theory and explained that women and men are different and not interchangeable, according to Breitbart.

The Roman Catholic leader said that both women and men are necessary to truly "image" God.

"Not only the man taken on himself is the image of God; not only the woman taken in herself is the image of God, but also man and woman together, as a couple: they are the image of God," he said.

In the report by the National Catholic Reporter, Pope Francis said to the crowd in St. Peter's Square that removing male and female identities has nothing to do to solve the disrespectful or unfair treatment of people's gender.

"Getting rid of the difference is the problem, not the solution," he said.

He added that the sexual differentiation exists for fruitfulness and reciprocity, as well as "for communion and generation, always in the image and likeness of God," the pope said.

Moreover, as for the question about gay adoption, the Pope said that the child deserves to have a father and a mother and neither is "superfluous or replaceable."

"Experience teaches us that to grow harmoniously the human being needs the reciprocity between man and woman. When it's not there, we see the consequences," said Pope Francis.

"Without the mutual enrichment in this relationship the two cannot even fully understand what it means to be a man and a woman," he added.

Furthermore, the 78-year-old pontiff said that women should have a big say in the church and the society, and people should make sure "that women not only are listened to more, but that their voice carries real weights and acknowledge the authority in society and the church."