Press
note
Rome / Munich, February 9, 2008
International Movement We are Church: Women in the
Catholic Church – Vatican’s consequent change-in-mind concerning the question
of women’s rights or alibi event?
Commentary
on the international congress of the “Papal Council for the Laity”, Rome,
February 7-9, 2008, held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of
the Apostolic Letter “Mulieris Dignitatem” (August 15, 1988)
The International Movement We are Church, a
Catholic reform movement, hopes and expects that the congress in Rome shows a
consequent change-in-mind in the question of gender and of women’s rights. This
international congress bears the great chance of
This
would be an inspiring model especially for those countries, in which women are
still oppressed and abused. For the sake of our church’s future, the catholic
reform movement wishes on the conference the blessing and wisdom of God’s Holy
Spirit.
The
individual topics of the meeting like
should
offer enough space for open discussions in order to take up and judge
contemporarily today’s problems.
“Moreover,
a factual dialogue with feministic theology and recognition of gender justice
inside church structures are overdue and have to appear on the agenda of this
conference”, demands Angelika Fromm, speaker of the women group of “We are
Church” in Germany. “The roman catholic church keeps on addressing appeals to
politics and society, but inside her own structures church refuses establishing
gender justice and instead disguises the real degradation of women by
idealising woman’s image. This behaviour is not credible.”
If this
congress intends to encourage women to put their treasure of “female genius”
into service of apostolate, family, world of labour and culture, this has to be
realized also in church structures and hierarchy. The mere talking of “woman’s
dignity” is no longer sufficient, whilst treating women in the same church as
they were incapable of ordination and refusing them equal rights of participating
in church development, using antiquated argumentation, Angelika Fromm points
out.
It would
be extremely unfortunate not dealing with all trends of roman Catholicism and
the congress being held by the Vatican only as “alibi event”, putting only into
scene a participation of women, but in reality preventing it completely.
Background:
The
congress “Woman and man, the humanum in its entirety” is held by the
“Papal Council for the Laity” in Rome from February 7 to 9, 2008 on the
occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Apostolic Letter “Mulieris
Dignitatem” published by Pope John Paul II on August 15, 1988. At that time,
the Pope personally meditated about a specific topic concerning women; now,
after all, 250 women and men of all five continents were selected and invited
to reflect on the position of women in church and society.
The International
Movement We are Church, a Catholic reform movement, intercedes for equal
access of women to all church functions, for an equal mentioning of women and
men in church publications, for a female image of God and a female liturgy. The
movement “Lila Stola” (“purple stole”) stands for these activities worldwide.
Contact:
Angelika
Fromm, speaker of the women's group of the Catholic reform movement “We are
Church” in Germany
Tel:
+49-6131-222486
Raquel Mallavibarrena,
Spain, Chair of the International Movement We are Church
Tel: ++34-649332654
rmallavi@mat.ucm.es
Valerie
Stroud, We Are Church (UK)
Tel: ++44-1634-715278
valeriejstroud@we-are-church.org
>
International Movement We are Church
>
International Congress „Woman and man, the humanum in its entirety”