LOUVEN LA NEW (EFE).— “It is ugly when a woman wants to play a man, a woman is a woman,” phrases like these pronounced by Pope Francis yesterday at the Catholic University of Louvain, and words about the “murderous” law of the abortion before the tomb of King Baudouin caused controversy in Belgium.
The students yesterday enthusiastically received the Pope, who visited the institution on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of its foundation, but they also read during the event a letter prepared by teachers and students with a reflection on the study of Pope Francis’ encyclical on environmental protection, “Laudato si”, and concluded: “Where is the place of women in the Encyclical? “Women are the great absentees” from the document.
“What then is the place of women in the Church?” the students asked themselves in their letter and responded that “as often happens in the history of the Church, women were made invisible” also in this encyclical.
They alleged that “Catholic theology tends to reinforce” the division of labor between men and women “through its ‘theology of women,’ which exalts their maternal role and prohibits their access to ordained ministries,” and called for a “change paradigm”.
People of God
The Pope’s response was firm: “The Church is the people of God, not a multinational company,” and “the relationships that express our being the image of God, man and woman, together, not separately.”
“What is characteristic of women, that is, what is feminine, is not established by consensus or ideologies,” she said.
He also explained that “the vocation and mission of man and woman and their reciprocal being for the other, in communion. Not against each other, in opposing claims—feminism and machismo—but one for the other.”
“That’s why it’s ugly when a woman wants to play a man, a woman is a woman,” he said.
Disagreement
After the speech, professors and students deplored the “conservative positions” expressed by Francisco, in a statement published after the meeting.
“In the face of words like: ‘A woman is a fruitful welcome, care and vital delivery. UCLouvain cannot but express its disagreement with this determinist and reductionist position. UCLouvain is an inclusive university committed to the fight against sexist and sexual violence. It reaffirms its desire that everyone can flourish in it and in society, regardless of their origin, gender or sexual orientation. Calls the Church to follow the same path, without any form of discrimination,” the statement reads.
Francisco went to Louvain la Neuve, a city created expressly for the French-speaking division of the university, and where 54% of the students are women, after meeting with teachers at the Dutch-speaking headquarters the day before, on the occasion of the commemoration. of its 600 years.
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2024-10-07 13:42:06
