Madrid, Mar 5 (EFE).- Dozens of people have gathered this Sunday at the Almudena Cathedral in the capital to “abandon the macho traditions” of the Church and “walk together for equality and change”, as well as to claim a greater weight of women in religious establishments.
Convened by the platform ‘Revolt of women in the Church’, which has organized rallies in 18 Spanish cities, including Barcelona, Bilbao, Burgos or Granada, and in a festive and demanding atmosphere, the attendees have been noted with slogans such as “with a voice, with a vote, this is how God wants us” or “we are the change”.
The collective Alcem la veu, the women’s revolt in the Church of the Diocese of Valencia, has called this Sunday a rally in front of the Cathedral of Valencia, under the slogan ‘We walk together for equality and dignity in the Church’, with a symbolic act in which the Church is asked to put itself in the shoes of women, who have historically been denied their participation in terms of equity. EFE/Manuel Bruque
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Dressed in the purple scarves of the feminist movement, the women, who have danced and sung to the sound of live acoustic music, have demanded female “visibility” and “presence” in religious groups and have denounced the “patriarchal and sexist language” in the homilies, as well as the “neoliberal economic system” that “promotes the feminization of poverty.”
“We raise our voices and demonstrate because we are experiencing profound discrimination in the Church and the time has come to say enough is enough”, they expressed in a manifesto, in which they criticized the “disproportion in the number of theologians” and “positions of responsibility” and have lamented that religious establishments have remained “apart from the social conquests” of feminism.
Teresa Casilla, spokesperson for the organizing entity, has told EFE that the women linked to this movement want “a Church with equal rights for women” and has argued that the Church founded by Jesus “was noted for the equality of men and women”.
“We would like the Church of today to be the same”, he stressed, while asking that women be able to access the same “possibilities” that men have, in reference to “ministries and decision-making”, as well as a more egalitarian structure” within the Church.
Pepa Torres, from the state organization ‘Revolt of women in the Church’, believes that the Church is “one of the great bastions of patriarchy” and, despite the fact that it has advanced “in many other aspects”, women “still we do not have access to all ecclesial tasks”.
Asked about the position that belonging to the Church and being a feminist are at odds, Torres has opined in statements to EFE that “in feminism and in Christianity there is no contradiction” because “the gospel is good news of liberation for men and women” and “the liberating practices of Jesus with women” were “absolutely transgressive with the patriarchy”.
“Within the Church itself, specifically in the Spanish State, many Christian feminist women have been advancing feminist theologies for more than 40 years,” she defended. EFE
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