The New Christian Feminism: The Vatican’s Desperate Effort to Remain Relevant

A couple of months ago, I learned of an educational program hosted by the Catholic Leaders Latin-American Academy on the International Social Doctrine of the Church called Feminism, Gender and Catholic Identity. The theme stemmed from an invitation from Pope Francis to present a proposal for a new Christian Feminism to analyze the philosophical and historical roots of gender and feminism through the lens of the philosophical anthropology of women and the social doctrine of the Church on women. 

As a secular feminist raised as a traditional Catholic in Colombia, South America, I was excited to learn more about the Church’s positions. I have no academic training on the nature of God or religious beliefs, but my understanding comes from my heritage and from my work with the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC). As a Latinx Community Outreach for WOC’s project, Escuchando a las Mujeres, I got to speak to hundreds of Catholic women that feel excluded and marginalized by the Church. Most of them expressed a need for open dialogue and support in areas such as sexual education, family planning, marriage and divorce; all issues that directly affect their lives and those of their loved ones. 

Before working with WOC, I served as an  advocate for the human rights of survivors of gender-based violence, working with immigrant women to provide direct legal and mental health services. Most of the women I work with come from Latin American countries and were raised as traditional Catholics. Sadly, most of their stories had one thing in common, they did not identify the abuse they were subjected to because they thought it was natural and normal. This was a direct consequence of Catholic teachings on the role of women and what they owe to their marriages and families. Many of these women reached out to their parishes only to be shamed into staying in a violent relationship that was threatening their lives. 

Observations: 

Before the course even began, we were assigned to read Mulieris Dignitatem, an Apostolic Letter, written by Pope John Paul II in 1988, which served as the foundational framework for what was to come. Although I was excited to learn that the Church had addressed the dignity of women, a phrase familiar to me through my human rights training, I found myself confused reading this document. 

The document recognizes the influence of women in humanity and compares women’s dignity to that of Mary, who is postulated as the most complete expression of women’s dignity. Like many women, I have a complicated relationship with Mary, but with Mary as our role model, the document narrowly focuses on women’s ability to give birth as the very nature of our dignity: our dignity is not only related but inherent to female biological sex. 

My human rights training bells were ringing. The Church is attempting to provide a new definition of the word dignity that limits rather than liberates women.

My human rights training bells were ringing. The Church is attempting to provide a new definition of the word dignity that limits rather than liberates women. I learned quickly that this alternative-definition tactic would be used frequently throughout the course, which sometimes made me doubt my own understanding and expertise on women’s rights. While I was disappointed by Mulieris Dignitatem, I believe it is a positive reflection on women’s movements that the Vatican was in a position where it needed to respond to the issues being raised by women globally. 

Major takeaways: 

• Women’s ordination was not on the agenda and was not covered in any of the assigned readings. However, while presenting on the importance of women to the Magisterium, Father Alexandre Awi Mello, I. Sch. was asked: “If women are so important in the magisterium of the church, why are there no women priests?” He answered by referring to Pope Francis’ apostolic letter, Evangelii Gaudium (104) and explained that this was settled matter. Moreover, he explained that ordained ministry is not related to power and therefore we needed to work to detach ourselves from the idea that the only way to access power in the Church is through ordination. 

One does not need to be an expert on the Magisterium to know that any position or role that holds authority, and especially decision-making authority, is a position of power that impacts those who do not have the same authority. The Catholic Church has untold influence both spiritually, politically, and diplomatically, as the Holy See is recognized as a permanent observer of the United Nations. Ordination is essential to all decision-making and leadership roles in the Church, and yet Fr. Melle attempted to convince the participants of this course otherwise. I found this insulting to our intelligence, and another example of the pain the hierarchy inflicts on those women God calls to serve in ordained ministries. 

• Equality is to be understood from the perspective of complementarity. Panelist Maria Luisa Aspe Armella, Historian and President of the Board of Directors of the Mexican Institute of Social Doctrine, gave a very comprehensive presentation that for the most part summarized historical facts that validated the impact of secular feminist movements in equality in the work place and political participation. She recognized the important contributions of the #MeToo movement and identified gender based violence as a condemnable sin. However, even though women and men are created equal in the eyes of God, we have different roles and responsibilities when it comes to marriage, family life, and religious leadership. So we are equal, but women’s equality is limited. It was never discussed how the Church’s teachings on complementarity may impact relationship power dynamics that directly result in acts of violence against women.

• On “the Body and Identity,” the Church’s narrative is fueled by fear and confusion.   Marta Rodriguez Diaz, Head of the Institute of Higher Studies on Women at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum, described different “philosophical approaches” to understanding the relationship between our body and our gender identity. The speaker began by sharing that there are cultural and social aspects that shape the gender identities of women and men, and therefore, (some) gender roles can be considered socially constructed. However, according to Dr. Diaz, the danger comes when “gender ideology” is used to deny what is “inherently attached to a person’s sex.” 

So, the Church accepts that some gender roles are socially constructed, as long as they do not deny one’s biological reproductive destiny, or “dignity.”   

As you can imagine, the speaker failed to denounce the dangers of binary gender roles, overlooking the human rights aspects of this narrow interpretation of dignity, and categorically described members of the LGBTQ community as those who participate in destructive gender ideology. 

• The Grand Proposal: “A New Feminism”! Finally, Italian Senator Paola Binetti conducted a presentation on Christian Feminism, with its core tenant as prioritizing (what the Church would call “traditional”) family life. According to Senator Binetti, the proposal of a Christian Feminism is characterized by the values of gender roles that fulfill a complementary purpose in raising a family. Her presentation was extremely critical of secular feminism, as hyper-focused on individualism and “rights.” Abortion, “assisted reproduction” and even maternity should not be viewed as a woman’s right, but matters of the family and community, with of course, abortion as a selfish betrayal of her purpose. 

Conclusions

This course gave me a window into the struggle of an institution that is fighting to remain relevant and influential in a world that is no longer blinded by its authority. The proposed Christian Feminism is a desperate effort to appeal to the women and young individuals who have left or are considering leaving the Church because their teachings no longer resonate with them. This is the rebranding of oppression using feminism as their new trendy word; a new feminism created by institutional Catholicism. 

None of their main speakers identified as women with a call for ministry, Catholic members of the LGBTQ+ community, single mothers, or survivors of gender based violence. Without their voices, representation and an intersectional lens to the issues they face, any “new feminist proposal” is empty and superficial. 

However, it seems to me that the Church is determined to defend their traditional belief system and keep it relevant. To do that, the Church has turned to the use of a twisted human rights language. The institution has carefully picked powerful human rights words to rebrand their traditional teachings and get people to find new meaning in their relationship with the Church. 

Just as I was excited when I first learned about Mulieris Dignitatem because I thought that it addressed the issue of dignity as defined in human rights, many women may find in this new and re-signified (Christian) feminism an interesting narrative that provides a new sense of inclusion, belonging, and a reason to stay. Furthermore, it may allow them to make their demands for equality without relating themself to pro-choice movements or other forms of demonized feminism. 

As disturbing as these new and sophisticated ways of disguising the oppressive teachings of the Church sound, I have to say that, to me, this is a good sign. International human rights law and secular feminist movements have pushed the Church into a position where they cannot longer dismiss the conversation on equality. In many ways, Church leaders have realized that they must join the push for women’s equality in public life, as evidenced by Pope Francis’ calls for equal rights for women in the workplaces and civil society. 

The bad news for the Church is that they have little credibility in this area as an institution that discriminates against women, and in their eyes, one gender is more equal than others. 

While not all Catholic women will see through the hidden messages and coded language of the Church, women are asking questions. I know this from my small group sessions of this course and the hundreds of Latinx Catholics I worked with through Escuchando a las Mujeres. 

Christian Feminism is flawed but it is the result of Church leaders responding to the urgent need for transformation within the Church. To me, that is good news. I am more convinced than ever that the Church will be forced to reckon with the tenets of feminism and equality, or else be condemned to disappear.