WOC's 48th Anniversary with Anne Soupa
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Anne Soupa is a French theologian, writer, and co-founder of the Comite de la jupe. After Cardinal Barbarin's resignation in 2020, she submitted her candidacy for the office of Archbishop of Lyon.
Hello to all my dear WOC friends. I'd like to join you in your beautiful project of synodality, which is an invigorating and dynamic project, and in which I gladly take my place.
First of all, I believe that our fight is just, our fight for equality is extremely just. Jesus never discriminated anybody. He never looked at the women he met and said, "Oh, it's time to go home, it's feeding time. Your husband will be unhappy if dinner isn't ready". Jesus never talks like that. Jesus looks at people for themselves, and Jesus invented human rights by inventing women's rights. So, as far as I'm concerned, we can trust him: behind him, we won't be mistreated.
And when I refer to the great narratives of Genesis II, I see that the Creator made us equal men and women, and never assigned any content to our difference. The extremely fussy investigations that have been made into chapter III of Genesis, in an attempt to see female inferiority there, are nothing but deceptions/falsehoods.
In this respect, I salute the performance of Pope John Paul II, who, after analyzing this chapter, succeeded in never speaking of male domination, and in placing the responsibility for original disobedience equally on men and women.
So we have the scriptures with us. So, do we have the current historical context with us? Firstly, I would like to say that we must avoid the "mirror effect." Our church institution is fragile. It’s fragile, it's tired, it's unfortunately on the verge of crises that are not likely to diminish and will only increase. The proposals it has put forward are historically dated, and not all of them are suited to the current situation. So I suggest that we beware of mirror effects, and that we don't simply and too systematically want to have what others have. But let's try to take a step aside, let's try to invent, let's try to move forward by listening to the needs of today's men and women.
So if I try to take a look around my immediate surroundings, I'll see if I can. Working for your country's gross domestic product isn't exciting, even if it's justified. We have to help our compatriots rediscover meaning, and that's the first ministry I'd see.
The second would be to reach out to other religions, and show that religions are not violent by nature, but are made for peace. And that we, as women, therefore, have a duty to convey a message of peace between religions. And in the current political context, marked by intra-religious and inter-religious conflicts, this is a matter of urgency. I see this particularly now in France, where I see the depth of the dissensions, divisions and tensions that exist between supporters of Israel and supporters of Gaza. Let's not get embroiled in false conflicts. We women must speak words of peace on these two issues.
So, the question of meaning, and the question of peaceful cohabitation between religions, these are two very fine areas in which I would find it very judicious for women to invest themselves massively. And that we forget to focus on the figure of the priest, which, in my opinion, is historically dated, and in its current form, is not adapted to the needs of our society, and to the aspirations of candidates for the priesthood, or rather the presbyterate.
I'm putting these small contributions in the common pot of your reflections, and I hope that they will be abundant and that you will share these conclusions with all of us, and that perhaps one day we'll have the opportunity to greet each other face-to-face, in a real common place, with physical encounters, and I sincerely hope that this will be possible.
So there you have it, thank you, good luck with the synod, and please give me the link as soon as possible so that I can listen to you all. Good day to you all and thank you.