00:00As Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Journeys to Argentina sparks debates about the Church's role in society,
00:07we join Natalia Rodriguez, the co-coordinator of the Comedical and Interreligious Dialogue Area
00:14at the Catholics for the Right to Decide Argentina,
00:18to discuss the relationship between faith, feminism, and social justice.
00:23Welcome Natalia to From the South.
00:32Natalia, do you hear me?
00:35Yes, I can hear you.
00:36Yes.
00:37Welcome to From the South.
00:38Do you hear me?
00:40Thank you, thank you.
00:41Thank you so much for having me in the program.
00:44Thank you for joining us.
00:45How did Cordoba prepare for the Pope's visit?
00:51Well, Cordoba welcomed hundreds of thousands of people today,
00:54and what I would like to emphasize is that this city is a cradle for human rights defenders
01:02who were deeply driven by their faith,
01:07especially blessed Bishop Enrique Angelelli,
01:10who was mentioned twice during the Pope's visit in Cordoba.
01:15And, well, to greet the Pope, a mural of Enrique Angelelli was painted
01:20on one of the side walls of the Archbishop's Palace.
01:25Angelelli was an Argentine Roman Catholic bishop born in Cordoba,
01:29known for his deep commitment to the Church of the Poor,
01:33Labour Unions, and Human Rights.
01:36During the 1970s...
01:38Yeah.
01:38Yeah, no, no, you can continue, don't worry.
01:42Oh, okay.
01:44Well, to tell you a little bit more about Angelelli,
01:49well, during the 1976 military coup in Argentina,
01:53he openly denounced state repression, torture, and the murder of fellow priests.
01:58He was killed when his truck was intentionally forced to crash,
02:04I'm sorry, in Punta de los Llanos, La Rioja, an Argentinian province.
02:08This was a state accident orchestrated by military force,
02:13and Cardinal Rossi, here in Cordoba,
02:17mentioned him at the gathering at the cathedral as a role model
02:21because of his commitment to the poor.
02:24And Angel Rossi, the provincial archbishop,
02:27was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis,
02:30one of the most vocal critics of the libertarian movement.
02:34That is just a little bit to tell you about Córdoba
02:40and its long history in the defense of human rights.
02:44And that is also inspired in our faith as Catholic people
02:51and, well, some of the names and the histories
02:55that have emerged during the visit of Pope Leo here in Córdoba.
03:01Yeah, and also the Pope met with women from vulnerable communities
03:07and with human rights defenders.
03:09What are the challenges these communities present to the church
03:13in supporting their struggles?
03:16Well, Cardinal Rossi also arranged for the Pope to meet with 20 people
03:21associated with the vicariate of the poor,
03:26which is an official pastoral division created to institutionalize,
03:31I'm sorry, the preferential option for the poor.
03:34The Pope spoke with one of them, who is Alba Camargo.
03:40She is one of the members of the groups leading the efforts
03:44to locate the remains of those who are still missing,
03:48that is, whose bodies haven't been found
03:50as the result of the Argentinian military coup.
03:55So her history is really quite shocking.
04:00And she is a human rights advocate.
04:03And we, as human rights advocates, for us,
04:07the fact that this story was mentioned during the Pope's visit
04:12allows us to strengthen our commitment to democracy
04:16so that the horrors of the military dictatorship
04:20are never repeated here in Argentina.
04:23Yeah, and also I wanted to ask you, as a Catholic feminist,
04:28what stance should the church take regarding women's rise?
04:33What criticism has it faced in this issue?
04:37Well, as Catholic feminists, we appreciate that members of the church
04:43are standing in solidarity with the Argentinian people's
04:48long tradition of resistance against injustice.
04:52We promote the defense of democracy and peace
04:55as the fruit of justice.
04:56At the same time, we acknowledge the church's historical debts
05:00regarding the violence perpetrated against women.
05:04Abuse, discrimination, practices that violate human dignity
05:09require taking responsibility, ensuring justice,
05:14and adopting effective measures of reparation.
05:17These transformations also require a profound re-examination
05:23of the religious mandates imposed on the bodies, sexuality,
05:27and decisions of women.
05:30One of the members of Catholics for the Right to Decide,
05:34Milagros Acosta, presented a green scarf
05:37during the documentary Amen, Francisco Responde.
05:42In this documentary, she met Pope Francis and she shared with him
05:50the experiences of people of faith who have had abortions.
05:54So, this is what we expect from the church,
06:00a profound dialogue with women regarding our rights.
06:07And we believe that building a truly synodal church
06:12means abandoning misogynistic and authoritarian structures
06:16and opening up to a plurality of voices,
06:19and also recognising the contributions of feminists,
06:22of feminism.
06:25There are other theologies, feminist, critical,
06:29and inclusive theologies that the church must take into account
06:35when talking about our rights and the possibility
06:39of a truly deep contribution of women to the institution.
06:47Yeah, and how do you see the relationship between the church,
06:51the Catholic church, and feminist movements in Argentina today?
06:54Is there rooms for dialogue and cooperation,
06:57despite their differences, particularly regarding
07:00reproductive rights and gender equality?
07:05This is still a depth as regards the church
07:12and the feminist movement in Argentina.
07:16We would love the shift of the church away from rigid patriarchal hierarchy
07:24and move towards a more democratic, inclusive institution.
07:28We know this is a great challenge for the institution.
07:32Still, it's still a great challenge for the institution.
07:36But we believe that in time we may have a more democratic church.
07:43Of course, we contribute to that purpose.
07:48Well, Natalia, thank you very much for being here from the South with us
07:53and sharing all the thoughts about feminisms and the Catholic church,
07:57and also for the visit of Pope Leo XIV in Cordova.
08:00Thank you very much.
08:03Thank you for the invitation and the possibility to explain
08:07some of our beliefs as regards feminism and the Catholic church.
08:14Thank you so much.
08:15Thank you to you.
