The theology of women. Selene Zorzi and the "kind of God"

Free transcription taken from blog by Don Paolo Cugini of the intervention held by Selene Zorzi* to the cycle of conferences on the "Women's theology"(Reggio Emilia, 18 December 2017)

Women's theology is different from those carried out by men. I started studying theology and I was introduced to the perspective of the female gaze on the reality of God. Only after Vatican Council II was given the opportunity for Catholic women to study theology. The biblical exegesis of women is different, because it is a reading that starts from the suspicion that the biblical texts have been written by man's gaze. Rediscover the presence of the women of the Bible. Theologians have rediscovered many female images. The deepest work was to listen to women's silences in the Bible. Watching the world from power devices that bring prejudices and discrimination.

The theology made by women has opened a new world, the question of reading genres. We realize that there is also a problem for the male, because when it does not learn not to see partial it means that there is a problem. We must start understanding how the male and female have begun to oppose, to elaborate new identities. The theologians found themselves benefited when the gender problem came out, because they had been studying the problem for years.

The negative thing was the fact that much of the ecclesiastical population was not in degrees of managing this debate. Much confusion has been done on the question of the genre. I underlined the meanings with which a word is defined. Words change meaning according to contexts.

The four meanings of the word genre

1

2 It indicates the social and cultural aspect of distinction between the sexes not equivalent to the difference between biological sexes. In this sense, the genre changes time in time, of the century in century. In Afghanistan, not driving a machine is a gender and not sex question.

Gender: it is the socially built expectation of how sexually determined people like male or female must act, what characteristics to develop each of them, what social roles are allowed to carry out ... complete with linguistic and symbolic expressions. Gender is at work everywhere and in any society. Being historical constructions, gender definitions can change and in fact change.

Sex is biology (hormones, chromosomes, genital organs, genotypes) and gender (culture) is a characteristic that a society and a culture considers.

We don't change sex by changing gender.

3. Ideology of gender: (genre33) Identification between sex and gender.

According to the detractors of the gender this denies the difference between man and woman. In reality it is not true. It is the typical construction of the monster to set it on fire

4. Indicates a grouping (genre 4) made for similar characteristics. Language can be a source of misunderstandings. More more words I have, the more I will experience, but I will be able to express it, to see more things.

Sex: male or female (refers to biological sex). In sexual practice we are wrong or righteous according to respect or love. Castity is not peer, but ordering our sexuality towards the person we love. It is a question for everyone.

L 'Amoris Laetitia skilled studies such (N 56; 286). Male and feminine are not something rigid, because they change and cannot become prisons for people.

The second part of the book

The book wants to create bridges. How can we talk about such a theology.

Genesis 1,26-27: in the image of God. Male and female created them. There have been two types of interpretation. A text is always interpreted.

Word man in the Italian language means both male humanity and humanity. For centuries Christian theology has founded the interpretation that sexuality is for procreation.

The revealed data is that male and female are in the image of God, they have equal divine dignity. We can therefore use male and female to talk about God. God has no sex, so we must recognize that all theology that speaks of God speaks of gender.

Women rediscovered the female images of God (who are :).

to. Ruah. In Hebrew the spirit is feminine
b. God Mother.
c. God wisdom (SAP 7,24)
d. Kingdom of God (Basel) Mt 13,33-35 yeast; Lk 15.8-10 Drama

Male gender and God

A patriarchal father does not do the things that God does. This father takes care, is moved. Even Jesus as a male, but always having a masculine many different from Patriarchate: he listens to women's desire. It is a point of reference for the masculine of today's model. Masculine is in crisis. If we begin to talk about a new anthropology, this is revolutionary. Gender theology is revolutionary, because it gives us more images of God and asks to transform institutional practices.

The International Theological Commission has started the study for the possibility of the ordination of women and new anthropology. There is not only talk of diagonesse, but of the ordination. What does it mean today? Think about new ways. Inter ecclesial intercourse must be rethinking. Women cannot do anything. The Catholic Church recognizes that they can be leadership, but cannot be ordered. There is a lot of bad consciousness on the gender question. Often the texts are not going to read, but caricatures are made on the opponent's theses to discredit it. In a moment of crisis we have to return to the consolidated. Perhaps this is also the reason for the controversies on gender.

* Selene Zorzi is theologian and former Benedictine nun, professor in various theological institutes, author of gender studies in relation to the Bible, patristic and the magisterium of the Church. He just published "The kind of God, The Church and theology to the gender test " (The Meridiana), on being "Image of the creator who did male and females, but above all he made us in his image".