Fr. Antonio Fidalgo, CSsR, professor at the Alphonsian Academy, proposes reading the message of the Cross from the perspective of feminist theology. In the article published on the blog, he writes:
The theologians, with different approaches, have asked themselves whether Jesus Christ, precisely because he is male and because of the patriarchal and sexist interpretations of his event, can have a salvific value for women and, in this sense, they have also asked themselves whether the cross, as a symbol and historical reality, it could be a redemptive event, “good news” for women. Of course, one could say that a certain understanding of the mystery of the death of Jesus Christ, where the sacrificial aspect, the atonement, the suffering, the blind obedience, and the pain were over-exalted, in the name of a promised paradise, only after “necessarily” undergone (“going through this valley of tears”), does not do justice to the heart of the revelation. Therefore, it is not “good news” for women or anyone.
He points out then some theological interpretations that may narrow or even distort the understanding of the event of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, Father Fidalgo proposes two keys of interpretation that, in the light of post-conciliar theology, help to accept the cross as good news for every human being:
The cross, above all, is a sign of the ultimate solidarity of incarnate love, assuming to its ultimate consequences the mystery of evil in history.[…]
The cross, consequently, is the source of new life through a praxis of resurrecting the crucified, which entails assuming history as a place of realization of the reign of God (St. Alphonsus would say, “the paradise of God is the heart of the human being”), seeking to present the beauty of life through the complex and contradictory interweavings of life itself; women, in this sense, are undoubtedly in the lead, not only speculatively but above all existentially.
(The complete original text in Spanish is published on the Blog of the Alphonsian Academy. The quotations given are the free translations of the Scala News editors.)
