Equal, i.e., different

"Men and women. The new matter at stake" is the title of the Social Catholic Week of France (www.ssf-fr.org) due to open Friday November 23rd in Paris. The event, with the expected participation of several thousands of lay French Catholics, is organized by a committee chaired by Jérome Vignon, 67 anni, father of 6, who occupied many leading positions at national and European level in the framework of social policies, and now chairs the Social Weeks, and serves as president of the National Observatory for Poverty and Social Exclusion as well as of the Observatory for energetic shortage. Sarah Numico met him in Paris for SIR Europe. How did you choose the theme of this social week? What influence did it have on the current debate in France on the draft bill on the extension of marriage to same sex couples? "In fact, it was unrelated to recent events, which confirm that it was the right decision. In the previous meetings on solidarity, sustainable development, democracy, we realized that questions were raised on the role of women. In addressing these themes we realized that placed within their topical framework the centrality of men was questioned, even in concrete ways, and we were criticized for not involving women in our conferences, thus lacking an added value. Moreover, we don’t want the debates to focus on marriage for same-sex couples. We believe that men-women realms extend far beyond, reaching out to other fields, of which marriage is only one. But it involves also human disposition, perspicacity and the creativity of Christians in responding to this challenge, resulting from the fact that the meaning of equality is misunderstood". A key word in the working programme is "equality", what do you mean?"It is not homogeneity and equivalence. It refers to equal rights and dignity. We want to show that to achieve true equality we must assume our differences. True equality implies a knowledge that can be imposed by law, but it will never be effective. The effectiveness of equality implies the acknowledgment of differences between men and women".In the presentation of the works you speak of a "striking evolution" in the relationship between man and woman. In what way?"The evolution of gender equality in recent decades is striking compared to the millennia that preceded it, to the man-woman hierarchy that existed in almost all cultures, to the androcentric societies, based on the supremacy of the male roles. Even Christianity has contributed to this androcentrism, when it used the words of Genesis, especially where it speaks of woman, created to serve man. This concept of service has placed man as a model of humanity. Now this approach is being challenged by the feminist movement, but also by a more comprehensive reading of the Scriptures, which in fact speaks of man and woman, created in the image of God. Thus ‘otherness’ is essential to establish human existence, placing men and women on an equal footing, without confusing them. This is the message that as Catholics we want to give to French society, which is deeply concerned by the question of equality: true alliance means that we are not mistaken for each other". How can work and the family be reconciled? What could the EU do? "I think the Union could do a lot to ensure an ever stronger presence of women in the job market, more equal conditions for this participation, that often facilitates the reconciliation between the family and work. If the EU promotes this reconciliation process by extending maternity leave to parental leave for example, it will help create an open predisposition to this evolution. I don’t expect Europe to say what the role of fathers and mothers should be, as this belongs to individual conscience, religious conscience in particular. Rather, it should create the conditions to help parents invest in their children’s education". Will you take a stand of the question of "marriage for all?" "Of course. It isn’t a mystery. We will reiterate our opposition to extending civil marriage in France to same-gender couples, underlining that our opposition cannot be confused or criticized as homophobia. That’s not the point. We believe that there are better ways to fight homophobia than same-sex marriage. This is why we say no to same-sex marriage. We believe it would break more social bonds than those it would create. We are in favour of an evolution of mentality, also inside the Catholic Church, for an openness and a recognition of the quality of love between people of the same sex".