“Women theologians: in what Europe?” is the theme of the 1st international conference promoted by the Coordination of Italian Women Theologians (CTI), due to be held in Rome on 30 March and 1st April 2006, under the auspices of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. 150 women theologians from 20 European countries, representing various Christian traditions, and also including exponents of Judaism and Islam, will attend the conference. “This will be an utterly new event for Italy’s political and ecclesiastical institutions,” declares the chairwoman of CTI, Marinella Perroni. “Its aim is to contribute, in a period so delicate and challenging for the growth of the European Union, to debate and dialogue on the role that theological reflection can play in promoting a fruitful interplay between religious freedom and secularism”. “Forty years after Vatican Council II – she adds – it’s clear that the access of women to the study and academic teaching of theology and their rightful incorporation in the life of the Church represent one of the far-reaching changes launched by the Council. Women theologians also represent, especially in our time, an important resource to ensure the tradition of the faith within social life. For centuries women transmitted the faith within the family: they are now prepared to do so also within the other civil and religious institutions”.
